• Homework (or "Independent Practice") is controversial in education.  Is it useful?  Is it busy work?  Is it relevant for all classes?  This page should provide some clarity on those questions.

     

    To begin, I call my homework "Independent Practice" for two reasons.  First, this is a much more accurate name.  I want my students to PRACTICE what they learned in class INDEPENDENTLY of peers and teachers.  This does not have to be done at home: a library, the hallway, a long bus ride, or home are all suitable places to practice math.  Second, calling this work Independent Practice (or IP for short) allows for practice WITHIN class time without students saying "It's called HOMEwork; I'll do it at HOME."

     

    With that out of the way, let's start with one of my favorite analogies: Independent Practice is to success in math as practicing an instrument, a sport, a video game, or any hobby is to success in those hobbies.  You can play a video game once and be ok at it, but it takes multiple repetitions to master that particular game.  In a sport, you can't just practice once, then come back a month later and expect to still be as good at that sport as you were a month prior!  However, we are all aware that every human is unique.  Some are just initially more gifted in a sport/activity, and when you compare Person A to Person B by the time it takes them to run a mile (for example), Person A might be faster than Person B with little or no training.  HOWEVER, two conclusions are absolutely valid.  First, Person B can improve their mile time with practice, albeit maybe more practice than Person A needs.  Second, Person A will not improve without practicing, and that becomes an issue if they want to excel in that sport/field/subject; there's always a bigger fish in the sea!

     

    In Elementary School (Grades K - 5), it is commonly suggested that Independent Practice assignments take no more than 10 minutes times the grade level.  So, in 3rd grade, 10 times 3 gives us 30 minutes of Independent Practice a night.  With that being said, the type of Independent Practice being assigned is very important.  Reading is at the top of the list, especially reading as a family.  In fact, the more Practice that engages and connects a family to their child's school, the better!  Although parents should never be asked to teach a subject to their child, successful IP might be where a child has to re-teach a subject to their parents or get their help with an interview or experiment.  Most studies I read suggest that even rote practice problems (doing 10 of the same question that was learned in class for example) isn't very helpful in elementary school.  One key outcome of assigning Independent Practice early on, though, is it helps the family establish a routine of when (and how!) a child should be doing their work after school.  Do they get home, have a snack and free time until 4, and then do their Independent Practice?  Is the Independent Practice done after dinner?

     

    As we move to Middle School, the suggestion of time spent on Independent Practice increases.  Here is a link to Washoe County School District's Homework Regulations and Policies You'll notice that at the bottom of page 4, there are suggested times by grade level that generally hold with the "10 minutes times the grade level".  What does Independent Practice look like at the Middle School Age?  Still reading every night, for sure!  Maybe a bit of instrument practice.  And, of course, math!  In Middle School, math starts to move a little faster through more units of study.  This is a great segue into the "Forgetting Curve"

    Shows the percentage of data students forget after x amount of time

    Looking at the graphic above, the green curve follows student retention of information within 1 hour, 1 day, 2 days, and up to 6 days after the initial dissemination of information.  As you can see, after 1 HOUR, students have forgotten about 50% of the information taught to them, within 1 day they have lost 60%, and after 6 days, students only retain approximately 20% of the information.  It's no wonder that when it comes to the Final Exam, students struggle to recall 50 - 80 days worth of information!  But, then enters "repetitions", which means students are seeing the same information again (and again...and again).  Sometimes that information can be repeated the following few days in class.  But other times, as often happens in Middle and High School, teachers must move on to ensure they cover all of the material required by the District or State.

     

    How I organize my Independent Practice: I teach (typically) freshmen in Algebra 1 and juniors/seniors in AP Calculus.  It is always my hope that my Independent Practice takes fewer than 30 minutes.  But, that's not always the case.  Some days run a little longer, and some are a little shorter.  If students are taking much more than 30 minutes a night, they are encouraged to contact me so we can work on their skills to improve their time spent on the Independent Practice.

     

    Part 1: Review from the current day's class - students have 4 - 6 problems that review the concepts they learned in class that day.  This serves as the "1st repetition", so optimistically it will help the average student retain closer to 30% of the information instead of 20% if they don't repeat the information again.

    Part 2: Review from past classes - students have 2 - 4 questions that review concepts from PRIOR classes.  This serves as a "2nd repetition", which the Forgetting Curve implies will allow a student to retain 50% of the information.

    Part 3: Practice Knowledge Check - this is a practice quiz (1 - 2 questions long) as students begin each class with a daily (graded) quiz.  Note that this quiz at the beginning of class can serve as another repetition of the learning because students grade their own quizzes directly after completing them.

     

    I also provide FULL worked-out solutions for every problem.  After students finish their Independent Practice, they should check the answers against the posted solutions.  Or, if students are stumped on a problem, they're encouraged to use the solutions to help guide them to the answer.

     

    A few concluding notes:

    1.) It is absolutely true that some students do not have to practice as much as others; some students just "get" math faster.  HOWEVER, doing Independent Practice is not going to hinder the long-term learning of anyone.  Additionally, Independent Practice forces students to establish an out-of-class routine to practice what they've learned.  Although this may not be necessary for all students at the current time, I feel this fosters independence outside of a very structured learning environment, which is a REALLY hard skill to learn.

    2.) Independent Practice only counts for the Citizenship portion of my gradebook.  The academic portion of the gradebook (which goes on a student's transcript) is only determined by in-class proctored assessments.  As students have the ability to get every answer correct (due to the posted solutions and the technology of this day and age), students should be earning 100% on all assignments.

    3.) Parents/Guardians: please check in to make sure your child is doing their Independent Practice each night!

    4.) I tell my students that if they consistently do the following three habits, they'll find success in my class:

    Habit 1: Do your Independent Practice ON TIME

    Habit 2: Do your Independent Practice with fidelity (WITHOUT just copying the solutions)

    Habit 3: Consistently ask for help on any problems which you do not understand on the Independent Practice by coming in for extra tutoring