what i learned
In my short time at Northeast as a student teacher, there is only so much I could try to do, especially since I am new to the profession. Although I am the teacher in my classroom, my action research has taught me a lot about my students, teacher action research, and my comfort zone for carrying out research. I tried my best to understand the small group of students I had this year, but I need to remember that what students choose to do outside of my classroom is largely out of my control. I think this has been the most challenging factor during my analysis of homework thus far. In my student teaching practice I did not believe that homework had been valuable to the majority of my students, but in my research many students claimed that homework helps them practice what they learn, reinforce what they learn, and prepare for assessments. Consequently, if students see benefits of homework towards their learning, then homework should not be eliminated. Additionally, I need to continuously remind myself that qualitative data can be just as meaningful and powerful as quantitative data. I realized that I was always brainstorming ways to collect quantitative data while brushing qualitative data to the side. Jackson (2007) proved to me that the anecdotal evidence he included in “Homework Inoculation and the Limits of Research” made his claim strong especially when collaborated with his quantitative data.
There is something powerful about teacher action research even if individual teachers lack the same public reputation as academic researchers. As David Skinner pointed out, the arguments presented by Etta Kralovec and John Buell in The End of Homework was not centered on classroom experience (Noll, YEAR, p. 336). More importantly, after carrying out my own teacher action research I do not believe that any one homework practice can be generalized for students in the United States or anywhere else. The unique characteristics of the culture of each class will bring different challenges to the implementation of homework.
Another idea from the Sallee & Rigler (2008) article I thought was significant focused on how teachers should be familiar with the struggle that students face trying to juggle the different aspects of their lives because “teachers too struggle to get their work done to prepare for the next day of school” (p. 46). As the authors mentioned, the amount of time students dedicate to non-school activities each day “directly affects the amount of focused time they are able to give to homework completion” (Salle & Rigler, 2008, p. 48). I know as a student and teacher this past academic year that it can definitely be challenging to get everything I need to get done. All the times I have wished I didn’t have so many things to do shouldn’t I try to be sensitive towards the responsibilities that fall onto my students everyday? This is one of the main reasons I wanted to explore homework in secondary education. Sallee & Rigler (2008) state, “Effective homework benefits students by taking into account their individual differences, while offering teachers greater control in their planning” (p. 51), and I think the individual differences are what make homework such an intriguing yet complex practice.
There is something powerful about teacher action research even if individual teachers lack the same public reputation as academic researchers. As David Skinner pointed out, the arguments presented by Etta Kralovec and John Buell in The End of Homework was not centered on classroom experience (Noll, YEAR, p. 336). More importantly, after carrying out my own teacher action research I do not believe that any one homework practice can be generalized for students in the United States or anywhere else. The unique characteristics of the culture of each class will bring different challenges to the implementation of homework.
Another idea from the Sallee & Rigler (2008) article I thought was significant focused on how teachers should be familiar with the struggle that students face trying to juggle the different aspects of their lives because “teachers too struggle to get their work done to prepare for the next day of school” (p. 46). As the authors mentioned, the amount of time students dedicate to non-school activities each day “directly affects the amount of focused time they are able to give to homework completion” (Salle & Rigler, 2008, p. 48). I know as a student and teacher this past academic year that it can definitely be challenging to get everything I need to get done. All the times I have wished I didn’t have so many things to do shouldn’t I try to be sensitive towards the responsibilities that fall onto my students everyday? This is one of the main reasons I wanted to explore homework in secondary education. Sallee & Rigler (2008) state, “Effective homework benefits students by taking into account their individual differences, while offering teachers greater control in their planning” (p. 51), and I think the individual differences are what make homework such an intriguing yet complex practice.