Making HW work!

Making HW valuable!

I recently read a book called 'Unhomework' by Mark Creasy which really has changed the way I set HW and increased the number of high quality completions I receive in lesson.

The book suggests that longer length, more creative HW inspires students and gets them to engage more in the learning at home process. The ultimate theory is that if students take ownership of the HW process then they want to complete it. Tired of setting short, meaningless tasks which he then had to chase up and set sanctions for, the author has instead re-evaluated the purpose of HW and how to make it valuable. The book suggests some radical ideas which I must admit I have not tried yet but hope in the new school year to train up students to develop this. These include getting the students to set their own HW projects each term. However some of the more simple and easy ideas I have used include;

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      Giving students an option from a range of HWs. I love this HW chart which I have stolen from a great teacher online at teachertoolkit (http://iteach101.wordpress.com/)

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-          Making HW a big deal! If you set a HW over a number of weeks then you can keep referring to it and building up your excitement of the approaching deadline. HW policy is non-negotiable and students have to do it or receive a sanction but if it is simply collected in by a teacher without a glance, smile or thank you then why would the student bother next time? If however the teacher makes a big song and dance, seems excited by the HW set and is enthusiastic to receive it then the student feels valued and will be keen to impress in future.

-          Giving students a mark scheme. This could be created in lesson by the students once you set the task. However to start with it might be useful to create them in advance. The mark scheme means you can ask students to peer assess themselves or bring in HW for AfL and then extend the final deadline by a week to amend and make any improvements.

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-          Display the HW. If possible reward the student by hanging up work on the wall, decorating a table or even taking a picture of all the class’s HW printing off and getting students to stick in their book as a celebration (this is especially useful for 3D and larger projects which cannot be stuck in books).

-          and finally - Reward!

Some of these ideas are very simple but by taking the time to re-evaluate the HW process and also my teaching I have noticed an improvement in the quality of HW received. Here are a couple of examples to share with you;