Using homework to motivate students
By Lisa Edwards |
March 28, 2012, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
ONGOING assessment is key to teachers monitoring student progress. It plays an essential role in developing teaching and learning activities to ensure continued student development.
Assessment within the classroom takes many forms - and involves both the student and the teacher. It is crucial that students are aware of what they are doing well and what they can do to make further progress, and to reflect on their own learning. By presenting students with learning outcomes and success criteria for each lesson, teachers are making explicit what students can do to be successful in their learning. Through a focus on learning targets, students have a clear goal and they can articulate their focus for improvement.
The range of assessment opportunities - including ongoing discussions, presentations, testing, application of skills, quality of work and self-assessment by the student - can be thought of as a photo album of student progress, with test scores being one snapshot within the album. Tests at the end of a unit or at key stages of learning within the primary school give students a chance to apply their skills and learning. Test scores support the ongoing assessment throughout units of study, and help students and teachers set future learning targets.
Homework can be a fantastic avenue for keeping students motivated in their learning - and the importance of hands-on, engaging activities cannot be underestimated. Daily reading is at the heart of homework - to reinforce reading strategies, and at the same time, helping students develop a love of literature. Students can be motivated to develop mathematics skills through online, interactive mathematics activities. Students are encouraged to further explore classroom topics at home through inquiry-based research tasks that promote investigation. These tasks can form a springboard for discussion at home and can be shared and built upon within the classroom.
Homework can form a bridge between home and school. It not only helps students develop time management skills and set study routines, and for the skills taught at school to be practiced and reinforced; it also gives parents an insight into the current learning focus. However, it is important to remember that students' wellbeing and readiness for the next day of learning requires having a break from learning and a chance to be active and enjoy leisure pursuits as well. Having a balance at home and allowing for family time is also important to children's development and promotes achievement.
(Lisa Edwards is Primary Curriculum coordinator of YCIS Shanghai.)
Assessment within the classroom takes many forms - and involves both the student and the teacher. It is crucial that students are aware of what they are doing well and what they can do to make further progress, and to reflect on their own learning. By presenting students with learning outcomes and success criteria for each lesson, teachers are making explicit what students can do to be successful in their learning. Through a focus on learning targets, students have a clear goal and they can articulate their focus for improvement.
The range of assessment opportunities - including ongoing discussions, presentations, testing, application of skills, quality of work and self-assessment by the student - can be thought of as a photo album of student progress, with test scores being one snapshot within the album. Tests at the end of a unit or at key stages of learning within the primary school give students a chance to apply their skills and learning. Test scores support the ongoing assessment throughout units of study, and help students and teachers set future learning targets.
Homework can be a fantastic avenue for keeping students motivated in their learning - and the importance of hands-on, engaging activities cannot be underestimated. Daily reading is at the heart of homework - to reinforce reading strategies, and at the same time, helping students develop a love of literature. Students can be motivated to develop mathematics skills through online, interactive mathematics activities. Students are encouraged to further explore classroom topics at home through inquiry-based research tasks that promote investigation. These tasks can form a springboard for discussion at home and can be shared and built upon within the classroom.
Homework can form a bridge between home and school. It not only helps students develop time management skills and set study routines, and for the skills taught at school to be practiced and reinforced; it also gives parents an insight into the current learning focus. However, it is important to remember that students' wellbeing and readiness for the next day of learning requires having a break from learning and a chance to be active and enjoy leisure pursuits as well. Having a balance at home and allowing for family time is also important to children's development and promotes achievement.
(Lisa Edwards is Primary Curriculum coordinator of YCIS Shanghai.)
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