Making+HW+Central

=Making Homework Central to Learning by Cathy Vatterott = =Well-designed homework can help students master content and do well on assessments =

Lorrie King's Summary & Ratings: This article presents the traditional (and not necessarily traditional in the happy, warm sense!) reasons why teachers grades homework as well as setting forth several alternative ways to use homework as a more complete learning opportunity. The ideas in the article will most likely spur teachers to examine their current practices. The tenet that seems to run quietly through the article is that homework is not an add on, or something to give simply to give it, but an integral and essential part of the flow of the learning in the classroom (or at least that’s the message I got!). A. 8 B. 8 C. 8

Chris Hill's Summary & Ratings: This article is about how to get educators to think about the purpose of homework and to make it more meaningful for students. It focuses on current grading practices and how to start new grading practices around homework . The author offers three reasons as to why teachers continue to grade homework and then goes on to discuss how homework can be used not as a student’s responsibility for a task but the student’s responsibility for his/her own learning. She offers three practices to move toward a “learning-focused mindset.” A.6 B.6 C.8

Molly Maguire's Summary & Ratings: This article explores different ways to address homework and the effect that each has on students’ learning. Though Vatterott’s figures don’t support eliminating the practice of grading homework, she quotes a study which shows a negative association between grading homework and achievement. She considers three central reasons why teachers believe homework should be graded, and then goes on to present her ideas of “What to Do Instead” based on the most important purpose of homework: to aid students in learning. A common idea in each reform was ensuring that the students are responsible for their own learning. There seems to be an equal amount of theory and practice offered in this article. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #4a86e8; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">A. 5 <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #4a86e8; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">B. 8 <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #4a86e8; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">C. 7