Perceptions of homework: Inside the Tick Box

If you’ve spent more than a minute working in education, you’ll know that homework is a hot topic for debate. But what are the perceptions of homework amongst teachers and parents, and is the way we’re seeing homework the biggest obstacle to succeeding with it?

In part 1 of a 3-part series of blogs on homework, we set up a roundtable discussion with Sir Kevan Collins, education leader and ex-England Education Recovery Commissioner; year 5/6 teacher and teacher-voice ambassador Sophie Bartlett and her colleague year 3 /4 teacher Rebecca Buckland. Heather Abela, parent and senior team member at Learning by Questions chaired the discussion:

Sophie: I didn’t really want to set homework because it felt like it was onerous for the teachers’ workload and it didn’t have much of an impact. The children that really needed it weren’t getting the support at home to do it, and the children that didn’t necessarily need the extra help would do it. And if we were going to properly differentiate it would take ages to do that.

“If you don’t know what’s going to have impact… you’re just doing it to tick a box.”

Rebecca: If you’re not very experienced in setting homework, you don’t generally know what’s going to have the greatest impact, you’re just going to photocopy random print worksheets or use education websites that are quick and easy, and that will be boring for half the kids and really hard for the other half. And ultimately, you’re just doing it to tick a box.

Kevan: Then teachers have the homework coming back at them and they’re thinking that ‘I’m going to need to mark this,’ And that can be soul destroying. 80% of the work is usually correct - it’s not a good use of a teachers’ time to just tick through that. We’ve been through some madness about marking too; the triple marking stands out in particular, and that just solidifies this perception that homework is a complete drain on teachers’ time, to very little end.

Heather: Is the issue that teachers know that homework or independent study is good in theory? Theoretically, it makes sense. But in practice, it’s just not that simple.

“Technology should deal with a lot of it for you…and give the kids some immediate feedback.”

Kevan: It’s an area where there’s actually been a lot of research and we know that there is a positive effect from doing independent work. If you’ve got the right conditions, even the disadvantaged children do pretty well. It’s one of the few things that can help narrow gaps. But as with everything, it’s not what you do, it’s the way that you do it. Technology should deal with a lot of it for you...and give the kids some immediate feedback.

Sophie: Some Year 6 parents are frustrated that homework isn’t on technology because that’s what secondary schools do. But there were also parents who complained that the homework was not on paper, because that’s what they did when they were at school. On the one hand, tech is a skill pupils will need, on the other, parents can see a completed piece of paper. They can’t necessarily see what’s online, especially if the computer is in the kid’s room. The use of tech for homework is an education piece for parents, as well as for pupils.

Related content:

Logistics of homework: theory vs reality with Sir Kevan Collins & Sophie Bartlett

The hallmarks of effective homework with Sir Kevan Collins & Sophie Batlett

“Perhaps education is lagging in having this conversation with parents. There’s a legitimate opportunity here.”

Kevan: The evidence from studies indicates that, on average, where technology is used for homework, it has a bigger effect on progress. Perhaps education is lagging in having this conversation with parents. There’s a legitimate opportunity here to sit at a computer with your child and do something together.

Rebecca: Yeah, a lot of the parents do like seeing what the kids are doing. Many enjoy being able to help and are engaged in their child’s learning. You don’t want to deny them that opportunity. They can kind of be our helpers from home.

Heather: In some cases, parents, they rally against the idea of homework altogether. They believe in letting ‘kids be kids’ when they’re at home.

Sophie: Yeah we’ve got mixed in our school.

Rebecca: We have both ends of the spectrum very much in our classroom.

“It sets up an idea that life is in two parts - joy and work.”

Kevan: I’m interested in the idea that parents say ‘No, when they come home, they don’t work, they play.’ It sets up an idea that life is in two parts - joy and work. What we really know is that those people who mix the two are the most successful in everything they do. That was maybe the parents' own experiences, but we can’t fall into that way of thinking.

Kevan: The problem here is the perception of all involved that work and progress only happens when you’re sitting behind a desk, or kitchen table, which is short sighted. For example, in Key Stage 1, asking children to connect what they’re doing to their own experiences is fantastic for their progress. When they’re out shopping with mum and dad, the maths involved can be highlighted, connecting the idea that what you do in life can be brought back to the classroom. You can continue to explore the world and develop knowledge in all sorts of places - in fact, it’s a good learning habit to see opportunities for learning anywhere and everywhere.

Sophie: Rebecca and I went on a course a couple of years ago and they were discussing the idea that when a child learns, they can associate it with one environment. So if they’ve learned something in Rebecca’s classroom in Year 3 or 4, they know it really well. But when they move to a new classroom in Year 5 and 6, suddenly, they’ve forgotten it because they learned it in that seat, with that teacher, looking at that board. Making connections is so important.

“It’s about working independently, and of course, in all the high stakes moments, you are on your own.”

Kevan: Yes, in fact, what is ‘knowing’ really? It means you can explore the knowledge and employ it in all sorts of different places and the change in location shouldn’t cause it to unravel. I think that’s something you see in really high-achieving children. They have education confidence because they’re flexible in their knowledge. I think homework is just a place where you’re doing your independent work. A home is a location, it doesn’t define the kind of learning. It’s about working independently, and of course, in all the high stakes moments, you are on your own. When it comes to GCSEs, you’re on your own.

Rebecca: I think by Year 3 or 4, you’re definitely trying to get them into good habits when it comes to independent learning. We start the habit of reading really early. That’s probably the one that carries on the longest as an independent activity; consider the language of ‘reading for pleasure’. It’s seen as something you should be doing throughout your life. Maths, on the other hand, you wouldn’t think about enjoying maths and digging into some maths at home. The percentage of the population who consider that maths can be for pleasure is tiny. It’s important to create that as a habit too. It requires a shifting of mindset.

Escaping the Tick Box

• Research shows that independent study does have a positive effect if it is closely connected to the lesson.

• Differentiating the tasks for each pupil makes it more impactful.

• Technology should be doing a lot of the heavy lifting for you in terms of creating, setting and marking homework.

• Parents can be ‘helpers from home’ if they understand the opportunity technology affords them and their children to engage together.

• Don’t think of it as homework, that’s just a location. Independent study is the activity, and practising objectives in lots of different environments embeds the learning.

• Pupils must have developed great independent study skills if they want to perform well in summative assessments.

• Nurture the idea that work and play are not two separate activities. They are always intertwined, and richer for it.

**Homework with LbQ is less 'work for at home' and more 'lessons without limits'. Find out more. **