Homework

Summary

The students can't learn all the material they need to only through classroom interaction: the supplement they get from doing regular home assignments is essential. Homework tends to be a neglected topic in many teacherpreparation courses, but well worth some attention.

• 43 Clarify requirements in advance

• 44 Make homework success-oriented

• 45 Include homework in the final grade

• 46 Prepare homework-giving in advance

• 47 Check homework has been done

• 48 Keep class checking to a minimum

• 49 Check written homework

43 Clarify requirements in advance

Devote a few minutes at the beginning of the course to explaining to your students how much homework they’ll be regularly asked to do, how often, and so on.

Students like to know in advance what the homework requirements are going to be. Sometimes, of course, norms may be determined by the institution: for example, that homework is usually given three times a week, or even that it is not given at all. It's a good idea to check also with colleagues to find out how they do it in different classes. And I suggest in addition finding out students’ ideas on the subject: you don't have to do exactly what they want, but it's useful to be aware of their preferences.

Some things which the class should know from the beginning about homework are:

• • How often it will be given.

• • Whether it should be submitted on paper or digitally (and if digitally, using what software).

• • How long you will normally expect them to spend on a homework assignment.

• • How, and how often, homework will be checked.

• • Whether homework assignments form a part of their final grade for the course (see Tip 45).

• • How punctual they are expected to be with submitting assignments, and what happens if they are late.

It saves a lot of misunderstandings and arguments later if such things are clear from the start, and observed consistently throughout the course.

Sometimes it happens that you find a rule you laid out at the beginning of the course about homework – or, indeed, about anything else – isn't working very well in practice.