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What can we do so that students follow the instructions to do a given homework properly and correctly?

27.04.2012
Presenter: Sevda Uygun
Facilitator: Mazal Dozbahar
Tuning Protocole
Secratary: Özer Gülen
Sevda UYGUN: I have brought students’ notebooks and sample papers which we handed out in the 7^th and 8^th grade. Students solve the problems on the sample papers and then they paste them into their notebooks. 6th grade students solve problems on sample papers and we teachers collect these papers afterwards to check their answers. Of course, not every student does their homework as it is expected from them. As I said before, there are some students sample notebooks and sample papers. After looking at them, I believe that everything will be clear in your mind. The reason I have raised this issue is to examine how we can use homework more efficiently.

Clarifying Questions:

1) How do you give homework? Is there any space under each question?

2) Does each teacher check every question on the paper?

3) Do you give feedback to parents?

4) Do the parents have to sign notebooks to clarify that they are aware that their child has done his or her homework?

5) Do the students show how they solve problems in their notebook?

6) Is there a correlation between the energy you spend on preparing the worksheet and the time spent by students doing the worksheet?

7) Where and how do you check the notebooks?

8) Are the topics in the worksheet about subjects students have learnt that week?

9) Do you evaluate these notebooks as marks, and do you put them in their report cards?

10) Do you always give the same homework to the each student?

11) Do you use these worksheets as performance grades?

12) Do you prepare extra worksheets for students who need extra help?

Sevda UYGUN: 7^th and 8^th grade students solve worksheet questions by pasting them into their notebooks; but 6t^h grade students answer the questions on the worksheet in the empty spaces. The checking process changes from week to week according to the application we use that week. Let me try to explain my way of checking papers. The first month of the semester, I check the questions then I write little notes for the student in their notebooks. Moreover, I circle the mistakes in the problem or I correct the mistake in the problem. Furthermore, 6^th grade teachers correct all the mistakes in their students’ notebooks. We give feedback to the parents. A parent’s signature isn’t necessary on the notebooks. The problem arises when students can’t or won’t do the worksheet. How we can make the students do their homework is our main issue here. The worksheets we give them usually contain sample questions which are mainly about the topics we have taught that week. Keeping a notebook isn’t directly reflected in a student’s report card, but we use this data when we give their class participation grades.

 We don’t prepare extra worksheets for students who need extra help. Worksheets are for all students, but there is a variation of difficulty among the questions.

Neslihan: There are many things to be considered. Time must be used efficiently. You have done enough or more than you had to. If they don’t understand what you teach, they can’t do their worksheets. Worksheets must be done with the remedial course teachers at a separate time not during the lesson. Having students of different levels in the same class is not appropriate in the same class. Of course, we must differentiate between the ones who can’t do it and the ones who don’t do it. 

Sırma DEMIREL: The homework all together can be an overdose for the students. Maybe you can give the booklets separately. You may check the worksheets or booklets every day, but it may cause some problems with your yearly plan. When a student can’t solve a problem, he is demoralized and he can’t do the next. Every day, one problematic question can be done during five minutes of the lessons.

Aylin GERON: Homework is the best tool to revise your knowledge about the topic. Parents follow their children more in primary school than high school. If I were a student, I wouldn’t check the answer key in my break time. Maybe you can upload the answer key to e-ışık to allow the students to access whenever they want. Every teacher knows which questions are more difficult for the students. For these questions, it is a good idea to solve the problems in the class. The questions in the booklets and in the worksheets can be graded or classified according to their difficulty levels. For example, 3 stars can mean difficult, 2 stars medium etc.

Sema TEKDOĞAN: Homework should be checked during the lesson period. Students feel frustrated when they can’t do a single problem and can’t move on to the next problem.

Mizan: Doing homework check together should be beneficial. When they are successful at solving a problem, they may gain confidence. You can award the students with extra points when they do it.  If you don’t give them the booklet during the lesson and don’t check it, you may let them copy from each other.

Sırma DEMIREL: Five minute quizzes on a certain topic can be given to them to see whether they understood it or not.

Pınar INAL: It is a waste of time for the teacher trying to check every single notebook. Keeping a notebook and pasting the worksheets into the notebook is good because this way, they have a resource for the exams, but does it work? For the hardworking ones it can be a marvelous resource, but for others the notebook can be just a piece of paper on which to draw pictures. We mostly start that kind of thing for a good reason, but in time it loses its purpose.

Sırma DEMIREL: Pasting assignments in their notebooks teaches them how to be neat and tidy. They don’t lose the handouts. In English we have prepared a booklet for our students. Why don’t you prepare that kind of a booklet for them instead of giving them these photocopies? You can also classify the questions in the book according to their difficulty level, and somehow apply “Differentiated Learning.”

Sevda UYGUN: Every teacher has got their own criteria. They use it instead of putting ticks or minuses. We have difficulty showing the solutions to the problems every week. The load in the yearly plan is too heavy and sometimes we may not have enough time to do it. Giving them a booklet may work; I will share it with my colleagues. Little quizzes are the things we still use whenever we have enough time after each topic. If we can have a project class, each student may have a chance to learn at their learning speed. Preparing a booklet from our worksheets sounds great and it can be applicable in time I guess. Thank you very much for sharing your ideas with me.