homework implementations follow-up (pd 2)
Since I made changes to the homework practices in my second period class I thought student feedback would be valuable for my understanding of how these changes were affecting students’ perceptions of homework. I created a survey (Artifact 11A) with a list of possible changes that could be made to homework, and I asked students to check all implementations that apply to Ms. Wang’s class. I used the term “possible changes” because not all of the listed changes were actually implemented in class. The purpose of this artifact was to determine whether students know what changes or implementations I have made to homework over time. In the second section of the survey I wanted students to rate each of their self-identified changes (what they checked) and explain whether the change was beneficial for them. I thought this survey would provide me with more data about the possibilities that certain homework implementations are perceived by students as more beneficial for their learning or provided more motivation for doing homework. If students recognize a teacher (myself in this case) is working towards utilizing homework to reinforce student learning as opposed to potentially negative associations with homework then perhaps homework becomes no longer a “waste of time” (Artifact 2A). Therefore, if students do state on the survey that certain homework implementations are beneficial for their learning then what reason is there to eliminate homework?
In hindsight, I should have modified the layout of the follow-up survey (Artifact 11A) because the directions for the second portion of the survey were not crystal clear from the outset. As I created the survey I deliberately wrote out somewhat lengthy directions for each section based on student confusion with past surveys I created. For students who prefer verbal directions, I read the directions aloud and I gave examples of how an explanation could start for the written response section. As I walked around the room I noticed that many students only rated the checked implementations when the directions read “For each of the homework changes you checked, please rate each based on whether you thought the change was helpful for you then explain why or how it helped you! (circle “did not check” if you did not check the change above; 1 is not helpful at all; 10 is very helpful).” I ended up asking students individually to make sure they explained their ratings, and even then many students only stated what the change was. For example, one student rated 9 out of 10 for “more time for homework” because “you give us time for when we don’t get something.” The rating helps me understand whether this implementation was useful for this particular student but it does not tell me how it helped him. Did he in fact “get” the something with more time?
I need to note that I did not include change 8, “no homework,” in the second section of the survey due to oversight so there are no ratings for that particular implementation. Since the student responses address different concerns I decided to turn my focus to an analysis only of whether or not my students could identify the changes I made to homework in addition to their respective ratings of these changes and the implications their responses have on my inquiry. I think it is important to determine whether students are aware of experimentations with homework in their class because student cognizance and understanding of homework is crucial to the study of homework, a student centered activity. The widespread school absences during my research made it challenging to track which students were present for announcements about changes to homework, however the long-term implementation of homework practices allowed me to check in with individual students about changes to homework.
Possible changes #1, 2, 5, 6, 7, and 9 were the only homework implementations in my chemistry class. Student responses indicate the subjectivity of homework especially when the implementations, “more difficult assignments” and “easier assignments,” are examined. The perception of easier or more difficult homework is completely dependent upon individual student’s understanding of class material. Although students checked off “more difficult assignments” and “easier assignments” many more students responded that I have given them easier homework assignments. I am wondering what implications this has on the effectiveness of instructional time during class and student engagement in class. From a teacher’s perspective I chose homework worksheets that aligned with class instruction. My focus was not directly on the ease of the assignments but on the content covered on the homework, but student identified changes suggest that student perceptions can be quite different from the teacher’s. As shown in Artifact 11A, at least 3 or more students checked each of the possible implementations. The student responses to the Chemistry Homework #1 Follow-Up Survey are thought-provoking yet not completely surprising.
The ratings of the homework implementations generally did not surprise me because of the comments and previous survey responses I received in class. While I was tweaking the survey I thought that I might get some responses for changes to homework that I did not actually implement in class. The responses strongly suggest that different students perceived different changes to homework, and student responses are also dependent upon how engaged each student was when I discussed homework in class. Implementation #10 (Optional HW (does affect grade)) was one of the responses that startled me because I thought my students knew that optional homework would not affect their grade since it was not being graded only given feedback for those students who chose to do it. Seven out of 29 students checking implementation #10 is rather significant considering the innumerable complaints I heard in class concerning student frustration with the no grading policy for optional homework. Many students tried to convince me to grade the optional homework or provide extra credit for completing the optional homework.
If the practice of homework was unclear or up for interpretation by individual students in class then the answer to “should homework be eliminated” would be completely dependent upon how each student and how the teacher perceives the role of homework in the classroom. For students who begin to see the benefits of doing or having homework, perhaps homework could become a key piece towards broadening and deepening students’ level of understanding of content knowledge and successful learning strategies. For students who fail to associate any personal benefits from homework, perhaps the elimination of homework would make no real difference to their learning. I believe that as long as homework is benefiting some students and not harming any students, it should not be eliminated from school practice. My vision of a system that would benefit all students would be to provide optional homework that is not graded but only marked with feedback aimed to further enhance student learning.
In hindsight, I should have modified the layout of the follow-up survey (Artifact 11A) because the directions for the second portion of the survey were not crystal clear from the outset. As I created the survey I deliberately wrote out somewhat lengthy directions for each section based on student confusion with past surveys I created. For students who prefer verbal directions, I read the directions aloud and I gave examples of how an explanation could start for the written response section. As I walked around the room I noticed that many students only rated the checked implementations when the directions read “For each of the homework changes you checked, please rate each based on whether you thought the change was helpful for you then explain why or how it helped you! (circle “did not check” if you did not check the change above; 1 is not helpful at all; 10 is very helpful).” I ended up asking students individually to make sure they explained their ratings, and even then many students only stated what the change was. For example, one student rated 9 out of 10 for “more time for homework” because “you give us time for when we don’t get something.” The rating helps me understand whether this implementation was useful for this particular student but it does not tell me how it helped him. Did he in fact “get” the something with more time?
I need to note that I did not include change 8, “no homework,” in the second section of the survey due to oversight so there are no ratings for that particular implementation. Since the student responses address different concerns I decided to turn my focus to an analysis only of whether or not my students could identify the changes I made to homework in addition to their respective ratings of these changes and the implications their responses have on my inquiry. I think it is important to determine whether students are aware of experimentations with homework in their class because student cognizance and understanding of homework is crucial to the study of homework, a student centered activity. The widespread school absences during my research made it challenging to track which students were present for announcements about changes to homework, however the long-term implementation of homework practices allowed me to check in with individual students about changes to homework.
Possible changes #1, 2, 5, 6, 7, and 9 were the only homework implementations in my chemistry class. Student responses indicate the subjectivity of homework especially when the implementations, “more difficult assignments” and “easier assignments,” are examined. The perception of easier or more difficult homework is completely dependent upon individual student’s understanding of class material. Although students checked off “more difficult assignments” and “easier assignments” many more students responded that I have given them easier homework assignments. I am wondering what implications this has on the effectiveness of instructional time during class and student engagement in class. From a teacher’s perspective I chose homework worksheets that aligned with class instruction. My focus was not directly on the ease of the assignments but on the content covered on the homework, but student identified changes suggest that student perceptions can be quite different from the teacher’s. As shown in Artifact 11A, at least 3 or more students checked each of the possible implementations. The student responses to the Chemistry Homework #1 Follow-Up Survey are thought-provoking yet not completely surprising.
The ratings of the homework implementations generally did not surprise me because of the comments and previous survey responses I received in class. While I was tweaking the survey I thought that I might get some responses for changes to homework that I did not actually implement in class. The responses strongly suggest that different students perceived different changes to homework, and student responses are also dependent upon how engaged each student was when I discussed homework in class. Implementation #10 (Optional HW (does affect grade)) was one of the responses that startled me because I thought my students knew that optional homework would not affect their grade since it was not being graded only given feedback for those students who chose to do it. Seven out of 29 students checking implementation #10 is rather significant considering the innumerable complaints I heard in class concerning student frustration with the no grading policy for optional homework. Many students tried to convince me to grade the optional homework or provide extra credit for completing the optional homework.
If the practice of homework was unclear or up for interpretation by individual students in class then the answer to “should homework be eliminated” would be completely dependent upon how each student and how the teacher perceives the role of homework in the classroom. For students who begin to see the benefits of doing or having homework, perhaps homework could become a key piece towards broadening and deepening students’ level of understanding of content knowledge and successful learning strategies. For students who fail to associate any personal benefits from homework, perhaps the elimination of homework would make no real difference to their learning. I believe that as long as homework is benefiting some students and not harming any students, it should not be eliminated from school practice. My vision of a system that would benefit all students would be to provide optional homework that is not graded but only marked with feedback aimed to further enhance student learning.