Homework and its effectiveness have always been a topic of debate among parents and teachers. They argue about how much homework kids should be given. That brings us to the question what is the optimum amount of homework for a student?
Nowadays, most students struggle to complete their homework on time for various reasons. So, they look for a top homework helper who can offer them homework help online.
A teacher must understand the requirement of the students before assigning them homework. It must be relevant to the lesson taught in the class or based on the modules to be taught in the next class. Homework done by the students every day helps them connect with the latest modules more efficiently and brings stability to academics. Study-life balance is an important aspect of every student’s life, and parents must be aware not to force their children beyond that.
On that note, here are six ways students can benefit from homework assignments –
Make sure the tasks are meaningful and matched.
As an educator, always trust in the process of quality over quantity. If you can instil this in yourself as an educator, you can make better decisions while assigning homework. Homework must not make the students uninterested and bored. As an educator, it is your responsibility to get your students excited about learning.
Follow these tips to make homework more engaging:
- Emphasise on activities that induce interest to learn. For example, ask the students to choose their own math games or reading activities.
- Each student must feel comfortable doing their homework independently.
Ensure access to resources for task completion
If you are a teacher, teach your students to prepare how to approach homework. To ensure their homework success,
- Allocate fixed classroom time to implement good study habits and mould them to work within a fixed timeframe. Teach them about time management and breaking down huge tasks.
- Engage in conversations with students to promote problem-solving abilities in the students.
- If you see your students struggling with homework, connect them with homework support groups. It can be after-school clubs, private tuition, or accommodate a special hour for the students during the school.
Be open to revisiting homework policies and practices
Stop the old culture of penalizing students for not completing homework. Homework must be considered as a tool to practise content and learn self-management. So, as a teacher, try to provide more opportunities to students for clearer communication. Be more responsive while revising assignments or giving them feedback. You can give students a bit of flexibility in terms of their homework dates.
As a teacher, you must try to find value in giving homework. Ask yourself the following questions –
- Shall I assign this task to evaluate?
- How can the gradation system be designed?
- Did the homework assignment generate expected outcomes?
Monitor all these things by going through their completion rates. You can also take the feedback of the students. Be flexible to change the homework schedule as per their needs or whether their expectations are fulfilled.
Understand how to be a good helper
The effectiveness of homework doesn’t only depend on the teachers. The parents must also be equally responsible for making the objective of giving homework a success. As a parent, keep a close eye to see if your ward is getting enough independence to complete the homework at home.
Make your child’s homework easy and interesting by being a good helper. Parents often confuse helping with homework by restlessly hovering or micromanaging everything. Sometimes they even try to do their homework themselves. Understand that while it may yield short-term benefits, it does not help in the long run. The child will develop no confidence if you continue to do handholding throughout the process. Instead, try to help by asking probing questions, giving hints, and checking for their understanding.
Use homework as a tool for communication
Treat homework as a medium to facilitate communication between the teachers and parents. Parents can use homework as an opportunity to start conversing with the class teachers. Speaking openly about peer relationships, specific assignments or classes, or even personal habits that impact their academic life fosters better communication.
Teachers and parents can both get a better idea about the student. This will help them to design the schedules better to improve their results. For students of junior grades, use a daily or weekly home-school planner or notebook. Write down the student’s progress, which can be an efficient way to share information. For senior grade students, encourage them to communicate their needs and ask for provide support as needed.
Make sure to balance wellness
Children are no different from adults, and they also need a healthy work-life balance.
- Positive social connection
- Engagement in pleasurable activities
- Playing outdoor games with friends
These are some of the important factors that foster work-life balance and mental well-being. Always check if the students are getting overburdened with homework. If you feel so, allow the child to take a break and do other structured activities. Always ensure there is a fixed time in their daily routine for play.
Different children have fun doing different things. Some like to play outside, some love to read books, while some prefer online gaming. As a parent, try to mix and match all kinds of activities so that your child gets a perfect balance between physical movement and mindfulness downtime.
Parting Thoughts:
Homework is something that students need to do throughout their academic life. Students always get flustered by too much homework from junior grades to college. While homework aims at perfecting a student’s knowledge, often, a whole barrage of homework can adversely affect a student’s development. This is the reason so many students look for a college homework helper after passing school. However, both teachers and parents must consider the points mentioned above before assigning homework. Build trustworthiness so that children reach you when they think of getting the best homework helper. Only then can homework play a pivotal role in deciding a student’s success.
