by Albert Aunchman

Created on: March 24, 2008

Can homework help improve academic achievement? It's a question that can be answered in the affirmative, or could elicit a resounding no. To intelligently answer the question, you would have to know what the homework consists of.

Homework that is assigned as busy work and gets glossed over the next day in class is of little use. It can, sometimes even work against its' intended goal. Students resent having to do busy work and often rebel or lose interest. For homework to be meaningful it must challenge the student. The idea that homework is something that must be assigned everyday is questionable. After working at the office all day, would you like to complete some repetitive writing or calculating assignment to satisfy some vague requirement. Homework without a purpose has caused great anxiety for the students who have to complete it, to the parents who have to make sure it gets done.

Meaningful homework doesn't have to be generic. Students might be given a project that would require them to do research at the library or online. The scope of the project would dictate the allotted time they have to turn it in. This type of homework not only hones their research skills, it helps them to organize and prioritize by having to meet a deadline. This type of homework can include skills such as creating graphs and charts, as well as writing, and organizational skills.

If a student is having trouble with a particular skill, be it identifying verbs, or trouble with long division, then a homework assignment that requires him to complete several examples is indicated. Many times it is helpful to have the student provide, or makeup the examples, this forces them to think about what they are doing, and helps them to understand what is involved. It's not important to specify a certain number of examples. The key to making this beneficial to the student is that the homework be corrected by the teacher and error patterns addressed at that time.

Homework is something that should be individualized so that the student will get the maximum return on his effort. Only then can homework actually improve academic achievement. Homework in isolation is a waste of every ones time and energy.

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