So I've been debacling about homework for a while now...
At our end of year meetings, our principal basically challenged us to increase the rigor in our courses. He showed grades of students in the same classes with high grades where one student missed 25-30 days and the other missed 1-3. How can student miss so much and still do so well? He also showed the grade distribution of our elementary, middle school, and high school. We have 30-39% with A's which shows a lot of inflation in our grades.
Simultaneously, I felt convicted for not giving homework but also indignant that I don't want to inflate grades with work they may or may not have done.
This is what I've come up with so far:
I'm going to give homework.
I'm going to post answers.
I'm not going to grade it.
I am going to record it.
This makes me feel the best overall. I am giving students extra practice. I am giving the students extra opportunities for learning. I am holding students accountable. I am preparing students for college.
I am not giving points for copying. I am not hassling students to finish or turn in papers. I am not spending hours grading. I am not inflating grades.
I remember reading someone's rule where they ask students to set the timer for 15 minutes. Work hard on homework for 15 minutes and then stop. I also like that. I do not want students sitting at home frustrated or crying over math.
I asked twitter for some advice on when to post answers to homework and here's some responses:
@misscalcul8 I usually put scrambled answers at bottom of HW page. Added bonus is figuring out which ones have accidental typos (or mathos)— Meg Craig (@mathymeg07) May 26, 2016
I post in advance so students can check homework solutions as they work. I don't grade hw though, that may change your decision @misscalcul8— Jennifer Abel (@abel_jennifer) May 26, 2016
posting answers in advance did not result in kids coping. If they don't care enough to do hw, they don't care enough to cheat @misscalcul8— Jennifer Abel (@abel_jennifer) May 26, 201
@misscalcul8 I used to post it the night of for students to check— All Things Algebra (@AllThingsAlg) May 26, 2016
@misscalcul8 the night I make the assignment— Jonathan (@rawrdimus) May 27, 2016
I'm thinking I will post them daily at 3:15.
Here's where I would like some help. The middle school math teacher does something similar. Homework is not graded but the next day there is a homework quiz over the exact same problems. So if a students does the homework, they are prepared for the quiz. If a student doesn't need to do the homework, they aren't punished for that and they can still do well on the quiz.
I hate grading. So I'm thinking only one problem for the quiz and still have regular quizzes? Or should I do those on a daily basis and eliminate other quizzes?
Maybe even have students answer it in Google Classroom once I figure out how to make it grade it for me?
What benefits and advantages do you see to this method?
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