No homework? No problem, some Alberta teachers say
Five years ago, Grade 4 teacher Eric Armitage routinely sent home spelling lists, math practice sheets and a nightly reading prescription with his nine- and 10-year-old students.
Then, a perfect storm stirred a change. Just as he began hearing more about heavy homework loads overburdening children and stripping them of time to play, he became a stepdad to a boy in Grade 1.
“A task that should have taken a very short time, after we got home, (we were) just stressed out and fighting at the dinner table about how we can get more work out of him. It was just such a negative arena we were playing in,” said Armitage, who teaches at Lochearn elementary school in Rocky Mountain House. He thought: “If this is happening at my house, and it’s only one kid, it’s got to be happening in other places.”
Armitage is one of several Alberta teachers who say they can teach just as effectively — and maybe better — without loading down their pupils’ backpacks with exercises and assignments.
Homework has long had evangelists and detractors, prompting international debate over its merits for decades.
Proponents say homework gives children and parents a chance to talk about what’s happening in school, teaches them good study habits, and helps them take responsibility for learning. Children assigned homework also perform better on tests, according to some studies, although more homework is not always better.
Research shows a correlation between children regularly doing their homework and higher academic achievement, said Greg Thomas, a University of Alberta professor in the department of secondary education. However, some of that research has been heavily criticized, and it doesn’t prove that more homework caused grades and test scores to rise.
The current debate appears to be around how much homework students should do based on their grade level, Thomas said. A focus on time limits calls into question whether homework has a useful purpose, or is just “busywork.”
“We’ve become as a society obsessed with test scores — obsessed with percentages in schools. That’s part of the problem that has gone unchallenged recently,” he said.
When he started teaching nine years ago, Red Deer high school math teacher David Martin did what he thought he was supposed to do — assign 30 to 45 minutes of homework each night. He expected students to complete every oddnumbered problem in a worksheet.
He soon realized the repetition was killing most of his students’ interest in the subject. The kids who understood how to do the problems were bored, and those who didn’t were solving them the wrong way, which he later had to un-teach. “I wasn’t really teaching mathematics. I was teaching how to follow a recipe,” he said.
He tossed aside worksheets for word-based problems, then gave students time in class to complete exercises. “Now, I’m even beyond that,” Martin said.
He’s developed problems for the class to work through together, such as calculating how long it would take for everyone in the world to follow pop star Rihanna on Twitter using exponential growth patterns. Another day, students used angles to calculate how fast cars were going when they whizzed past the school’s windows.
The students’ understanding of math improved, test scores increased and more kids began registering for his pre-calculus class, which was usually a hard sell.
Occasionally, personalized assignments or practice questions go home with students who need extra help or enrichment, he said. Otherwise, homework is history.
Martin acknowledges he is “somewhat of an outlier” among high school teachers.
Martin’s colleague, Patricia Shoemaker, has also cut out “drill and kill” homework for her high school math students. Describing herself as a more traditional teacher, she leads projects and lessons in class, then allots 20 to 25 minutes at the end for students to work on problems. Students can ask their classmates, or her, if they need help, unlike at home where they might sit floundering, alone.
Although she’ll point to suggested problems students might want to try on their own time, Shoemaker refuses to chase after assignments. “I’m really not your mother,” she tells them.
The students who used to avoid class because they hadn’t done their homework now feel welcome. No homework also means no copying of assignments, giving her a more accurate reading on whether students understand the material.
Edmonton’s Catholic and public school districts have no policies addressing the issue of homework.
Both districts give principals and teachers the flexibility to decide what to assign, and how much. They encourage elementary students to read at home.
The Alberta Teachers’ Association’s position on homework is that teachers should have the professional freedom to decide when it’s warranted, said association president Mark Ramsankar.
The best way for teachers to assess a student’s understanding is in person, he said. “An assignment comes from the unknown. You hope that it’s the child’s work, but there’s no guarantee.”
Thomas said encouraging kids to review their notes from class works well, and gives them more freedom where to focus their attention.
Some teachers may feel pressure to give homework because it’s expected of them. Trying new approaches takes confidence, he said.
After Armitage shook up his lessons, he braced himself for angry calls from parents. They never came. The parents liked it.
Now, instead of floating from desk to desk checking that each child has done homework, he starts each day chatting with his students about their lives. They’ve got sports, dance class, farm chores and family time to work in, too.
He encourages his colleagues to experiment with a no-homework approach. “If you try it and it doesn’t work, you have the power and control. You can go back,” Armitage said.