Traditionally, math homework has played a major part in the relationship between teachers and students. The teacher assigns the homework and the student completes it (or the dog eats it). It has been simple – math homework is due every day or every week.
In my experience, the issue of homework has become more stressful for teachers than it has been in the past. In some cases, most of the students in the class are not completing the homework at all. Or some teachers receive notes and messages from parents about a developed frustration over the assignment. This results in a complete dislike of the entire set of math standards being taught today. Those frustrations hit me hard after a few years in the classroom. Through trial and error and hearing what works for other teachers, five important details to keep in mind stand out when deciding on what math homework to assign students:
- Quality vs. Quantity
- Purpose
- Frequency
- Motivation
- Style
If you’re looking for ways to change up your math homework assignments, check out the five tips below.
1. Quality vs. Quantity
Remember the good old saying that less is more? When it comes to assigning math homework to your students, the saying is true. Homework does not have to be 20 multiplication problems to see if students understand what they have learned in class. There is some confidence in the fact that if students can solve 20 math problems then they understand the concept. But do they really need to solve 20 of the same problems? What about two or three similar problems? Can the student solve a few and then explain their thinking of how they solved it? The focus of their understanding should be on the process and not necessarily on the procedure.
Opposite of that, what if students don’t fully understand the concept? Now they have 20 problems to solve that they may still find confusing. They might practice incorrectly solving a math problem 20 different times. If they’ve practiced it incorrectly multiple times, it may be harder to break the misconceptions that have been formed.
Try This: Think about math homework that includes 1 – 5 quality problems. This allows you to see what students can do on their own with what they’ve learned in class. It gives them the opportunity to solve and/or explain their process of solving. Now you have more insight on whether or not their foundation in a concept is firm. Also, you now know what other misconceptions they may still have.
2. Determine the Purpose of the Math Homework
Are you giving math homework that covers content that students just learned that same day? Is the homework you assign reviewing skills that students learned last week, last month, or even last year? Are you giving homework that is differentiated to support each child’s learning based on their individual strengths and needs for improvement? What is the purpose behind each piece of homework you give? Is it just busy work or does it hold value?
Try This: Giving each math homework assignment a purpose will help both you and your students stay focused on an end goal. If the goal is to strengthen skills that they are lacking from the previous year, assign homework that will build on that foundational skill. Let the parents (and student if age appropriate) know what type of homework they are getting and why. While working on adding and subtracting fractions with unlike denominators in grade 5, some students may still struggle with finding common denominators which connects to understanding multiples, a skill they practiced in grade 4. Assigning homework strategically that supports that skill and what they do know will help those students far better than them going home and trying to solve adding and subtracting fractions with unlike denominators and most likely getting all of the problems wrong. Think about setting your students up for success.
3. Determine the Frequency of the Math Homework
Let’s talk about busy work again. Do you require math homework each night or is it your school or district that sets the requirements? Do parents request it to keep their children busy at home or is it used for them to practice responsibility. Does the child do their own homework or does the parent do it for them? Can you even tell?
Many times teachers get into a habit of giving multiple pages or packets of homework that are due at the end of the week. This sometimes means that students go an entire week where they are practicing a skill, possibly with no feedback from anyone, and getting the answers wrong. At times, teachers may not check the homework for accuracy, but only for completeness. This is another opportunity for misconceptions to arise with individual students and not get much support in fixing the gaps in their understanding.
Try This: If a full page of problems is too much to check in class everyday, try only assigning 1 – 5 problems and choosing 1 or 2 to be checked in class. Another option may be having the students check each other’s work in class the following day. Or you can have answer keys around the room and children can go and check to see if they are correct with their work. There are many possible solutions out there. If those options still take up too much time, maybe only assign homework 1 – 2 days a week or every other day. Check to see if there are homework requirements in your school, county, or district. If you have autonomy in that area, make adjustments based on your students’ needs. Reflect if the homework is actually bringing value to your students.
In the book, Visible Learning for Mathematics (2017), when discussing the results of his meta-analyses of What Works Best to Optimize Student Learning, John Hattie explains that there is only an effect size of 0.10 (elementary school) on the barometer for influence of homework on student learning. The goal is 0.40 which indicates one year’s worth of growth. Even with this knowledge that we have now, teachers everywhere still assign homework each night or each week based on what they have always done traditionally and not necessarily on what brings value to what their students need.
4. Motivate Students with Rewards
Students like to earn rewards. Adults like to earn rewards too (hello paycheck and bonuses). Set up your math homework system in a way where students see a benefit in doing their homework. Yes we know that learning should be the ultimate benefit of doing homework. But this does not always work when there are video games and toys competing for students’ attention when they are at home. Some students get excited when their teacher marks a star or check at the top of their paper after working hard the evening before. Others want to earn stickers or points for every homework sheet they complete. Some enjoy that time spent with a parent or older sibling. Some enjoy being the one to check others’ homework in class while others are completely satisfied with knowing that they mastered a skill that they learned in class the previous day.
Try this: Whatever it may be, find out what works for your class and individual students (they all usually don’t want the same thing). Yes this can be tedious in the beginning but set up a system that becomes more automatic for your classroom. Take the time now so that the learning pays off later.
5. Don’t Always Give Traditional Math Homework
Do some students start the year off strong with completing their homework but then waver as the year goes on? Maybe some students don’t have a great start at all and are immediately discouraged by the looks of the assigned homework pages or problems.
Try this: Math Homework can also be a fun activity. Have students practice on their logic and reasoning skills by trying to solve a number puzzle or a game like sudoku. Teach them a fun way to practice their math facts (not just boring flashcards) and send the materials and instructions home for parents to use (or send parents to a website where they can print and cut the materials if they are able to). Let kids check out some of your math games and return them with a reflection on what they’ve learned or improved their learning on. Assign a sorting activity to practice understanding of math vocabulary or a specific concept instead of just practice problems. There are so many math games and activities out there and you don’t have to limit the use in your classroom just for fun Fridays.
Try it or share it
So maybe you’ve done or heard of one or two of the tips I’ve listed. Maybe you haven’t, however, math homework has not been an issue in your classroom. What successes or struggles have you encountered with your students when it comes to assigning homework?
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