how does homework teach students to be responsible

Does Homework Really Help Students Learn?

A conversation with a Wheelock researcher, a BU student, and a fourth-grade teacher

“Quality homework is engaging and relevant to kids’ lives,” says Wheelock’s Janine Bempechat. “It gives them autonomy and engages them in the community and with their families. In some subjects, like math, worksheets can be very helpful. It has to do with the value of practicing over and over.” Photo by iStock/Glenn Cook Photography

Do your homework.

If only it were that simple.

Educators have debated the merits of homework since the late 19th century. In recent years, amid concerns of some parents and teachers that children are being stressed out by too much homework, things have only gotten more fraught.

“Homework is complicated,” says developmental psychologist Janine Bempechat, a Wheelock College of Education & Human Development clinical professor. The author of the essay “ The Case for (Quality) Homework—Why It Improves Learning and How Parents Can Help ” in the winter 2019 issue of Education Next , Bempechat has studied how the debate about homework is influencing teacher preparation, parent and student beliefs about learning, and school policies.

She worries especially about socioeconomically disadvantaged students from low-performing schools who, according to research by Bempechat and others, get little or no homework.

BU Today  sat down with Bempechat and Erin Bruce (Wheelock’17,’18), a new fourth-grade teacher at a suburban Boston school, and future teacher freshman Emma Ardizzone (Wheelock) to talk about what quality homework looks like, how it can help children learn, and how schools can equip teachers to design it, evaluate it, and facilitate parents’ role in it.

BU Today: Parents and educators who are against homework in elementary school say there is no research definitively linking it to academic performance for kids in the early grades. You’ve said that they’re missing the point.

Bempechat : I think teachers assign homework in elementary school as a way to help kids develop skills they’ll need when they’re older—to begin to instill a sense of responsibility and to learn planning and organizational skills. That’s what I think is the greatest value of homework—in cultivating beliefs about learning and skills associated with academic success. If we greatly reduce or eliminate homework in elementary school, we deprive kids and parents of opportunities to instill these important learning habits and skills.

We do know that beginning in late middle school, and continuing through high school, there is a strong and positive correlation between homework completion and academic success.

That’s what I think is the greatest value of homework—in cultivating beliefs about learning and skills associated with academic success.

You talk about the importance of quality homework. What is that?

Quality homework is engaging and relevant to kids’ lives. It gives them autonomy and engages them in the community and with their families. In some subjects, like math, worksheets can be very helpful. It has to do with the value of practicing over and over.

What are your concerns about homework and low-income children?

The argument that some people make—that homework “punishes the poor” because lower-income parents may not be as well-equipped as affluent parents to help their children with homework—is very troubling to me. There are no parents who don’t care about their children’s learning. Parents don’t actually have to help with homework completion in order for kids to do well. They can help in other ways—by helping children organize a study space, providing snacks, being there as a support, helping children work in groups with siblings or friends.

Isn’t the discussion about getting rid of homework happening mostly in affluent communities?

Yes, and the stories we hear of kids being stressed out from too much homework—four or five hours of homework a night—are real. That’s problematic for physical and mental health and overall well-being. But the research shows that higher-income students get a lot more homework than lower-income kids.

Teachers may not have as high expectations for lower-income children. Schools should bear responsibility for providing supports for kids to be able to get their homework done—after-school clubs, community support, peer group support. It does kids a disservice when our expectations are lower for them.

The conversation around homework is to some extent a social class and social justice issue. If we eliminate homework for all children because affluent children have too much, we’re really doing a disservice to low-income children. They need the challenge, and every student can rise to the challenge with enough supports in place.

What did you learn by studying how education schools are preparing future teachers to handle homework?

My colleague, Margarita Jimenez-Silva, at the University of California, Davis, School of Education, and I interviewed faculty members at education schools, as well as supervising teachers, to find out how students are being prepared. And it seemed that they weren’t. There didn’t seem to be any readings on the research, or conversations on what high-quality homework is and how to design it.

Erin, what kind of training did you get in handling homework?

Bruce : I had phenomenal professors at Wheelock, but homework just didn’t come up. I did lots of student teaching. I’ve been in classrooms where the teachers didn’t assign any homework, and I’ve been in rooms where they assigned hours of homework a night. But I never even considered homework as something that was my decision. I just thought it was something I’d pull out of a book and it’d be done.

I started giving homework on the first night of school this year. My first assignment was to go home and draw a picture of the room where you do your homework. I want to know if it’s at a table and if there are chairs around it and if mom’s cooking dinner while you’re doing homework.

The second night I asked them to talk to a grown-up about how are you going to be able to get your homework done during the week. The kids really enjoyed it. There’s a running joke that I’m teaching life skills.

Friday nights, I read all my kids’ responses to me on their homework from the week and it’s wonderful. They pour their hearts out. It’s like we’re having a conversation on my couch Friday night.

It matters to know that the teacher cares about you and that what you think matters to the teacher. Homework is a vehicle to connect home and school…for parents to know teachers are welcoming to them and their families.

Bempechat : I can’t imagine that most new teachers would have the intuition Erin had in designing homework the way she did.

Ardizzone : Conversations with kids about homework, feeling you’re being listened to—that’s such a big part of wanting to do homework….I grew up in Westchester County. It was a pretty demanding school district. My junior year English teacher—I loved her—she would give us feedback, have meetings with all of us. She’d say, “If you have any questions, if you have anything you want to talk about, you can talk to me, here are my office hours.” It felt like she actually cared.

Bempechat : It matters to know that the teacher cares about you and that what you think matters to the teacher. Homework is a vehicle to connect home and school…for parents to know teachers are welcoming to them and their families.

Ardizzone : But can’t it lead to parents being overbearing and too involved in their children’s lives as students?

Bempechat : There’s good help and there’s bad help. The bad help is what you’re describing—when parents hover inappropriately, when they micromanage, when they see their children confused and struggling and tell them what to do.

Good help is when parents recognize there’s a struggle going on and instead ask informative questions: “Where do you think you went wrong?” They give hints, or pointers, rather than saying, “You missed this,” or “You didn’t read that.”

Bruce : I hope something comes of this. I hope BU or Wheelock can think of some way to make this a more pressing issue. As a first-year teacher, it was not something I even thought about on the first day of school—until a kid raised his hand and said, “Do we have homework?” It would have been wonderful if I’d had a plan from day one.

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Sara Rimer A journalist for more than three decades, Sara Rimer worked at the Miami Herald , Washington Post and, for 26 years, the New York Times , where she was the New England bureau chief, and a national reporter covering education, aging, immigration, and other social justice issues. Her stories on the death penalty’s inequities were nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and cited in the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision outlawing the execution of people with intellectual disabilities. Her journalism honors include Columbia University’s Meyer Berger award for in-depth human interest reporting. She holds a BA degree in American Studies from the University of Michigan. Profile

She can be reached at [email protected] .

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There are 81 comments on Does Homework Really Help Students Learn?

Insightful! The values about homework in elementary schools are well aligned with my intuition as a parent.

when i finish my work i do my homework and i sometimes forget what to do because i did not get enough sleep

same omg it does not help me it is stressful and if I have it in more than one class I hate it.

Same I think my parent wants to help me but, she doesn’t care if I get bad grades so I just try my best and my grades are great.

I think that last question about Good help from parents is not know to all parents, we do as our parents did or how we best think it can be done, so maybe coaching parents or giving them resources on how to help with homework would be very beneficial for the parent on how to help and for the teacher to have consistency and improve homework results, and of course for the child. I do see how homework helps reaffirm the knowledge obtained in the classroom, I also have the ability to see progress and it is a time I share with my kids

The answer to the headline question is a no-brainer – a more pressing problem is why there is a difference in how students from different cultures succeed. Perfect example is the student population at BU – why is there a majority population of Asian students and only about 3% black students at BU? In fact at some universities there are law suits by Asians to stop discrimination and quotas against admitting Asian students because the real truth is that as a group they are demonstrating better qualifications for admittance, while at the same time there are quotas and reduced requirements for black students to boost their portion of the student population because as a group they do more poorly in meeting admissions standards – and it is not about the Benjamins. The real problem is that in our PC society no one has the gazuntas to explore this issue as it may reveal that all people are not created equal after all. Or is it just environmental cultural differences??????

I get you have a concern about the issue but that is not even what the point of this article is about. If you have an issue please take this to the site we have and only post your opinion about the actual topic

This is not at all what the article is talking about.

This literally has nothing to do with the article brought up. You should really take your opinions somewhere else before you speak about something that doesn’t make sense.

we have the same name

so they have the same name what of it?

lol you tell her

totally agree

What does that have to do with homework, that is not what the article talks about AT ALL.

Yes, I think homework plays an important role in the development of student life. Through homework, students have to face challenges on a daily basis and they try to solve them quickly.I am an intense online tutor at 24x7homeworkhelp and I give homework to my students at that level in which they handle it easily.

More than two-thirds of students said they used alcohol and drugs, primarily marijuana, to cope with stress.

You know what’s funny? I got this assignment to write an argument for homework about homework and this article was really helpful and understandable, and I also agree with this article’s point of view.

I also got the same task as you! I was looking for some good resources and I found this! I really found this article useful and easy to understand, just like you! ^^

i think that homework is the best thing that a child can have on the school because it help them with their thinking and memory.

I am a child myself and i think homework is a terrific pass time because i can’t play video games during the week. It also helps me set goals.

Homework is not harmful ,but it will if there is too much

I feel like, from a minors point of view that we shouldn’t get homework. Not only is the homework stressful, but it takes us away from relaxing and being social. For example, me and my friends was supposed to hang at the mall last week but we had to postpone it since we all had some sort of work to do. Our minds shouldn’t be focused on finishing an assignment that in realty, doesn’t matter. I completely understand that we should have homework. I have to write a paper on the unimportance of homework so thanks.

homework isn’t that bad

Are you a student? if not then i don’t really think you know how much and how severe todays homework really is

i am a student and i do not enjoy homework because i practice my sport 4 out of the five days we have school for 4 hours and that’s not even counting the commute time or the fact i still have to shower and eat dinner when i get home. its draining!

i totally agree with you. these people are such boomers

why just why

they do make a really good point, i think that there should be a limit though. hours and hours of homework can be really stressful, and the extra work isn’t making a difference to our learning, but i do believe homework should be optional and extra credit. that would make it for students to not have the leaning stress of a assignment and if you have a low grade you you can catch up.

Studies show that homework improves student achievement in terms of improved grades, test results, and the likelihood to attend college. Research published in the High School Journal indicates that students who spent between 31 and 90 minutes each day on homework “scored about 40 points higher on the SAT-Mathematics subtest than their peers, who reported spending no time on homework each day, on average.” On both standardized tests and grades, students in classes that were assigned homework outperformed 69% of students who didn’t have homework. A majority of studies on homework’s impact – 64% in one meta-study and 72% in another – showed that take home assignments were effective at improving academic achievement. Research by the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) concluded that increased homework led to better GPAs and higher probability of college attendance for high school boys. In fact, boys who attended college did more than three hours of additional homework per week in high school.

So how are your measuring student achievement? That’s the real question. The argument that doing homework is simply a tool for teaching responsibility isn’t enough for me. We can teach responsibility in a number of ways. Also the poor argument that parents don’t need to help with homework, and that students can do it on their own, is wishful thinking at best. It completely ignores neurodiverse students. Students in poverty aren’t magically going to find a space to do homework, a friend’s or siblings to help them do it, and snacks to eat. I feel like the author of this piece has never set foot in a classroom of students.

THIS. This article is pathetic coming from a university. So intellectually dishonest, refusing to address the havoc of capitalism and poverty plays on academic success in life. How can they in one sentence use poor kids in an argument and never once address that poor children have access to damn near 0 of the resources affluent kids have? Draw me a picture and let’s talk about feelings lmao what a joke is that gonna put food in their belly so they can have the calories to burn in order to use their brain to study? What about quiet their 7 other siblings that they share a single bedroom with for hours? Is it gonna force the single mom to magically be at home and at work at the same time to cook food while you study and be there to throw an encouraging word?

Also the “parents don’t need to be a parent and be able to guide their kid at all academically they just need to exist in the next room” is wild. Its one thing if a parent straight up is not equipped but to say kids can just figured it out is…. wow coming from an educator What’s next the teacher doesn’t need to teach cause the kid can just follow the packet and figure it out?

Well then get a tutor right? Oh wait you are poor only affluent kids can afford a tutor for their hours of homework a day were they on average have none of the worries a poor child does. Does this address that poor children are more likely to also suffer abuse and mental illness? Like mentioned what about kids that can’t learn or comprehend the forced standardized way? Just let em fail? These children regularly are not in “special education”(some of those are a joke in their own and full of neglect and abuse) programs cause most aren’t even acknowledged as having disabilities or disorders.

But yes all and all those pesky poor kids just aren’t being worked hard enough lol pretty sure poor children’s existence just in childhood is more work, stress, and responsibility alone than an affluent child’s entire life cycle. Love they never once talked about the quality of education in the classroom being so bad between the poor and affluent it can qualify as segregation, just basically blamed poor people for being lazy, good job capitalism for failing us once again!

why the hell?

you should feel bad for saying this, this article can be helpful for people who has to write a essay about it

This is more of a political rant than it is about homework

I know a teacher who has told his students their homework is to find something they are interested in, pursue it and then come share what they learn. The student responses are quite compelling. One girl taught herself German so she could talk to her grandfather. One boy did a research project on Nelson Mandela because the teacher had mentioned him in class. Another boy, a both on the autism spectrum, fixed his family’s computer. The list goes on. This is fourth grade. I think students are highly motivated to learn, when we step aside and encourage them.

The whole point of homework is to give the students a chance to use the material that they have been presented with in class. If they never have the opportunity to use that information, and discover that it is actually useful, it will be in one ear and out the other. As a science teacher, it is critical that the students are challenged to use the material they have been presented with, which gives them the opportunity to actually think about it rather than regurgitate “facts”. Well designed homework forces the student to think conceptually, as opposed to regurgitation, which is never a pretty sight

Wonderful discussion. and yes, homework helps in learning and building skills in students.

not true it just causes kids to stress

Homework can be both beneficial and unuseful, if you will. There are students who are gifted in all subjects in school and ones with disabilities. Why should the students who are gifted get the lucky break, whereas the people who have disabilities suffer? The people who were born with this “gift” go through school with ease whereas people with disabilities struggle with the work given to them. I speak from experience because I am one of those students: the ones with disabilities. Homework doesn’t benefit “us”, it only tears us down and put us in an abyss of confusion and stress and hopelessness because we can’t learn as fast as others. Or we can’t handle the amount of work given whereas the gifted students go through it with ease. It just brings us down and makes us feel lost; because no mater what, it feels like we are destined to fail. It feels like we weren’t “cut out” for success.

homework does help

here is the thing though, if a child is shoved in the face with a whole ton of homework that isn’t really even considered homework it is assignments, it’s not helpful. the teacher should make homework more of a fun learning experience rather than something that is dreaded

This article was wonderful, I am going to ask my teachers about extra, or at all giving homework.

I agree. Especially when you have homework before an exam. Which is distasteful as you’ll need that time to study. It doesn’t make any sense, nor does us doing homework really matters as It’s just facts thrown at us.

Homework is too severe and is just too much for students, schools need to decrease the amount of homework. When teachers assign homework they forget that the students have other classes that give them the same amount of homework each day. Students need to work on social skills and life skills.

I disagree.

Beyond achievement, proponents of homework argue that it can have many other beneficial effects. They claim it can help students develop good study habits so they are ready to grow as their cognitive capacities mature. It can help students recognize that learning can occur at home as well as at school. Homework can foster independent learning and responsible character traits. And it can give parents an opportunity to see what’s going on at school and let them express positive attitudes toward achievement.

Homework is helpful because homework helps us by teaching us how to learn a specific topic.

As a student myself, I can say that I have almost never gotten the full 9 hours of recommended sleep time, because of homework. (Now I’m writing an essay on it in the middle of the night D=)

I am a 10 year old kid doing a report about “Is homework good or bad” for homework before i was going to do homework is bad but the sources from this site changed my mind!

Homeowkr is god for stusenrs

I agree with hunter because homework can be so stressful especially with this whole covid thing no one has time for homework and every one just wants to get back to there normal lives it is especially stressful when you go on a 2 week vaca 3 weeks into the new school year and and then less then a week after you come back from the vaca you are out for over a month because of covid and you have no way to get the assignment done and turned in

As great as homework is said to be in the is article, I feel like the viewpoint of the students was left out. Every where I go on the internet researching about this topic it almost always has interviews from teachers, professors, and the like. However isn’t that a little biased? Of course teachers are going to be for homework, they’re not the ones that have to stay up past midnight completing the homework from not just one class, but all of them. I just feel like this site is one-sided and you should include what the students of today think of spending four hours every night completing 6-8 classes worth of work.

Are we talking about homework or practice? Those are two very different things and can result in different outcomes.

Homework is a graded assignment. I do not know of research showing the benefits of graded assignments going home.

Practice; however, can be extremely beneficial, especially if there is some sort of feedback (not a grade but feedback). That feedback can come from the teacher, another student or even an automated grading program.

As a former band director, I assigned daily practice. I never once thought it would be appropriate for me to require the students to turn in a recording of their practice for me to grade. Instead, I had in-class assignments/assessments that were graded and directly related to the practice assigned.

I would really like to read articles on “homework” that truly distinguish between the two.

oof i feel bad good luck!

thank you guys for the artical because I have to finish an assingment. yes i did cite it but just thanks

thx for the article guys.

Homework is good

I think homework is helpful AND harmful. Sometimes u can’t get sleep bc of homework but it helps u practice for school too so idk.

I agree with this Article. And does anyone know when this was published. I would like to know.

It was published FEb 19, 2019.

Studies have shown that homework improved student achievement in terms of improved grades, test results, and the likelihood to attend college.

i think homework can help kids but at the same time not help kids

This article is so out of touch with majority of homes it would be laughable if it wasn’t so incredibly sad.

There is no value to homework all it does is add stress to already stressed homes. Parents or adults magically having the time or energy to shepherd kids through homework is dome sort of 1950’s fantasy.

What lala land do these teachers live in?

Homework gives noting to the kid

Homework is Bad

homework is bad.

why do kids even have homework?

Comments are closed.

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Homework and Developing Responsibility

As children enter the fourth grade, the purpose of homework changes to some extent. In grades one to three, students are learning to read; thereafter, they are reading to learn. In fourth grade both schoolwork and homework become more challenging. Learning tasks require more organization and more sus­tained attention and effort.

Because of this change, homework becomes a more integral part of children’s learning and is reflected more in their academic record. This shift comes at a good time, since at about the fourth grade; chil­dren are ready for and want more autonomy and responsibility and less parental hovering and interference.

Homework for older children has a number of purposes. It provides an op­portunity for review and reinforcement of skills that have been mastered and encourages practicing skills that are not. Homework also is an opportunity for children to learn self-discipline and organizational skills and to take responsi­bility for their own learning.

Many of the same suggestions for approaching homework that were recom­mended for younger children apply to older children as well. Homework is best done when the child has had a chance to unwind from school or after-school activities, is rested, and is not hungry. You and your child should agree upon a regular schedule for when homework will be done, and the length of time that should be devoted to it. This schedule should provide predictability and structure but should be sufficiently flexible to respond to special situa­tions. Some children do best if their homework time is divided into several short sessions instead of a single long one.

Usually parents can be helpful by assisting their child in getting settled and started. You can look together at each day’s homework assignment and decide what parts might require help from you, a sibling, or a classmate. The most dif­ficult parts should be done first. Reviewing for tests and rote memorization tasks also should be done early and then repeated at the end of the homework session or first thing the next morning. As is the case for younger children, homework should be done in a location with few distractions (no television, radio, telephone, video games, comics, toys, or conversation), and where all the necessary supplies and reference materials are available.

Here are some specific suggestions on how to approach homework of dif­ferent types:

Reading Assignments

• Divide chapters into small units or use the author’s headings as a guide.
• Find the topic sentence or the main idea for each paragraph and under­line it or write it down.
• Write a section-by-section outline of the reading assignment, copying or paraphrasing the main points; leave some room to write in notes from class discussions.

Writing (Composition)

• Begin by recognizing that the first draft will not be the last, and that rewriting will produce better work.
• Make a list of as many ideas as possible without worrying about whether they are good or correct.
• Organize these “brainstorm” ideas into clusters that seem reasonable, and then arrange the clusters into a logical sequence.
• Write down thoughts as to why these clusters were made and why the order makes sense.
• Use this work as an outline and write a first draft; at this stage, do not worry about spelling or punctuation.
• Meaning:  Does it make sense and meet the purpose of the assignment?
• Paragraph formation:  Does each paragraph have a topic sentence and are the other sentences logically related?
• Sentence formation:  Does each sentence express a complete thought? Are capitalization and punctuation correct?
• Word:  Was the best word chosen? Is it spelled correctly?
• Neatness:  Is the paper easy to read? Does it follow the format and style the teacher expects?
• Work toward mastering the basic facts and operations (addition, sub­traction, multiplication, and division) until they become automatic. Do this work in small doses, and limit the number of facts to three to five each session. Use writing, flash cards, and oral quizzes.
• Be sure the basic concepts of computation are well understood. Do com­putation homework slowly and check the results, since if the facts are un­derstood, most errors come from being careless.
• Use money examples when learning decimals.
• For fractions, use visual or concrete aids rather than oral explanations.

Studying for Tests

• Gather together homework assignments, class notes, outlines, quizzes, and handouts, and arrange them chronologically (by date).
• Four days before the test, read the information through in a general way.
• Three days before the test, look at major titles of sections in notes and books.
• Two days before the test, review the titles of sections and read the infor­mation and organize it into related clusters.
• The night before the test, repeat the process of the night before and re­cite as much as you can from memory.

What’s the Purpose of Homework?

• Homework teaches students responsibility.
• Homework gives students an opportunity to practice and refine their skills.
• We give homework because our parents demand it.
• Our community equates homework with rigor.
• Homework is a rite of passage.
• design quality homework tasks;
• differentiate homework tasks;
• move from grading to checking;
• decriminalize the grading of homework;
• use completion strategies; and
• establish homework support programs.
• Always ask, “What learning will result from this homework assignment?” The goal of your instruction should be to design homework that results in meaningful learning.
• Assign homework to help students deepen their understanding of content, practice skills in order to become faster or more proficient, or learn new content on a surface level.
• Check that students are able to perform required skills and tasks independently before asking them to complete homework assignments.
• When students return home, is there a safe and quite place for them to do their homework? I have talked to teachers who tell me they know for certain the home environments of their students are chaotic at best. Is it likely a student will be able to complete homework in such an environment? Is it possible for students to go to an after school program, possibly at the YMCA or a Boys and Girls Club. Assigning homework to students when you know the likelihood of them being able to complete the assignment through little fault of their own doesn’t seem fair to the learner.
• Consider parents and guardians to be your allies when it comes to homework. Understand their constraints, and, when home circumstances present challenges, consider alternative approaches to support students as they complete homework assignments (e.g., before-or after-school programs, additional parent outreach).

Howard Pitler is a dynamic facilitator, speaker, and instructional coach with a proven record of success spanning four decades. With an extensive background in professional development, he works with schools and districts internationally and is a regular speaker at national, state, and district conferences and workshops.

Pitler is currently Associate Professor at Emporia State University in Kansas. Prior to that, he served for 19 years as an elementary and middle school principal in an urban setting. During his tenure, his elementary school was selected as an Apple Distinguished Program and named "One of the Top 100 Schools in America" by Redbook Magazine. His middle school was selected as "One of the Top 100 Wired Schools in America" by PC Magazine. He also served for 12 years as a senior director and chief program officer for McREL International, and he is currently serving on the Board of Colorado ASCD. He is an Apple Distinguished Educator, Apple Teacher, National Distinguished Principal, and Smithsonian Laureate.

He is a published book author and has written numerous magazine articles for  Educational Leadership ® magazine,  EdCircuit , and  Connected Educator , among others.

ASCD is dedicated to professional growth and well-being.

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Credit: August de Richelieu

Does homework still have value? A Johns Hopkins education expert weighs in

Joyce epstein, co-director of the center on school, family, and community partnerships, discusses why homework is essential, how to maximize its benefit to learners, and what the 'no-homework' approach gets wrong.

By Vicky Hallett

The necessity of homework has been a subject of debate since at least as far back as the 1890s, according to Joyce L. Epstein , co-director of the Center on School, Family, and Community Partnerships at Johns Hopkins University. "It's always been the case that parents, kids—and sometimes teachers, too—wonder if this is just busy work," Epstein says.

But after decades of researching how to improve schools, the professor in the Johns Hopkins School of Education remains certain that homework is essential—as long as the teachers have done their homework, too. The National Network of Partnership Schools , which she founded in 1995 to advise schools and districts on ways to improve comprehensive programs of family engagement, has developed hundreds of improved homework ideas through its Teachers Involve Parents in Schoolwork program. For an English class, a student might interview a parent on popular hairstyles from their youth and write about the differences between then and now. Or for science class, a family could identify forms of matter over the dinner table, labeling foods as liquids or solids. These innovative and interactive assignments not only reinforce concepts from the classroom but also foster creativity, spark discussions, and boost student motivation.

"We're not trying to eliminate homework procedures, but expand and enrich them," says Epstein, who is packing this research into a forthcoming book on the purposes and designs of homework. In the meantime, the Hub couldn't wait to ask her some questions:

What kind of homework training do teachers typically get?

Future teachers and administrators really have little formal training on how to design homework before they assign it. This means that most just repeat what their teachers did, or they follow textbook suggestions at the end of units. For example, future teachers are well prepared to teach reading and literacy skills at each grade level, and they continue to learn to improve their teaching of reading in ongoing in-service education. By contrast, most receive little or no training on the purposes and designs of homework in reading or other subjects. It is really important for future teachers to receive systematic training to understand that they have the power, opportunity, and obligation to design homework with a purpose.

Why do students need more interactive homework?

If homework assignments are always the same—10 math problems, six sentences with spelling words—homework can get boring and some kids just stop doing their assignments, especially in the middle and high school years. When we've asked teachers what's the best homework you've ever had or designed, invariably we hear examples of talking with a parent or grandparent or peer to share ideas. To be clear, parents should never be asked to "teach" seventh grade science or any other subject. Rather, teachers set up the homework assignments so that the student is in charge. It's always the student's homework. But a good activity can engage parents in a fun, collaborative way. Our data show that with "good" assignments, more kids finish their work, more kids interact with a family partner, and more parents say, "I learned what's happening in the curriculum." It all works around what the youngsters are learning.

Is family engagement really that important?

At Hopkins, I am part of the Center for Social Organization of Schools , a research center that studies how to improve many aspects of education to help all students do their best in school. One thing my colleagues and I realized was that we needed to look deeply into family and community engagement. There were so few references to this topic when we started that we had to build the field of study. When children go to school, their families "attend" with them whether a teacher can "see" the parents or not. So, family engagement is ever-present in the life of a school.

My daughter's elementary school doesn't assign homework until third grade. What's your take on "no homework" policies?

There are some parents, writers, and commentators who have argued against homework, especially for very young children. They suggest that children should have time to play after school. This, of course is true, but many kindergarten kids are excited to have homework like their older siblings. If they give homework, most teachers of young children make assignments very short—often following an informal rule of 10 minutes per grade level. "No homework" does not guarantee that all students will spend their free time in productive and imaginative play.

Some researchers and critics have consistently misinterpreted research findings. They have argued that homework should be assigned only at the high school level where data point to a strong connection of doing assignments with higher student achievement . However, as we discussed, some students stop doing homework. This leads, statistically, to results showing that doing homework or spending more minutes on homework is linked to higher student achievement. If slow or struggling students are not doing their assignments, they contribute to—or cause—this "result."

Teachers need to design homework that even struggling students want to do because it is interesting. Just about all students at any age level react positively to good assignments and will tell you so.

Did COVID change how schools and parents view homework?

Within 24 hours of the day school doors closed in March 2020, just about every school and district in the country figured out that teachers had to talk to and work with students' parents. This was not the same as homeschooling—teachers were still working hard to provide daily lessons. But if a child was learning at home in the living room, parents were more aware of what they were doing in school. One of the silver linings of COVID was that teachers reported that they gained a better understanding of their students' families. We collected wonderfully creative examples of activities from members of the National Network of Partnership Schools. I'm thinking of one art activity where every child talked with a parent about something that made their family unique. Then they drew their finding on a snowflake and returned it to share in class. In math, students talked with a parent about something the family liked so much that they could represent it 100 times. Conversations about schoolwork at home was the point.

How did you create so many homework activities via the Teachers Involve Parents in Schoolwork program?

We had several projects with educators to help them design interactive assignments, not just "do the next three examples on page 38." Teachers worked in teams to create TIPS activities, and then we turned their work into a standard TIPS format in math, reading/language arts, and science for grades K-8. Any teacher can use or adapt our prototypes to match their curricula.

Overall, we know that if future teachers and practicing educators were prepared to design homework assignments to meet specific purposes—including but not limited to interactive activities—more students would benefit from the important experience of doing their homework. And more parents would, indeed, be partners in education.

Posted in Voices+Opinion

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Homework: How to Effectively Build the Learning Bridge

How has the global health crisis impacted the place that homework has in student learning and the school-home connection? Homework holds its place as a school tradition, expected by students and their parents as part of the experience of growing and learning. While there is ongoing debate about homework’s effectiveness, it is traditionally seen as a tool that strengthens academics by providing learning practice at home. John Hattie’s meta-analysis of relevant research on educational practices found that the overall effects of homework on learning are positive, and that the positive effect is highest for junior high and high school students but generally neutral for elementary students. In addition, there is variability depending on the type of homework as well as student demographics (Hattie, 2008).

Schools implementing the Responsive Classroom approach, whether in person or virtually, use homework to effectively build a learning bridge between home and school. When homework is used as a tool to build social, emotional, and academic learning beyond the school day, it takes on a different look and purpose than just more work to do at home. The goal of Responsive Classroom schools is to design homework that meets the basic needs of significance and belonging for every student by strengthening relationships, differentiating what success looks like for each child, and supporting students’ social, emotional, and academic learning.

Focus on Relationships

Homework that impedes relationships— either teacher-to-student, teacher-toparent, or student-to-parent—can potentially damage the home-school partnership. When educators examine the amount, type, and expectations of homework, they often start with the impact of homework on academic achievement. But when schools look beyond academic achievement and also include relationships, they will often rethink the look and purpose of homework.

Effectively building this school-to-home connection starts by replacing homework that impedes relationships with homework that will enhance them. Examples for building these connections include ways for students to share about family traditions, cultural practices, and/or family adventures. Lauren Komanitsky, a special education teacher at Christa McAuliffe Middle School in Jackson, New Jersey, observes:

I’ve seen tremendous enthusiasm for homework and projects that involve family members and their family history. [Students] love to learn about ancestors, interesting facts and stories, and simply getting a deeper understanding of their background. It inspires pride in them and that’s important for their identity. Students also love to do surveys and interviews of their family members. I think anything designed to create good, meaningful conversation between students and their families is time well spent. Lauren Komanitsky (personal communication, February 7, 2021)

Schools that use homework to strengthen home-school relationships embed opportunities for students to develop belonging and significance. As students share the home connections with their classmates and teachers, the classroom community will develop a larger sense of belonging because students see connections among common experiences.

Build Success for Every Student

Classrooms are diverse communities. While teachers intentionally differentiate learning during the school day, providing homework that meets the individual and cultural needs of each student requires additional attention.

One strategy for success for every student is to provide choice. Komanitsky has seen this strategy work when she has had students reflect on what they need and then select homework to meet that need:

Having kids select specific problems from a group, select what part of an overall project they are choosing to focus on, etc. . . . helps with creating a sense of autonomy. When we can give kids a choice in their learning based on their own self-reflection, they learn what it feels like to be in control of the process and this leads to more success. Lauren Komanitsky (personal communication, February 7, 2021)

When homework is designed for success for each student, the bridge between home and school supports a higher level of success and engagement.

Include Practice of Social and Emotional Learning Skills

The first guiding principle of the Responsive Classroom approach states, “Teaching social and emotional skills is as important as teaching academic content.” Social and emotional learning (SEL) is embedded in academic learning throughout the school day. Teachers can create a bridge between home and school by suggesting opportunities for students to practice SEL skills at home and in their community. For example, parents can have their children practice speaking with confidence by having them “make a request, place an order, or thank customer service workers” (Wilson, 2014, p. 67).

In addition, homework may involve students having conversations with family members about their learning histories—the successes, struggles, and strategies t hey encountered when they were students at different levels. When family members share their learning histories, students discover the application of the SEL and academic competencies of perseverance, cooperation, and responsibility. As Komanitsky points out:

When we share how we overcame struggles in certain academic subjects, it encourages perseverance and resilience in our students. Having parents and kids discuss their personal strengths and weaknesses and how they compensate when necessary is also a really good conversation. Lauren Komanitsky (personal communication, February 7, 2021)

Homework that focuses on SEL competencies provides for the transfer of these vital skills to a variety of real-life situations, both at home and in the community.

When schools approach homework as an extension of the learning day and see it as a way to strengthen relationships—between teachers and parents, students and parents, and students and teachers—homework becomes a valuable part of the school experience for every child. Students’ needs for belonging and significance are met and strengthened when homework provides for individual success. And when educators view homework as a tool to strengthen academic, social, and emotional learning, it becomes a valuable piece of the learning puzzle for every student.

• Hattie, J. (2008). Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. Routledge.
• Wilson, M. B. (2014). The language of learning: Teaching students core thinking, listening, and speaking skills. Center for Responsive Schools, Inc

• Our Mission

How to Help Students Develop the Skills They Need to Complete Homework

Middle and high school students can learn to work more efficiently by using strategies that improve their executive function skills.

The effects of homework are mixed. While adolescents across middle and high school have an array of life situations that can make doing homework easier or harder, it’s well known that homework magnifies inequity . However, we also know that learning how to manage time and work independently outside of the school day is valuable for lifelong learning. From the homework wars  to students who have little time for homework to students who don’t even know where to begin, everyone can agree that kids who can self-regulate and engage in independent rehearsal are better positioned for whatever the future holds.

How can we empower students to overcome barriers to doing homework well?

Executive Functioning

Homework is partially an assessment of executive functioning. Executive functioning and self-regulation take time to develop. They depend on three types of critical brain function: working memory, mental flexibility, and self-regulation .

Let’s break this down to consider how to improve their efficiency.

Working memory: Don’t hold everything in your head; it is not possible. When doing homework, students should write down their ideas, whether they are notes while reading, numbers when working through a math problem, or non-school-related reminders about chores, such as remembering to take the dog for a walk. Clearing working memory for the immediate task at hand allows the brain to focus as the strain is reduced.

Mental flexibility: As students build their independence and grow their homework routines, seeing an array of strategies, or more than one way to solve a problem, is important. Consider the results when a child gets stuck and doesn’t know what to do to get unstuck or when one keeps trying the same failed approach. Chunking homework helps simplify the process. When stuck, a student looks at a smaller piece, which makes it easier to see other solutions. More practice with mental flexibility happens when others model thinking in different ways, and students practice flexible thinking with partners by asking them: What is another way? Use this bubble map to chart out multiple ways.

Self-regulation: Learning how to prioritize work and stick with it by not giving in to impulses is a skill that students develop over time . One way to teach self-regulation is to have students practice control by concentrating for short periods of time with the goal of building up to longer, more sustained periods of time as the year progresses. For a child who struggles with reading for an extended time, start with five minutes and then build from there.

Another self-regulation tip is creating a plan to overcome distractions. What happens when the child stumbles? Three minutes into reading and a student is reaching for their cell phone. Recommend that they practice moving the cell phone away from the homework area, and summarize before returning to the reading. Stops and starts are frustrating and often result in lost homework time. Have students practice responses to distraction, and make this part of their homework. When a student struggles to stay on task, they should be encouraged to remove any distraction in order to regain focus.

Use classroom assessment as a tool to plan for and support student homework. Record the following information for students:

• Do they write, read, and/or solve problems in class? For how many minutes independently?
• What is the quality of their work? Are they actually learning, or are they just going through the motions?
• Do they know how to strategize on their own or get help from a peer when they’re stuck? Observe them and take notes, and/or have them reflect on this question.

We cannot expect that students will independently practice a skill they don’t engage with during class. If it doesn't happen in the classroom, it's not going to happen at home. The teacher should be able to realistically gauge how much and what students might achieve at home. A suggestion to build independence is to use task analysis . Here is a model . For students who struggle with getting homework done, at first they may not actually do homework; rather, they practice the routines of setting up and getting started.

Direct Instruction

The following are some techniques that help students with homework:

• Mindful meditation to gain focus
• Prioritizing and estimating time
• Filtering out distractions

Peers as Partners

Class partnership routines need practice. With strong partnerships, kids learn how to support and learn from each other. Access to teachers will never match the unlimited access to peers. The hours that students who achieve at high levels put in after class are often spent alone rehearsing the content or with peers who push each other to improve.

Class-to-Home Connection

While some students struggle with executive functioning, others rush through their homework. The most important step in having homework count is to make it seamless, not separate from class. Homework flows from classwork. Especially with a mix of synchronous and asynchronous work, now there is no homework, just work done for our classes. Consistent instructional goals with engaging and meaningful tasks help students see the value in working beyond the last bell.

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Student Opinion

Should We Get Rid of Homework?

Some educators are pushing to get rid of homework. Would that be a good thing?

By Jeremy Engle and Michael Gonchar

Do you like doing homework? Do you think it has benefited you educationally?

Has homework ever helped you practice a difficult skill — in math, for example — until you mastered it? Has it helped you learn new concepts in history or science? Has it helped to teach you life skills, such as independence and responsibility? Or, have you had a more negative experience with homework? Does it stress you out, numb your brain from busywork or actually make you fall behind in your classes?

Should we get rid of homework?

In “ The Movement to End Homework Is Wrong, ” published in July, the Times Opinion writer Jay Caspian Kang argues that homework may be imperfect, but it still serves an important purpose in school. The essay begins:

Do students really need to do their homework? As a parent and a former teacher, I have been pondering this question for quite a long time. The teacher side of me can acknowledge that there were assignments I gave out to my students that probably had little to no academic value. But I also imagine that some of my students never would have done their basic reading if they hadn’t been trained to complete expected assignments, which would have made the task of teaching an English class nearly impossible. As a parent, I would rather my daughter not get stuck doing the sort of pointless homework I would occasionally assign, but I also think there’s a lot of value in saying, “Hey, a lot of work you’re going to end up doing in your life is pointless, so why not just get used to it?” I certainly am not the only person wondering about the value of homework. Recently, the sociologist Jessica McCrory Calarco and the mathematics education scholars Ilana Horn and Grace Chen published a paper, “ You Need to Be More Responsible: The Myth of Meritocracy and Teachers’ Accounts of Homework Inequalities .” They argued that while there’s some evidence that homework might help students learn, it also exacerbates inequalities and reinforces what they call the “meritocratic” narrative that says kids who do well in school do so because of “individual competence, effort and responsibility.” The authors believe this meritocratic narrative is a myth and that homework — math homework in particular — further entrenches the myth in the minds of teachers and their students. Calarco, Horn and Chen write, “Research has highlighted inequalities in students’ homework production and linked those inequalities to differences in students’ home lives and in the support students’ families can provide.”

Mr. Kang argues:

But there’s a defense of homework that doesn’t really have much to do with class mobility, equality or any sense of reinforcing the notion of meritocracy. It’s one that became quite clear to me when I was a teacher: Kids need to learn how to practice things. Homework, in many cases, is the only ritualized thing they have to do every day. Even if we could perfectly equalize opportunity in school and empower all students not to be encumbered by the weight of their socioeconomic status or ethnicity, I’m not sure what good it would do if the kids didn’t know how to do something relentlessly, over and over again, until they perfected it. Most teachers know that type of progress is very difficult to achieve inside the classroom, regardless of a student’s background, which is why, I imagine, Calarco, Horn and Chen found that most teachers weren’t thinking in a structural inequalities frame. Holistic ideas of education, in which learning is emphasized and students can explore concepts and ideas, are largely for the types of kids who don’t need to worry about class mobility. A defense of rote practice through homework might seem revanchist at this moment, but if we truly believe that schools should teach children lessons that fall outside the meritocracy, I can’t think of one that matters more than the simple satisfaction of mastering something that you were once bad at. That takes homework and the acknowledgment that sometimes a student can get a question wrong and, with proper instruction, eventually get it right.

Students, read the entire article, then tell us:

Should we get rid of homework? Why, or why not?

Is homework an outdated, ineffective or counterproductive tool for learning? Do you agree with the authors of the paper that homework is harmful and worsens inequalities that exist between students’ home circumstances?

Or do you agree with Mr. Kang that homework still has real educational value?

When you get home after school, how much homework will you do? Do you think the amount is appropriate, too much or too little? Is homework, including the projects and writing assignments you do at home, an important part of your learning experience? Or, in your opinion, is it not a good use of time? Explain.

In these letters to the editor , one reader makes a distinction between elementary school and high school:

Homework’s value is unclear for younger students. But by high school and college, homework is absolutely essential for any student who wishes to excel. There simply isn’t time to digest Dostoyevsky if you only ever read him in class.

What do you think? How much does grade level matter when discussing the value of homework?

Is there a way to make homework more effective?

If you were a teacher, would you assign homework? What kind of assignments would you give and why?

Want more writing prompts? You can find all of our questions in our Student Opinion column . Teachers, check out this guide to learn how you can incorporate them into your classroom.

Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.

Jeremy Engle joined The Learning Network as a staff editor in 2018 after spending more than 20 years as a classroom humanities and documentary-making teacher, professional developer and curriculum designer working with students and teachers across the country. More about Jeremy Engle

Schoolwork and Homework Responsibility

• By Various Authors
• September 6, 2019

Getting kids to practice or complete schoolwork and projects can be a homework battle , full of tension. As a parent, what can you do . . . and what should you do . . . or not do? Here are ways other parents have encouraged academic skills, have come alongside their children, or have released the schoolwork and deadlines to their kids.

Triple Power Test Prep

First, I wrote each term on separate notecards in different-colored markers. The color association helped them picture and remember the word and corresponding definition.

Then, for the Scientific Method notecard, I created an acrostic, each letter representing one of the six steps.

Next, I hooked up a small basketball hoop to the playroom door for a game of “study basketball.” I quizzed my kids on the science terms, and if they answered correctly, they scored a point and attempted to shoot the ball into the basket for an extra point.

Not only were my children prepared for their test, but they also enjoyed the process.

—Linsey Driskill

Studying Without Distractions

I have three children (ages 9, 5 and 1). Life can get noisy, so we try to keep distractions to a minimum when my oldest child is doing her homework. So my 5-year-old and I might do the dishes, fold laundry or tidy the house together, with my 1-year-old in tow. For us, the key is to keep the TV off and avoid engaging in loud activities.

This allows my 9-year-old to complete her homework quicker and with fewer mistakes.

—Marissa Andrick

Reading Exercises

Home-schooling rambunctious boys on rainy days can be challenging. To help them, we read our lessons on the floor in the planking position (only our forearms and toes touch the ground) for as long as we can hold ourselves up. Then after we’ve read a few pages, we take a break and do 10 pushups. These exercises help my sons focus on their school lessons.

—Evie Palmer

Running Through Homework

After a long day of school, getting my kids to sit down to complete homework is nearly impossible. They want to be moving. So I have my kids tackle shorter tasks, like a few math problems or a page of reading, and then run a lap around the house. It allows them to complete their work while getting their energy out. They are so excited for their next lap around the house that they focus better on each task.

—Alicia Gorski

Find ways to make learning more active

One fun way I found to help my kids when they struggled in memorizing math facts was to tape flash cards on the floor. Then I have them hop onto each card as they gave the answer to that flash card.

For example, I would tape multiplication facts about one foot apart. If they said the next equation with the correct answer, they could jump onto that card. They would spend more time on their math facts because it was fun to jump to the flash cards. It was a great way to get my kids moving and memorizing.

—Hannah Maple

Build sibling relationships

Home-schooling six children can be tough, but what helps is designating time in the day for my older students to tutor the younger ones. Not only do the younger ones receive quality time with an older sibling, but the high schoolers also get a little teaching experience, which can count as credit on their transcripts in some states.

Engage your kids’ senses

As my kids began the new school year, I supplemented their schoolwork with sensory activities:

Instead of just teaching my children about shapes, I poured water into different-shaped containers and froze them. Then I placed all the shapes into a long, plastic bin with low edges. They spun and moved the ice pieces around. They felt the roundness of a sphere or the corners of a rectangle or cube and watched them melt into other shapes. By adding washable paint, I reinforced colors, too.

When my children lost interest in practicing their alphabet, they wrote in cornmeal poured into a flat container. This made writing fun enough for them to continue practicing.

I used candy to explain math when they were older. If they had 3+2 as a problem, they counted out three pieces of candy and added two. Eventually they would get to eat the candy.

I used whatever I could — playing with mud, slime or whatever was on hand—to pique their curiosity and ignite an eagerness for learning.

11 Activities That Help Improve Handwriting

Learning to write can be challenging for children, especially in a world of predominately digital communication. To write, children need strong visual and gross motor skills before they can achieve the necessary fine motor skills. So here are several fun activities you can do with your kids. These exercises strengthen muscles and sharpen the skills that can improve a child’s handwriting. In addition, they’re a fun way to spend time together as a family.

Fine motor skills

• Play cotton ball hockey on a table.
• Pick up pennies, one at a time, holding them in the same hand.
• Crumple a piece of paper with one hand only. Then flatten it back out with that same hand.
• Use tweezers to pick up or remove items from an ice cube tray.

Gross motor skills

• Race while crawling, crab-walking or rolling.
• See how long you can hold something at shoulder level or higher.
• Create an obstacle course, and then race through it.

Visual skills

• License plate game: When riding in the car, find letters of the alphabet in order on license plates of passing cars.
• View a tray of random items, cover it and try to remember what was there.
• Trace a letter on a child’s back. Have the child guess what letter it is. Then draw it on paper for her to see.

If you want to reinforce handwriting techniques, play tic-tac-toe with your child. This simple game uses basic handwriting strokes.

The Bug Project

When a letter arrived from my daughter’s middle school, I immediately began to worry. “I’m nervous,” I confided to my husband, Dennis. “We got this today.”

Dennis scanned the letter. “Why is the school sending information in June about a sixth-grade bug project due in September?”

“So the kids can get started now, I guess,” I said. “I’m afraid Rebekah will procrastinate.”

“She probably will. And?”

“What if she doesn’t get it done?”

“Then she learns a great lesson about time management, responsibility and consequences. Seems like a good deal to me.” Dennis grinned.

Her responsibility

“Are you suggesting we let her fail?”

“Better she fail by her own effort — or lack of it — than to succeed by our nagging. We’ve taught her how to manage her time and how to break a project down into manageable pieces. Let’s give her a shot at this.”

I frowned. “I still think she should start sooner rather than later.”

“This is more serious than I thought,” Dennis mused. “We don’t have one problem. We have two.”

“Two?” I raised an eyebrow.

Dennis continued. “Problem No. 1: Rebekah is a regular kid who would rather have fun than work. Problem No. 2: Rebekah will not grow out of problem No. 1 if we don’t let her try some things on her own.”

Homework check

Saturday over breakfast, I told Rebekah about her project. “You can either collect bugs or take pictures.”

“I’d like to take pictures,” Rebekah said.

“Great. You can get some neat pictures in Texas at the family reunion.”

“OK. Can I play with Aubree?”

“Sure. Why don’t you take the digital camera?”

“Mom. It’s June. My project isn’t due until September.”

“I know, but if you use your time wisely now . . . ”

Dennis cleared his throat, giving me his “remember-our-conversation” look.

I sighed. “Yes, you can play with Aubree.” Rebekah bolted from her chair. Letting go was going to be harder than I thought.

Alone in my room, I prayed, “Father, I don’t want my emotional stability tied to a sixth-grader’s bug project!”

Stop nagging

I turned to my Bible and read Isaiah 40:11 , which reminded me that He gently leads those with young. Perhaps I felt a tinge of conviction. I knew I needed to trust God as He led me through this parenting challenge. Next, I flipped to Philippians 1:6. It assured me that God would finish the good work He began in me. And Rebekah, too, Lord?

I closed my Bible and took a deep breath. “I get it, Lord. I’ll cut the nagging.”

Rebekah needed a grand total of 30 bug pictures. At our July reunion, she netted seven. In August, a sixth-grade mom invited the class to gather bugs or take pictures from her massive garden. Rebekah snapped seven photos of bugs — and 13 of herself and her friends jumping in midair.

She thought the day was a huge success. I nervously checked the calendar; she still needed 16 bugs. Time was rushing past us like water over Niagara Falls. I bit my lip.

School starts

School started. Over the next several days, Rebekah studied, finished her homework and even told me, “My project is due in two weeks!”

But on Saturday morning, two days before her project was due, Rebekah was still only half done. She woke up and announced, “I want to have fun all day!” I breathed deeply, pouring another cup of coffee.

Dennis put his arm around my shoulders. “It’s hard, but you’re doing great.”

Several times that day I fought the urge to nag. I made frequent trips to my Bible to remind myself of God’s goodness.

The deadline

The night before the long-dreaded deadline, Rebekah finished her project. She took the rest of her photos, created her PowerPoint presentation and turned it in on time. If I had insisted on nagging her, I would never have known she was capable of completing this project on her own. She earned my respect.

As for me, my emotional stability is tied more to the Lord and less to my kids’ school projects. I’m far from perfect, though. I have to hit the Book again for a test I’ve got coming next week. You see, Rebekah has a book report due in four days.

— Heather Trent Beers

“Triple Power Test Prep” © 2019 by Linsey Driskill. “Studying Without Distractions” © 2019 by Marissa Andrick. Reading Exercises” © 2019 by Evie Palmer. “Running Through Homework” © 2019 by Alicia Gorski. “Find Ways to Make Learning More Active” © 2018 by Hannah Maple. “When Possible, Build Sibling Relationships Through Homework” © 2018 by Evie Palmer. “Engage Your Kids’ Senses to Reinforce What They’e Learning at School” © 2018 by Linsey Driskill. “11 Activities That Help Improve Handwriting” is copyrighted © 2017 by Sarah Adkisson. “The Bug Project” is copyrighted © 2009 Heather Trent Beers. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

“Triple Power Test Prep,” “Studying Without Distractions,” “Reading Exercises” and “Running Through Homework” first appeared in the August/September 2019 issue of Focus on the Family magazine. “Find Ways to Make Learning More Active,” “When Possible, Build Sibling Relationships Through Homework,” “Engage Your Kids’ Senses to Reinforce What They’e Learning at School” first appeared in the August/September 2018 issue of Focus on the Family  magazine. “11 Activities That Help Improve Handwriting” first appeared in the August/September 2017 issue of  Focus on the Family  magazine. “The Bug Project” first appeared in the August/September 2009 issue of  Focus on the Family  magazine.

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What can you do then to support your children in learning and help them take ownership?

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Teaching your students about personal responsibility will be one of the most important lessons you’ll impart. Having this sense of personal accountability will set them up for success as they grow, both in school and at home. In fact, personal accountability actually plays a big role in creating a collaborative classroom for everyone.

But beginning the process of teaching personal responsibility in the classroom doesn’t have to be a daunting task. Skills like time management , prioritization, and organization are all a part of creating responsible students. You can help build these skills in small increments through the work they do on a daily basis.

Here, experienced fifth grade teachers Joe Saenz and Wandiza Williams share how they help their students become more responsible, both academically and personally. 

Set Clear Expectations and Routines

When students know what to expect, they will be more likely to prepare everything they need for class, whether they’re in charge of their own classroom jobs or need to get their homework done. 

“Set up classroom routines with clear expectations,” says Saenz. “Do not just go over these routines at the beginning of the year. At the start of each marking period, review your classroom routines and expectations. If your students see that you are serious about a routine and you clearly define it, they will follow it.”

It’s also important to define that these expectations have consequences if they aren’t met. For example, each student should be responsible for turning in their homework and classwork on time. 

“In my classroom, it is my students’ responsibility to explain to me why they do not have their homework completed when it is due,” says Saenz. “If they communicate their reasoning and share their plan to make it up, I will not contact their parents. If they routinely fail to explain their reasoning and their plan, I will reach out to their parents to keep them apprised. This sets up responsibility and accountability in your class.”

Maintain Regular Check-ins With Students

Taking the time to speak with your students about their homework and responsibilities will clue you into how they’re doing and will help establish personal accountability.

“Morning meetings are a great time and way to address this on a consistent basis within the classroom,” says Williams. “In other words, feedback is extremely important. We want students to be actively involved in the learning process, take pride in their work, and recognize that hard work pays off.”

By using this time to have a conversation about what they’re excelling in and what they can improve, students will be more open to accepting all kinds of feedback as they grow. 

“Being held accountable is a good thing, but may not feel good if you have to be called out,” says Williams. “It is one of life's vital lessons for perseverance and success. You have to be open-minded to accepting feedback and applying it to make you better, progress, and grow as a learner.”  

Communicate and Cultivate Mutual Respect

While critiquing performance is helpful, reminding your students that they’re doing a good job is essential to their success. Just like adults, children respond better when they know they are appreciated and doing a good job. This is why having open channels of regular communication is essential. 

“Remember, students may feel ‘picked on’ or ‘attacked’ when you hold them accountable,” says Saenz. “It is vitally important that you communicate. If you show your students respect and treat them fairly as you would with any other student, you will earn their respect and create strong and trusting relationships. Your students should feel comfortable coming to your class, not fear to do so.” 

When met with positive reinforcement, students will be more willing to take initiative and understand that they have influence over their grades and performance in class, which gives them a feeling of control. 

“Some students appreciate it and others have a hard time,” says Williams. “Some students may feel that you are picking on them or being overly critical of their work, behavior, and/or performance. This is why it is important to have conversations with students to explain to them what's happening and to get their input as well.”

Shop books about responsibility below! You can find all books and activities at The Teacher Store .

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A Lesson Plan for Teachers

5 strategies for teaching student responsibility.

As middle school and high school teachers, our classrooms are full of young, budding students who are adjusting to a mature school career in which teachers don’t hand-hold, emphasize syllables in a verbal spelling test, or allow attempt after attempt on a failed assignment that the dog ate. It isn’t easy! It is our responsibility as teachers to develop lesson plans that not only teach content but also responsibility , accountability , career skills , people skills , and more. Focusing on academic knowledge alone gets the job done, but we are still failing our students by forgoing life skills and responsibility in the classroom. Fostering these “non-academic” skills will not only produce a student with good grades, but with well-rounded life skills as well.

While teaching life skills, responsibility, and accountability to our students is necessary, it can be difficult. Using these 5 incredible strategies for teaching student responsibility will help teachers to integrate lessons on responsibility into their regular content-centered lesson plans. As the old adage goes, give a man a fish and he eats for a day, but teach a man to fish and he eats for life. Teaching your students responsibility will not only make your job and their studies easier, but will also set them up for success in life. 

1. keeping & organizing a class notebook or interactive notebook, 2. classroom jobs, 3. homework, 4. group leadership & collaboration.

By highlighting conflicting opinions in a small group setting, students are provided with a perspective on a topic or lesson that differs from their own. This teaching strategy works well when the teacher assigns perspectives that will open a dialogue and encourage students to consider the information they must present from an unbiased point of view.

Human Timeline Bring a boring, two-dimensional timeline to life by assigning content and dates to each of your students and having them physically stand in chronological order. Not only will this engage students and get them out of their seats, requiring cooperation and collaboration among them, but it will help retention of “boring” dates.

Graffiti Boards

5. Presentations

Bonus resources, for more ideas, check out teaching students responsibility , teaching strategies that instruct responsibility  and getting students to take responsibility for learning also, encourage your students to take an active part in their learning experience, which will further foster responsibility, by taking a student survey ., there are unlimited resources online that can help to build student responsibility in your classroom, but the greatest indicator of a successful classroom is commitment from both the teacher and students. teaching your students the importance of their responsibility and then incorporating these requirements into your curriculum will ensure that your students will be more responsible by year’s end. use these 5 strategies for teaching student responsibility to foster a sense of class-wide responsibility. .

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Home » The Importance of Homework in Learning

The Importance of Homework in Learning

Posted on January 16, 2019 by Cognitive - Articles

The last thing that children would want to do after a long day at school is homework. It is difficult to make them do their homework because they are often too tired from school and other co-curricular activities. They are also distracted by the games and other forms of entertainment at home. This is a real challenge for parents because it often starts dispute between them and their children especially when their children refuse to do their homework. However, it is important to know that while doing homework merely feels like completing a task just because it was assigned by the school, homework does play an important role in the learning process of children.

• Homework teaches children to be independent, to take initiative and responsibility for completing a task, and it helps children to develop a sense of self-discipline. Doing school work at home helps the children to practice working alone without asking for help from their classmates and teachers.
• Homework teaches children to be resourceful. As they must do things on their own, they have to learn how to use available sources of information at home such as the internet and books. This boost their confidence in independent problem-solving and in handling situations alone in the future. This also improves their research skills and exposes them to wider range of learning through the usage of additional materials.
• Homework gives an opportunity for parents to monitor their children’s academic progress. Throughout the years, research studies have consistently shown that parental involvement in a child’s learning is an important factor in determining a child’s achievement in school. Homework allows parents to have an active role in their child’s education and helps them to evaluate and monitor their child’s progress. Moreover, the process of doing homework also provides an extra venue for parents to interact and bond with their child.
• Homework allows children recap on the skills, concepts and information that they have learned in class. They get to practice on what they have learned and apply it in their homework. This continuous process of recap and application would provide a stronger reinforcement regarding the information and would allow for a stronger retention of information in their minds and make learning more efficient.

However, as much as doing homework contributes to the learning process of children, it must also be noted that too much homework can cause them stress and exhaustion. Too much pressure can lead to debilitating effects on the child’s health and mental psyche. A child’s health should not be compromised just for the sake of doing homework. As the saying goes “All work and no play make Jack a dull boy.” Allowing them a 15-minute break in between each task makes a vast difference in the child’s concentration and attention levels towards the tasks.

It must also be noted that homework that are out of their depth will cause the child to lose interest and confidence in the subject. They will feel that no one provide help for them and no matter how hard they try, they are just going to get the questions wrong. So, it is advisable that whenever your child is learning something new in school, take time to sit with them and go through the homework first before allowing them to complete the rest of the homework independently. Don’t forget to also check in on their homework progress every once in a while and help them out. There might be a few things that they have forgotten, or they don’t feel confident enough to attempt independently so it will be good to let the child know that you are always ready to help them and that they are not alone.

Homework Support Program (Please click here to contact us about this service from Cognitive)

Homework Support Program is a service provided to assist children in their homework. The service includes giving additional activities and learning materials for children to help them fully understand the various skills and concepts that they have learnt in school. It also provides a platform for constant revision to take place and allows the child to constantly revise and reinforce on the information that they have learnt before. This program is ideal for families whereby both parents are working. It also provides parents with more opportunities to build and maintain a harmonious relationship with their child because parents will be free from the worries and frustrations regarding their child’s homework issues, thus lessening the probability for arguments to take place.

Bibliography

Atkinson, J. (n.d.). Why Homework is Important . Retrieved from scholastic.com: https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/homework-why-it-important/

e-skool. (2010, October 27). E-skool . Retrieved from Top 14 Reason Why Homework is Important: http://blog.eskool.ca/parenting/why-homework-is-important/

Teaching Students Responsibility

By: Rick Wormeli

For as long as humans have lived on Earth, generations of adults have bemoaned the lack of due diligence in the upcoming generation: “They’re indifferent and don’t work hard,” they declare. “We have to teach them self-discipline and how to be responsible!”

This is followed quickly with a list of punitive measures sure to instill such virtues. The same laments were cast upon some of us when we were young adolescents, too, and the adults in our lives applied those punitive measures with varying degrees of success.

The “we have to teach them responsibility” refrain is here to stay. To address the concern mindfully, however, we’ll have to do better than espouse simplistic notions such as giving students an F on the test if they don’t do their homework or requiring them to copy pages in the dictionary when they don’t bring a form signed by parents in a timely manner. These are the solutions of educators who are relying on false assumptions about how to cultivate personal self-discipline in young adolescents.

Grades by themselves are terrible teachers of self-discipline or builders of responsibility. Receiving an unrecoverable F or a zero on a final project or a test for which they did not prepare doesn’t teach students how to get their act together and meet deadlines or how to study better for tests. If Fs taught students to be responsible, we’d have a lot more responsible students. Instead, it’s the recovery from these mistakes under the skillful guidance of a caring adult that teaches. It’s also the purposeful strategies we use with students prior to and during our lessons that keep them from going down the ineffective path.

When looking specifically for ways to develop self-discipline and responsibility in students, we find many strategies within one or more of these categories. What we  don’t  find are any mention of berating students, denying second chances at learning, keeping them from recess in perpetuity, sending them to stand outside the classroom door, or removing them from all sports, music, or martial arts programming that give many of these students their only reason for coming to school.

So what works? Let’s take a look:

Accept the fact that students desperately want to be responsible and self-disciplined.  This is built into all of us. Mel Levine was right: There is no such thing as laziness. When a student is not doing his best work or is failing to follow through on tasks or timelines, it’s unnatural.

The natural state is to be curious, connect with others, grow, and succeed. When it looks like the student is lazy, there is always something else going on that we can’t see, or that we can see, but we can’t control. Investigation and removal of those factors will help the student reveal his or her core self.

The old adage is correct: At any given moment, most of us are probably doing the best we can. If we can assume this in every interaction in which a student appears to have lacked personal responsibility or self-discipline, it will help focus our response to the issue constructively.

Provide feedback and reflection about the irresponsibility. “You chose not to do your portion of the project that you agreed to do, and now your group has an incomplete project. How does this show respect for the group? How do you think your decision makes the group members feel toward you? What can you do right now to re-build the trust you’ve broken here?”

Students are often just surviving the day, and they don’t see the value or take the time to look at the big-picture consequences of their words and actions, so we help them. For many students, it’s a trusted adult who can help them make connections between their actions and their goals.

Make it multi-faceted, not a single action or policy.  Students need exposure to several different personal experiences and teacher practices, not just one magic wand waved at a key moment. When Yumi is struggling, then, we provide tools for him to monitor his own progress academically and behaviorally, and we help him find four (redundant back-up) techniques for remembering to bring his materials to class.

We model how to break large tasks into smaller ones and how to check things off the list as we complete them. We provide graphic organizers to help him lift and organize salient points in his reading and see how they fit into the larger whole. We help Yumi reflect on what it feels like to be “in the know” regarding the text discussed in class because he actually read it. It’s not one of these that will help Yumi mature, it’s all of them.

Make learning meaningful, transformative.  Every day we are using the art of persuasion. We’re trying to convince students that our subjects and school in general are worth their time and energy. We prove to them the relevance of our course content and skill sets, helping them see connections that transfer to other classes and life.

We go out of our way to help them bring their lives to learning’s table, such as when we ask them to find examples of something we’re teaching in the larger community, let them choose the novels they’ll read, invite them to use their hobbies or personal interests as vehicles to demonstrate mastery of course content, and help them develop their personal writer’s voice.

And the cool part? When something is meaningful, we don’t have to cajole students into doing the task. They’ll work long hours, listen carefully to periodic feedback from classmates and teachers, and do high- quality work. If it’s drudgery, they’ll drag every foot, obstruct every enthusiasm.

Of course, students are going to be asked to do things in school for which they find no personal meaning or value, and they will have to do those things even though they are not in the mood to do them. For having experienced so many valued, meaningful tasks with you—a reliable, caring guide in this subject, however—they will tolerate boring tasks and persevere.

Provide the tools and competence to act.  Do our students have the tools and competence to complete the task, and if so, do they perceive they have them? If they don’t see either of those things in their wheelhouse, no amount of pleading, reminding, or punishing is going to create personal self-discipline.

Sometimes we have to introduce students to their own competencies.

A critical sensitivity here: Some students do not have the same supports and resources at home as other students. There is no quiet space at home for Steven to do homework on a daily basis, nor does he have anyone to help him interpret the directions on the project when he’s confused, and no, they’ve never really traveled out of the rural/suburban area, so he didn’t get your analogy about navigating a city subway.

All of these thwart students’ personal investment, limiting their commitment to self-discipline. Let’s keep in mind that some students may understand they have the tools to do a task, but they don’t have the time, autonomy, or culture to act upon them.

Taking a Dive

Over and over again, these strategies have helped students build personal self-discipline and responsibility in schoolwork far more securely than a simple F on a report card ever could do.

Like students, we have responsibilities: To dive deeply into professional practice and make informed, effective instructional decisions. No scuba tanks needed in the dive, though, for here, there’s oxygen for learning and personal maturation. Enjoy the swim.

Privacy Overview

How Can Parents Teach Their Children to Be Responsible for Their Own Learning?

By: Author Noelle Rebain

Posted on Published: November 22, 2022

As adults and parents, we know what it means to be responsible. We know we need to take responsibility for our actions and decisions. But how can parents teach their children to be responsible for their own learning? 

Parents can teach their children to be responsible for their own learning by helping them set achievable goals and create expectations for meeting those goals. In addition, when parents are involved in school and create a positive learning environment at home, students become more invested in their education.

Continue reading to learn more about the benefits of teaching children to be responsible for their own learning and the importance of parent involvement in the learning process. 

Why Is It Important for Students to Take Ownership of Their Learning? 

It is important for students to take ownership of their learning because students then become increasingly independent, responsible, and self-motivated. 

Responsibility is not innate, however. It is a skill, and we must teach it. Teaching responsibility and ownership for learning begins at home. 

When we teach children to take ownership of their learning, we teach them responsibility. But the word “responsibility” can feel like a loaded one, with many expectations. Both teachers and parents want students to be responsible, and we all recognize that it is an invaluable life skill in academic settings, personally and professionally.

We’ll talk more about how to scaffold those expectations and identify strategies that will help students grow into responsible adults a bit further in the article. But first, it is crucial to understand why this essential skill is so important.

Responsibility

The word “responsibility,” defined simply, means that a particular task is an individual’s job to deal with ( source ). 

We cannot take the responsibility to accomplish a task from students if we hope for them to grow into responsible, successful adults in the real world. When we give students the opportunity to take ownership of their own learning, we encourage responsibility and independence ( source ).

Often, teachers and parents fall into the trap of dictating expectations and telling students what to do. When we do that, we are taking responsibility for a student’s learning into our own hands instead of helping them make decisions about what they must do to reach a goal and how to achieve it.

A better way is to instead ask or provide an opportunity for students to explain their feelings as they encounter a task such as homework or an assigned project. 

Allowing students to set goals and helping them to achieve them on their own is crucial in teaching ownership. It also aids in teaching critical thinking and problem-solving skills. 

Rather than identifying a problem and figuring it out for them, allowing them to take ownership and make decisions themselves teaches that it’s safe to take risks and that failure is part of learning. Thus, taking ownership becomes a motivating factor.

How Ownership Helps Students Identify Strengths and Weaknesses

Taking ownership of their learning not only aids in teaching responsibility but also helps students identify their strengths and weaknesses and thus know when to ask for help.

Many students struggle to ask for help, and learning how to ask for help when necessary is part of learning to take ownership of our learning. 

Some students have home situations that make this harder than others. For example, many students with difficult or uncertain situations at home will do nothing, avoid interaction, or mentally shut down when faced with a challenging task. As a result, asking for help does not come easily.  

But, if parents and teachers model how to ask for help when something becomes challenging, students may realize that we all have strengths and weaknesses, and knowing when to ask for help is an equally important skill.

Students who learn to take ownership of their own learning realize that we may need to fail first to identify our strengths and weaknesses. So, as adults, we model what to do when that happens, showing that we can try again, try a different method, or ask for help. 

Finally, ownership helps students identify what they enjoy, too. And conversely, what they do not enjoy. 

Many students will find that reading is a struggle while mathematics comes naturally. However, the opposite is true, too. When students learn what they are good at, they can dive more deeply into subjects and topics they enjoy, fostering intrinsic motivation or a desire to learn.   

And for subjects and topics that do not come naturally or are not enjoyable, these are opportunities for parents to become more involved in the learning process, which we will discuss a bit later in this article.

First, we’ll talk about scaffolding and how it helps students take responsibility for their learning.   

Scaffolding Expectations as Students Take Responsibility for Their Learning

Scaffolding helps students learn how to take responsibility for their learning. As parents, we start small and move students one step at a time toward a goal and, ultimately, more independence and ownership over their own learning.

Just as we wouldn’t sign up for a marathon having never run a mile, the same is true with teaching students how to take responsibility for learning. We cannot drop them into the deep end without first teaching them how to swim.

Scaffolding also helps us to understand what students know and have learned, even when it comes to teaching expectations. In other words, it helps to give us a starting place to begin when helping students learn how to take responsibility for their learning.

When we ask questions instead of dictating expectations, we also understand what students know and what they do not yet know or understand ( source ). 

While scaffolding may seem like a complicated word, it doesn’t have to be. To explain it simply, it means starting with small, achievable, measurable goals. It also means that we model the behavior we hope to see.

Understanding Scaffolding

Scaffolding means we begin by asking questions to find out what the student understands.

However, it is common to jump into an argument instead. For example, if your student is failing all of their classes, we might argue and say, “ You will pass all of your classes next term, or there will be a consequence .”  

While it doesn’t sound like we are doing anything wrong, per se, for the student, that is an overwhelmingly huge expectation, one that likely will result in the student doing nothing at all because they simply don’t know where to start.

If you instead handle the situation with scaffolding, you sound more like a helper than one making demands. For example, perhaps you ask what class is the most difficult, what teachers the student enjoys the most, or which classes the student has friends in. Start with something positive before moving into or toward critique. 

If your student tells you about a teacher or subject that they like more than the others, you can start there. Instead of the expectation being that your student passes all of their classes, begin with one class.

Then, break it down further. Instead of saying they must pass the class and then leaving them to figure it out, look at missing assignments and begin with one. Try to tackle only one at this point.

Build on the Base Scaffolding

Next, model what you would do. You could choose the most straightforward assignment or the one with the largest point value, depending on what you know about your student – model how you would tackle the assignment. Show them what you would do if you were stuck, even modeling your thinking process as you begin.  

You can begin with phrases like, “ I wonder what would happen if I tried _________ ” or “ I’m struggling with this question. If we email your teacher, maybe we can ask for help .” 

The next time you tackle an assignment together, gradually release more responsibility to the student. Continue to ask guiding questions, but allow the student to experience a slight struggle and the achievement that comes from not giving up.

We cannot expect students to take responsibility for their own learning overnight. Instead, it is a life-long skill that even we, as adults, learn daily. As we model and set small goals students can achieve, their independence and responsibility for learning will grow.  

Benefits of Having Parents Involved in the Learning Process

When we teach children that they are both capable and cared for regardless of ability, we build self-esteem, fostering independence. In addition, students whose parents are involved in their learning achieve higher grades, are more consistent with work completion, and are much more motivated to do well in school and life.

Parents and caregivers are every student’s first teachers. Parents can provide opportunities at home for students to feel a sense of power, control, and autonomy in many tasks outside of homework and school.

This may include chores, setting a goal, modeling how to take small steps toward achieving it, and creating a home environment that supports and encourages learning. 

A Parent’s Challenge

One challenge many parents face is doing things for their students that they can do independently.

If we are too afraid to let them fail, they will never learn to take responsibility for themselves. That may mean giving up the way we may go about doing something and allowing the child the freedom to figure it out for themselves. 

For example, a child making their bed may look quite a bit different from how we would go about it, likely a lot messier, too. Still, the child’s sense of accomplishment will lead to an increased sense of responsibility over time ( source ).

Remember, taking responsibility for learning develops over time, many years, in fact. It will take a lot of practice and probably many mistakes along the way. But that is how children learn: when we let go and let them experience the struggle while knowing when to step in to help.

The most noted benefits of parent involvement include a higher level of achievement, resulting in better grades, higher test scores, and better attendance.

In addition, students whose parents are involved have higher self-esteem, are less afraid to take risks and ask for help when needed, and transition to higher education much more seamlessly ( source ).

The benefits are not only for students but for parents, too. Students talk more, respond and share more, and feel a stronger sense of healthy attachment. In addition, parents are more aware of what the students are learning and can discuss world affairs, including politics and decisions about the school. 

Examples of How Parents Can Help Students Take Ownership of Their Learning

Parents can help students take ownership of their learning by creating a home environment that fosters and encourages learning, modeling goal setting and encouraging high but attainable expectations, becoming involved, and being present at school conferences and other events.

Creating an environment at home that encourages learning can be as simple as reading books with your child and showing them that you also enjoy reading.

It may mean a “no cell phone” rule for certain hours of the evening that parents can choose to spend talking about what the student learned at school, asking questions, and showing interest in schoolwork. 

Instead of watching TV, for example, parents can join their children while they complete a project and show enthusiasm for exciting facts or new information. Asking questions shows the student that we care about what they are learning and that perhaps we are learning something new as well.

Indeed, we don’t want to hover and do the work for them. So we must be present and allow students to do the work themselves.

Model Goal Setting

Additionally, we can model goal setting. Modeling steps toward achieving a goal doesn’t have to be related to learning. For example, maybe you have a goal to exercise three times a week. You can show your child that committing to exercising for seven days is too much and likely too hard to achieve.  

But three days a week is doable, and we can show how we stay committed even when we’d rather not. We can also model how we respond when we fail to reach a goal, expressing positivity and a growth mindset. We may not have achieved the goal this time, but we celebrate successes and communicate that we can try again next week. 

Finally, it is essential to be present at school. Get to know the teacher and work as a team.  Attend conferences so that you know what is happening at school. 

You can even attend school board meetings if you choose so that you can be involved in the decision-making process by your child’s school district. When your student sees your involvement, it will encourage them to be involved, too.

Social and Emotional Development in the Classroom 

Social and emotional development in the classroom is not a single lesson but something teachers should incorporate throughout the school day. This includes teaching and modeling responsibility, showing empathy for others, creating positive discipline methods, and fostering opportunities for a growth mindset.

While social-emotional skills are just that, skills, teachers can easily incorporate them within a larger curriculum. In addition, teachers can intentionally model appropriate behavior for their students.  

Regardless of the grade level, issues between students arise frequently, whether a minor disagreement while working on a group project or a conflict among friends. 

For example, in an ELA (English Language Arts) classroom, students may read about a conflict in a novel. Teachers can then incorporate role-playing among students, allowing them to either agree or disagree with a character’s actions and explain their reasoning.

Before addressing social-emotional skills, we first need to create a warm, safe learning environment and classroom culture for students ( source ).

A safe learning environment is where they can feel comfortable asking questions, making mistakes, and explaining what they are thinking or how they came to a conclusion, even if it differs from the larger group.

When shown how to accept others’ differences, students become a part of showing how meaningful relationships between one another (and between the teacher and the student) are possible, even when our backgrounds, life experiences, or opinions differ.

Final Thoughts

Helping students to take ownership of their own learning is a process that takes time.  Remember that responsibility is not an innate skill, but one we must teach and students must practice. 

Setting goals, high but achievable expectations, and being present and involved are all ways to foster independence and ownership over learning. But it all starts at home by creating a positive learning environment where adults are also committed to learning.  

Homework and the Myth of Responsibility

Adult reasons for assigning homework vary, but one big one that always comes up is this: Responsibility. "The purpose of homework is to teach students to be responsible as well as reinforcing school curriculum," quote many well-meaning grown-ups, teachers and parents alike.

As for reinforcing school curriculum, the value of that is highly age-dependent as you will read in my book It's OK to Go Up the Slide . If you're looking for academic benefit, a good night's sleep is far more important. And for kids in elementary school, the academic benefit of homework has no statistical significance.

But responsibility? The myth that homework teaches responsibility stubbornly persists. We don't need homework to teach children responsibility. Responsibility is part of life-long growth.

Responsibility is bringing your lunch box home.

Responsibility is feeding the cat.

Responsibility is making your bed each day.

Responsibility is putting on your own coat, even if you're two.

Responsibility is writing thank you notes.

Responsibility is watering the neighbor's plants.

Responsibility is leaving a note if you go for a bike ride.

Responsibility is cleaning out your backpack after school.

Responsibility is putting an apple core in the compost.

Responsibility is getting out the broom when you spill something.

Responsibility is making your own sandwich and pouring your own milk.

Responsibility is remembering to tell dad that Grandma called.

Responsibility is vacuuming, cleaning the bathroom, and setting the table.

Responsibility is admitting you're the one who knocked over the plant.

Responsibility is remembering where you put your coat at recess.

Responsibility is bringing two mittens home.

Responsibility is part of learning independence and is interwoven into every day family life. There is also school responsibility - how we take care of the classroom, putting up chairs, cleaning up, using supplies wisely, cleaning the class guinea pig cage.

Responsibility is everywhere. It's up to us to make it age-appropriate. For elementary-aged children, homework is not a responsible use of their time.

In fact, how homework is done often produces the OPPOSITE of responsibility. Homework is assigned too young - often in preschool and kindergarten - so children can't even read the assignments and need adult help and involvement in every step (including remembering). This sets up a years-long struggle between parents and children which involves nagging, procrastinating, and tears. The pattern is set: parents as the Homework Patrol Cops and children as the Avoiders. When children are finally old enough for some meaningful homework (mostly high school, a little practice in 7th & 8th grade), doing and remembering to do homework should be the child's full responsibility.

But for now, start by feeding the cat and remembering to bring home those mittens.

Want to read more? It's OK Not to Share dives into homework and examines its purported benefits and the negative effects it can have for children and families. If your family is struggling with homework, learn more about the research and gain sane, sensible ways to opt out.

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How to help your child feel capable and confident that he can succeed in school.

Many parents often complain:

“My child never does his homework! I always have to stand over him!” “My son’s knapsack is a mess! Nothing I do seems to help!” “My son never gets to school on time. He is so lazy!”

We all want our children to succeed at school. We don’t want to fight with our children and create pressure and friction in the home. We want them to get out on time in the morning, stay organized, do their homework without a fuss. We also want them to feel capable and confident that they can succeed in school.

Here are 5 ways to help our kids take responsibility for themselves and their schoolwork:

1. Lose the Royal We:

I once was at a evening bar mitzvah and the woman I was talking excused herself, “I need to go. We have a science test tomorrow.” She was obviously talking about her child’s exam. There are many parents who talk about their children’s school work as if it is their own.

I have heard many parents say, “We have a social studies project due tomorrow.” Or they are similarly enmeshed even if they say, “If I don’t sit next to my child when he is doing homework, he will never do it!”

This is not how it should be. Kids often do need help but parents should ultimately encourage children to do their own work. Parents need to remember that school is ultimately the child’s responsibility.

We can do this by changing our phrasing:

“ You have a science test tomorrow, I am sure you can manage on your own. If you need some help just let me know.” “Good luck studying for your test.” “Oh, your project is due next week? You might want to get started on that soon.” “You are playing rather than doing your homework? Oh, I hope your teacher is okay with that tomorrow…”

2. Find out what works for them:

When we are always telling kids when to do their homework, how to study and what time they need to get up for school, we send them the message that they cannot live or make decisions without our input. To encourage them to be responsible we can ask them and invite them to get involved in the planning.

“I see you have been trouble getting up in the morning. Do you think an earlier bed time would work for you?” “When would you like to pack your lunch? Right after dinner tonight or after your computer time?” “What do you think would help you get your bookbag organized?”

This is especially effective with homework:

“It seems as if you are having a hard time focusing on your homework: When do you think is the best time for you to do your homework? Where do you think the best place is for you to do your homework? Will you need any of my help for homework tonight?”

When we talk to our children in this way, we send them the message that they are accountable and responsible for their own actions. It also encourages children to be in charge of their possessions, their time and their schoolwork. They feel capable and dependable. They may think, “Hey, if my Mom/Dad is asking me what I can do to be a part of the solution, they have faith in me that I can handle my own problems.”

Don't worry if it takes a bit of time until your child finds a schedule that works for them. Kids are just learning how to manage their time and they need some space to work it through.

3. Teach them to think positively about their academic abilities:

Many of us are familiar with the research on positive self-talk. When we have a problem in life and we tell ourselves, “I can’t cope!” we will believe it. If we tell ourselves, “This is challenging, but I will somehow manage this,” we will be more likely to solve our problems with equanimity and confidence.

One teacher, Stephanie Skelton, at Fieldcrest Elementary School, taught her students to think positively about their schoolwork and their capabilities. She taught them the self-talk they needed to take responsibility for their schoolwork and to work through the academic challenges that they may have.

She taught them that instead of telling themselves, "I am not good at this," they should try thinking: "What am I missing?"

Instead of: "I give up," try thinking: "I'll use some of the strategies we learned."

Instead of: "This is too hard," try thinking: "This may take some time and effort."

Instead of: "I made a mistake," try thinking: "Mistakes help me to learn better."

Instead of: "Plan A didn't work," try thinking: "Good thing the alphabet has 25 more letters."

4. Teach children to monitor their own progress:

When children bring home their test papers and homework assignments, it is a great opportunity to teach them to be responsible for their own work.

When they get a good grade we want to praise them for the effort they put in to get that A: “You worked hard on this math test. You studied by practicing many of the math problems and asking your teacher for help when you didn't understand the work. You should be proud of this grade.”

If a child does poorly, don't get angry, instead act curious and ask, “What do you think you need to do to improve your grade?” “Can you pinpoint where you are getting stuck?” “Is there anyone at school that you think might be able to help you?”

Sometimes parents are objective about their child’s test grade or report card but their child still wants their approval or advice. Children may ask their parents: “Are you angry about this ‘C’ that is on my report card?” Parents can respond, “There is nothing for me to get angry about- this is your report card and your responsibility. The question is, are you upset with yourself about the ‘C’?”

5. Talk about Strategies that work:

When I was in high school, I dreaded chemistry. I could not grasp the concepts. I did not how I was going to get through the year. What saved me? I did know that I was good at memorizing- and I utilized that skill. I memorized everything I could about chemistry and I got a B.

Kids need strategies that work for them. Sometimes they don’t even know that they are using effective techniques. It is up to us to point it out to them.

Oftentimes children intuitively know that they can’t sit down and focus on their schoolwork right when they come home from school. They will play outside, watch a video or have a snack. This helps them relax so that they are better able to focus on their work. This is an effective strategy. We can tell them:

“I see that you came home and you had a snack played outside a bit and then you were able to sit down and do your homework…It seems as if you need to unwind after school and then you can tackle your work…That’s a good strategy.”

One of my kids walks around the room as she memorizes the content. Movement helps some kids focus.

Another one of my children, when studying for spelling, spells the word out loud, while another needs to write it down. They have each found study strategies that work for them.

Children need to feel capable and confident when it comes to their schoolwork and our actions can help them feel that.

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