Homework

 The bulk of the homework assigned is of a spiraling nature.  Throughout the year these math concepts will be presented again and again, in differing amounts and in differing levels of difficulties.  Once a week, usually on Fridays, certain of these concepts will be "tested". The test requires students to not only recall but apply the "learned" concept in a familiar yet novel situation. Since not every 4th grade student has the same background knowledge, especially here at the beginning of the year, there may be times when they have difficulties on certain items.  I also give them some class time to work on their assignments, during that time I am readily available to assist them. 


 All we can ask is their best effort. They may resubmit an assignment if they wish to show improvement.  If they have tried, given their best effort, their best guess, their best approximation of what they think is needed on a problem then their learning will increase, over time.    And after all that is the ultimate goal.


  It is also important that they be able to read and follow directions.  I ask that they show their work and on multiple choice items prove the answer they chose is correct and explain why the other choices are incorrect.  I have begun to post possible solutions on the Schoolwires page in "My Documents & Files" so you and your child may see what possible expected responses look like.   One of the benefits of this practice is that I may be able to analyze their errors and provide assistance.  If I only see the wrong answer I have no idea how they arrived at that answer.  Another benefit is that students often catch their own errors, especially on multiple choice items.  Also on word problems I ask that they write out their answer in a complete sentence.  This allows them to use the actual words from the question to frame their answer.  This increases the likelihood that they will actually answer the question being asked.  These habits of mind, in my experience, have increased learning, reduced test anxiety and led to students feeling more successful.


An excerpt from a recent New York Times article cites research supporting these practices.


"...“Spaced repetition” is one example of the kind of evidence-based techniques that researchers have found have a positive impact on learning. Here’s how it works: instead of concentrating the study of information in single blocks, as many homework assignments currently do — reading about, say, the Civil War one evening and Reconstruction the next — learners encounter the same material in briefer sessions spread over a longer period of time. With this approach, students are re-exposed to information about the Civil War and Reconstruction throughout the semester.
It sounds unassuming, but spaced repetition produces impressive results. Eighth-grade history students who relied on a spaced approach to learning had nearly double the retention rate of students who studied the same material in a consolidated unit, reported researchers from the University of California-San Diego in 2007. The reason the method works so well goes back to the brain: when we first acquire memories, they are volatile, subject to change or likely to disappear. Exposing ourselves to information repeatedly over time fixes it more permanently in our minds, by strengthening the representation of the information that is embedded in our neural networks."


"...another kind of desirable difficulty — called interleaving — that can readily be applied to homework. An interleaved assignment mixes up different kinds of situations or problems to be practiced, instead of grouping them by type. When students can’t tell in advance what kind of knowledge or problem-solving strategy will be required to answer a question, their brains have to work harder to come up with the solution, and the result is that students learn the material more thoroughly.
A study published last year in the journal Applied Cognitive Psychology asked fourth-graders to work on solving four types of math problems and then to take a test evaluating how well they had learned. The scores of those whose practice problems were mixed up were more than double the scores of those students who had practiced one kind of problem at a time.


A second learning technique, known as “retrieval practice,” employs a familiar tool — the test — in a new way: not to assess what students know, but to reinforce it. We often conceive of memory as something like a storage tank and a test as a kind of dipstick that measures how much information we’ve put in there. But that’s not actually how the brain works. Every time we pull up a memory, we make it stronger and more lasting, so that testing doesn’t just measure, it changes learning. Simply reading over material to be learned, or even taking notes and making outlines, as many homework assignments require, doesn’t have this effect. "


So, please encourage your child to make their best effort on the homework. Pick one of the questions from the yellow Effective Questioning sheet in their binder to challenge your child to justify or clarify their thinking for you.  It won't always be easy but making their brains work harder will increase their learning over time.