Homework research

Homework has always been an issue for me, from when I was in school to now when I have to mark it. I have been reading Visible Learning by John Hattie  and smiled as he references Richard Russo (Russo, 2007, p.157 in Hattie, 2009, p. 235):

"She tried shit like doing her homework for a while, but it was counterproductive since she always did it wrong. Doing homework wrong, to her, was worse than not doing it at all, because doing it required time and effort and yielded the same results as not doing it, which required neither."

This is what Additional Maths and English were like for me at school; put in a lot of effort and not get the answers correct in maths, or receive greater criticism from the English teacher for misinterpreting what was expected.

Hattie refers to various research on the effect of homework on learning. The main conclusion is that it needs to not be complex, and has the highest effects "when homework involves rote learning, practice, or rehearsal of subject matter."

In an effort to generate time in class to allow students to do more practical investigations and increase their skills, I have been using a flipped learning model where students most access the basic knowledge of the topic and learn that before they attend class. Students access interactive learning resources that have poster style worksheets for them to complete as the view the presentation/video/simulation, after which they most complete a quiz. 

This model has been working but there are those students who do not do what is required of them and are not in a position to do the higher order application of the new knowledge in the investigation context. These students are given the opportunity to access the content with their teacher guiding them in class while the other students carry on developing their independent skills acquisition or application/analysis skills.

I expect students to get 100% on the quizzes; the quizzes provide immediate feedback with the correct answer! If a student can get 100% first time then well done, however if they cannot because they have not viewed the presentation content with an eye to identify and learn the content, then there is an issue. Is the task too complex? Are the students rushing the task? Are they even looking at the presentation before doing the quiz?

I need to eliminate the possibilities. The webpages I place the content in can be traced as to who accesses them and when. I believe I can eliminate the possibility of the students not accessing the content and if they rush the tasks by checking if they access and when. This will leave the possibility that the cloze passage activities I set are too complex--I don't think so, but by letting the students know that I am monitoring what they do and when, if there still is no improvement in their performances  then I can only conclude that complexity is an issue. If this is the case, I will have to reconsider my flip design or, at least, the style of pre-lesson homework I assign.

Collaborative eBooks

I want my students to get more out of being in my classes than simply doing well on the end of module test. I believe in Project Based Learning and in 21st Century Skills, and I want my students to be acquiring these skills as part of their normal class and homework behaviour.

The advent of Google Slides in our domain has allowed me to apply the SAMR model to the concept of the exercise book. In my Y8 class, the students work as a group to create an online exercise book, the EBook, in which all of the classroom theory, investigations, photos, video, tables, graphs, etc. must appear. The students are given a rubric at the start of each module that outlines what is expected of them for each lesson, it also defines presentation and group work expectations. 

The key that seems to have made the concept work is that a group is randomly selected at the start of each lesson to review the previous lesson's content and explain what they found; this has forced the students to do their homework and actually know what they are talking about. Feedback is provided by the class and myself as to the level of content knowledge the students have given, their presentation design, speaking skills and team involvement. 

Google docs is particularly effective in the observation of group involvement and task management skills shown by the students. Successful groups use the commenting functionality to tell  team mates what to do, and question each other as to what else is needed. Since I own the docs that the students use, I see all comments in me mail as they are made and I can monitor and respond where necessary to help out, or just give formative feedback. The revision history in Google docs shows precisely who did what and when; this is extraordinarily useful in identifying who is free-riding, and who is doing everything and not giving the others a chance to do their bit. 

Communication, cooperation, collaboration, team management and task management skills, along with presentation and social knowledge acquisition built in; a SAMR redefinition.

On top of the class presentation, I used the presentations on parents evening to highlight each child's knowledge in front of their parents--they had to present a slide of my choosing to their parents! The authenticity of the parent as an audience had a remarkable effect and I could only congratulate the kids on a job well done.

Jigsaw 2

I have used the Jigsaw model using research topics before, but I decided to try using it to allow my Gifted and Talented students have a go at it doing applied practicals for the structure and function of red blood cells and blood plasma.

I tend to overplan some lessons, particularly lessons I'm being observed on, and this was one of them. I designed 3 parts to the jigsaw, with a 4th section on students reviewing their homework theory. Having the 4 groups would allow me to move around a facilitate the various groups. For some reason, during the lesson, I decided to give the 4th group another practical to do that tied me to that table. 




Although the groups seemed to self manage well with the school nurse working with one group, which was the point, I was unable to chat with them and guide them to ensure they were on track to meet the demands of the tasks.

When pulling the jigsaw together, the group that presented did very well, showing that they had managed to complete the tasks with little guidance and connect the activities to the pre-lesson theory that they were asked to complete. Unfortunately, I didn't get to hear all of the groups and so could not confident that the students progressed in their skills.

After the lesson, I found and spoke to some of the students. All enjoyed the challenge of the lesson. Most had managed to build the jigsaw and share their knowledge and experience with their peers. Some felt that they needed more time to build understanding of each of the tasks as their teammates had not provided thorough enough feedback/peer teaching.

I am confident that the majority of students progressed but I need to revisit the practicals at the start of the next lesson on white blood cells. I will have the students rebuild their jigsaws and review the findings from each of the activities. 

On reflection, adding the extra activity which looked at WBCs was unnecessary but also could have been pushed to the next lesson with the blood plasma testing. This would have balanced the activities and created 2 experts per table for the magnification and surface area modelling activity. I believe this is a cool lesson and the next time I teach it, it will be awesome :)