Introduction (continued)
When I began student teaching in the fall, before I began thinking about my inquiry question, I was constantly worried about forgetting to include materials for my lesson plans so I decided to make a homework packet shown on the right) to help me stay on track. I have frequently used this practice throughout my student teaching. They served not only as an organizational tool for me but, as it turned out, for my students as well. The term “homework packet,” however, is misleading because portions of each packet would be worked on in class as notes or guided practice, and the remainder of the packet would be for independent practice.
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For students who often misplaced papers there was incentive to hold onto their packets until they were collected because students received points just for keeping track of their packet for a week. For my own personal advantage, the process of making the homework packet forced me to plan and organize my materials for the unit. As a result, I had a clear idea of where I was going with my students, and the students could also see what content would be covered in upcoming classes by flipping through the packet.
Whenever I gave out a new packet I made sure the pages were numbered and I had students practice identifying the page I wanted them to turn to by asking them to find pages and identify the heading on that particular page. Homework packets seemed to provide students with an incentive to keep it in a safe place so they would not misplace it. Students seemed eager for me to collect their packets; they constantly asked when I would be collecting the packets even if I had already given them a due date. This suggested that my students were concerned and they did not want to miss the time for packet collection. On the other hand, the packets did not appear to have as noticeable an effect on homework completion. Students were more likely to have their packets in class, but the presence of their packet did not mean that they did the assigned homework. Since the packets were usually used for a week at a time I used stamps to check homework. I noticed that many students would try to get credit for homework at the end of class when I had already checked homework at the beginning of class. The lack of homework completion was more noticeable when I graded the homework packets. Blank pages in packets were indicative of students not doing homework or students not taking notes and following along during class time.
In addition to my concerns about homework, my students also expressed individual concerns about the grading of homework. Students repeatedly vocalized concerns about doing assigned homework but not seeing a reflection of their effort contributing to their grade because homework was graded on accuracy. Grading homework based on accuracy seemed to demotivate and reinforce some students’ decisions to not do the homework because students felt that regardless of their decision to do homework, their grade would drop (assuming they did poorly on the assignment). Initially my intent was to try to build a homework culture that utilized self and peer assessment, but my Penn mentor and I soon realized that my journals were taking my inquiry in a different direction. My artifacts were not addressing the peer and self-assessment component of my initial inquiry question, “What happens to students’ learning when a teacher uses homework to facilitate peer and self assessment?” but rather the exploration of how homework might augment student learning. I was most curious about the existence of a relationship between homework assignments and academic achievement and whether students understand the use of homework. Thus, my original inquiry question, “What happens to students’ learning when a teacher uses homework to facilitate peer and self assessment?” was transformed to “Should homework be eliminated?” My revised question allowed me to further explore the homework culture in my classroom through the lens of my students’ beliefs.
In addition to my concerns about homework, my students also expressed individual concerns about the grading of homework. Students repeatedly vocalized concerns about doing assigned homework but not seeing a reflection of their effort contributing to their grade because homework was graded on accuracy. Grading homework based on accuracy seemed to demotivate and reinforce some students’ decisions to not do the homework because students felt that regardless of their decision to do homework, their grade would drop (assuming they did poorly on the assignment). Initially my intent was to try to build a homework culture that utilized self and peer assessment, but my Penn mentor and I soon realized that my journals were taking my inquiry in a different direction. My artifacts were not addressing the peer and self-assessment component of my initial inquiry question, “What happens to students’ learning when a teacher uses homework to facilitate peer and self assessment?” but rather the exploration of how homework might augment student learning. I was most curious about the existence of a relationship between homework assignments and academic achievement and whether students understand the use of homework. Thus, my original inquiry question, “What happens to students’ learning when a teacher uses homework to facilitate peer and self assessment?” was transformed to “Should homework be eliminated?” My revised question allowed me to further explore the homework culture in my classroom through the lens of my students’ beliefs.