Does Homework Have a Place in Education?

A look at the implementation, usefulness, and validity of homework in the secondary

school classroom.

Introduction

The implementation of homework in many American classrooms is regarded as

traditional and necessary. Often, trends in education are short-lived and new theories are

adopted almost every decade. While the idea of homework has endured several

centuries, its purpose, effect, and implementation have made many transformations with

the onset of each new theory in education. Interest in this area has risen recently on all

fronts (teachers, administration, students, and parents) due to the competitiveness of

college and the introduction of standardized tests. While each group agrees that student

scores and learning should increase, the factors that promote these goals are disputed.

Often, the factor that receives the most criticism and objection is homework.

Many critics of homework wonder: Does homework matter? Does it affect grade

or learning? These are the kinds of questions concerning parents and students. With all

of the after school commitments children and young adults are involved in today, it is

important for families to weigh out the opportunity cost of completing assigned

homework. Still, teachers and administrators wonder similar questions such as ‘Does

homework aid in students’ academic performance? How much and what type(s) of

homework are the most successful in promoting students’ academic progress? What can

be done to propel student engagement and parental support for homework?’ Because

standardized tests are so vital to a school district’s reputation, questions like these should

and are being addressed. Slowly, conceptual homework is being audited to reveal its true
purpose and effect. In the following literature review, the previous questions as well as

others focusing on homework are explored.

Literature Review

Homework is defined as “academic work assigned in school that is designed to

extend the practice of academic skills into other environments during non school hours,”

by authors Cosden, Morrison, Albanese, and Macias, of When Homework is not Home

Work. Ostensibly, homework is designed to improve skills rudimentarily learned in the

classroom setting. When students learn a new concept in class, they are expected to

“practice” this concept on their on time outside of school. Additionally, homework is

recognized as an indicator of both successful schools and students (Epstein and Van

Voorhis 181). When students complete homework assignments, it means they are

engaged in what is happening in the classroom. It means that the classroom is successful

in creating a pro-active learning environment. While these ideas seem to expose simply

the necessity of homework, it is important to point out areas of concern. For instance,

Lora Battle-Bailey, author of Training Teachers to Design Interactive Homework, offers

the idea that homework is a means of success with one caveat. It can be helpful in

leading students toward progress and success if they are able to work independently and

have the support they need to complete out of school assignments at home. For those

who do not, however, homework is simply a painful reminder of what was confounding

in the lesson and offers little more than frustration. In fact, to many students homework

is “time-consuming, disruptive, stressful, and demoralizing [especially] in the case of

kids for whom academic learning doesn't come easily,” explains Alfie Kohn, author of
The Homework Myth, Down with Homework, and Homework Stinks. In Kohn’s view,

traditional homework has no place in a modern day classroom. What it is and what it

should be are two strikingly different entities. In order for homework to be both

successful and a measure of success, its purpose and content must be revaluated.

Why homework? All educators (including parents and administration) believe

that homework is purposeful. Most have identified a purpose that fits into benefiting the

student, the school, and the community.

Students are the primary reason for the existence of homework. Homework was

first and foremost created to help the student practice work at home after learning a new

idea. Many ideas are learned through formal repetition and homework serves this

function. Secondly, homework serves as a method of personal development for those

students who recognize and comprehend an idea after working at home on it. Lastly,

homework can be used as a punishment for students who are disruptive. Overall, most

purposes of homework fall into the category of affecting students.

Homework may also be important to a particular school or district. Many schools

use homework to increase parent-teacher communications. If students in the classroom

are bringing assignment home every night that require parental assistance, a direct line of

communication between the classroom teacher and mom and dad is sure to develop.

Furthermore, homework is assigned simply because schools have it written into their

policy so that all teachers must administer it. There exist few, but important reasons why

schools support the use of homework.

Finally, the idea of community plays an important part in homework. Homework

enables participation, peer interactions, and parent-child relations to be fostered. Keeping

the community in mind, schools use homework to help students develop skills necessary

to be part of a larger body. Additionally, schools use home work to reflect a rigorous

academic program as part of a public relation repertoire. Although often unnoticed, these

purposes are authentic and practical.

While critics may not be able to agree on what homework is, all are in accord as

to why it exists; for reasons involving the student, the school, and the community.

When looking at the purpose and effectiveness of homework in hopes of

restoring it, we must consider why homework is and is not completed. For many

students, completion of assignments is a must at home. Students are more likely to

complete homework if their parents have had formal education (Epstein and Van

Voorhis). There exists a positive correlation between parental interest and homework

completion and a much weaker correlation between student interest and completion

(Battle-Bailey) suggesting that the strength of family support propels academic study

outside of the classroom. Additionally, a variety of other reasons such as teacher

approval, achievement, self esteem, and academic success (higher grades) exist as well.

A final note on the completion of homework centers on the idea of providing after school

homework assistance programs. Cosden, Morrison, Albanese, and Macias, of When

Homework is not Home Work, offer evidence that supplying a designated time, setting,

and an adult monitor increases the amount of homework tasks completed. Many urban

schools have implemented after school programs in order to increase safety, enhance

cultural and community identification, help students develop social skills, and most

importantly improve academic achievement. The research suggests the most effective

programs offer at least forty-five minutes of a “structured setting with instructional

support for students”. Providing such programs has shown an increase in homework

completion.

Conversely, many students refuse to do their homework despite these positive

factors. Alfie Kohn maintains that homework is so poorly mismanaged today that

students simply refuse to do it although there has been a sharp increase of homework

demands over the past decade. Students may not know how to complete the assignment

and so do not get any satisfaction out of it. Many high school students hold after school

jobs or are involved in other commitments that prevent them from having enough time

for homework, or else they are unable to manage their time properly. Thirdly and most

importantly, students who have difficulty completing assignments at home often do not

have the guided support of parents or elders. Family plays an important role in the

homework process because if the members at home to do not value its purposes, often,

neither will the student. If only some homework is completed by certain students and

unobserved by others, what then are the benefits and where is the uniformity?

To implement something new in the classroom without determining and

displaying its benefits is inefficient, risky, and incongruous. The same is true for

allowing the continuation of a grandfathered practice such as homework. What kinds of

things can be gained from the ideology of homework? Academically, students who

complete homework receive credit for the work turned in and positive

acknowledgement/reinforcement from their teacher. Homework is also believed to

encourage self discipline, self esteem, and time management. For the classroom teacher,

homework serves as a method of assessment for the students and for his/her teaching

strategies. Teachers can use assignments to determine what areas need to be worked on
and what lessons were not presented well overall. Homework may reinforce ideas

introduced in the classroom and help to prepare students for what will be taught in the

future. Lastly, homework can be beneficial in acting as an indicator. Cosden (et al), of

the periodical Educational Psychologist, maintain that homework can say a lot about a

particular student such as his/her academic self concept, commitment to school,

development of personal responsibility, and improvement of cognitive strategies. In light

of these positive effects homework can offer, teachers should want to make more use of it

and critics should want to praise rather than condemn it. Homework can be all of these

things as long as educators exercise it in the correct manner.

In order for educators to wield homework in a manner such that benefits are

revealed and drawbacks are muted, specific training on homework implementation is

necessary. Authors Joyce Epstein and Frances Voorhis advise that special care be taken

to develop and design homework so that it can be beneficial (181). The team suggests

that attributes such as purpose, format, and items to help students succeed should be

taken into consideration when educators assign homework. Homework should “reflect

not only the teacher’s knowledge but understanding of skills, abilities, and needs of

students, and the characteristics and situations of their students’ families.” Taking into

account the background of individual students helps allow specialized homework that

student can complete. Additionally, Lora Battle-Bailey offers a check list of sorts that

recommends teachers evaluate parents and students interest, develop vocabulary lists,

include clear directions, devise developmentally effective questions, and analyze the

quality of students' skills and offer recommendations. Additionally, Hammond and

Lynch authors of If They’d Only do Their Work! advise teachers to “make the process of
doing the assignment transparent, concrete, manageable, and as simple as possible.”

While these tips can help the classroom teacher to take inventory of the homework

process, s/he needs to be aware of what kinds of homework should be assigned, and what

kinds to avoid.

Jean Piaget, the Swiss developmental psychologist, postulated that children learn

best when afforded opportunities to interact with their environments. He also found that

as children reason, they work out solutions and understandings to complex ideas that help

foster critical thinking skills. Activities that require children to focus on these critical

thinking skills allow them to deal with day to day issues (Battle-Bailey). None of these

outcomes can be found, however, in the assignment of recall type homework tasks. What

teachers must begin to understand is that “homework should be authentic, engaging, and

project based” and that “struggling learners benefit when learning goals and the desired

quality of learning products are public and explicit” (Hammond and Lynch). In other

words, assignments should represent something real world and purposeful so that

children can bridge ideas taught in school with concepts existing outside of the

classroom. Additionally, students are more inclined to work on an assignment when they

feel it is realistic and when tasks include sharing knowledge, like a portfolio. Many

critics, including Alfie Kohn, discuss getting rid of day to day homework assignments

and encouraging teachers to specifically design assignments for individual students to be

shared, not graded. He insists homework should be used sparingly; often, assigning no

homework for days at a time, allowing children to spend their free hours as they choose.

Breaking the habit of a long term routine is unimaginable and character-trying. These

theories ask educators to do just that; dismiss a tradition that has been implemented for
decades longer than they have been alive. While exposing the negative effects of old

homework trends and highlighting the benefits of this new homework ideology, parents

and critics hope to help in creating a learning atmosphere where the implementation,

purpose, and effect of at-home assignments truly lead students to success.

Methods

Upon review of several pieces of literature, I have chosen to exercise my own study

to reveal answers to inquiries such as how to create and implement appropriate and

purposeful homework and what effect completed homework has on academic

achievement. Information will be gathered through my students, several faculty

members, and involvement in the after school homework club. The entire study takes

place at Pennsbury High School West, of Pennsbury School District in Fairless Hills,

Pennsylvania. The Pennsbury school system is a highly competitive suburban district

with a 100% graduation rate; of that, about 92% will go on to some higher education

program. The socio-economic standing of the community is rather mixed. Parts of the

district include household incomes of $200,000 +, while other parts consist of about $60-

$80,000 incomes per family. The Pennsbury community is largely made up of alumni.

As such, the taxpayers are extremely proud of their school district. Academics and

athletics are looked at as both extremely important and equally necessary.

I have chosen to study my B period Biology I class for this inquiry because the

group is the most diverse and my largest, with 26 sophomores. I believe these attributes

will allow a fair representation of the school district. The participants will be my

students, 30 faculty members, and 2-3 regularly attending students of the homework
assistance program. The whole study should be complete in one 9 week period (45

days/one marking period). Lastly, my data sources include research articles, observation,

experimentation, co-generative dialogues and surveys.

In the research process it is important to establish a relative starting point. My

first step is to take inventory of the students in my B period Bio I class. I have drawn up

a chart that illustrates the number of homework assignments each student has completed

out of the past 15 assigned. I chose the number 15 because it allowed me a large enough

sample to gather results that were reflective of the students’ nature. Against this, I have

plotted the averages of each student at the time the last assignment was collected and

graded. I wanted a glimpse of this relationship before I began to add variables into the

experiment. My initial inventory is found in Appendix B. Here ID numbers, homework

assignments completed, and class average is listed. I included two graphs: a plot line that

displays each average compared to the number of homeworks completed and an area

graph that allows one to see the peaks and valleys in the relationship between homework

completed and average. As the number of homeworks completed rises (blue on the

bottom) so does the average (purple on the top) and visa versa. It is important to note

that this average is not test average or homework average, but the students’ average

overall in the course.

Secondly, my study included examining what types of homework were most

effective in student achievement. Using the steps outlined by both Alfie Kohn and Lora

Battle-Bailey, I designed a series of homework assignments that included exploring

vocabulary, determining differences, using visual aids, and incorporating the individual

student. For one week, I assigned a different graphic organizer each night (Appendix A).
The first assignment was to use the words “Energy” and “ATP” in a correlation. Our

lesson centered on the importance of energy for our body’s daily functions and the

specific molecule of energy, ATP. I wanted the students to take home the information we

learned and try to jot down some ideas about each. The second homework assignment

was an open ended guide to the importance and use of ATP in glycolysis. Thirdly, the

students were given the word Glycolysis to explore. Each student was asked to give a

definition, write down some characteristics about the term, and discuss what it is like and

what it is unlike. The next night, the students were asked to do the same type of

vocabulary exercise with the term Fermentation. In class, students volunteered to share

their ideas with the group on the white board. The next night, the students were asked to

compare two types of Fermentation: lactic acid and alcoholic using a graphic organizer.

Again, students volunteered to share their work on the white board for the class to see.

Lastly, each student was given a piece of colored construction paper and asked to develop

their own graphic organizer using any of the concepts studied in class that week. One

student created an illustration of a tree with blanks for the substances that go into the

plant for photosynthesis and exit the plant during respiration. Students shared their

creation with another peer in class. A quiz on the 5 lessons and homework assignments

was given at the beginning of the next week. Finally, my experiment concluded with a

week of book work assignments in which students were to read an excerpt from the text

book and take notes each night on the information that I would be introducing the next

class period. A quiz was administered at the beginning of the following week to

determine the effectiveness of these assignments as well.

 My study not only included the quantitative variables in my classroom, but also

incorporated information and ideas gathered from faculty members and students. It was

my interest to determine what kinds of homework teachers assign and what kinds of

homework are completed. I wanted to know if the students in various teachers’ classes

who have completed homework on a regular basis had higher averages than those who

did not. I polled 30 teachers randomly from all disciplines having different years of

teaching experience. Appendix F illustrates the survey. I asked teachers to find three

students who always complete homework and list their averages and find three students

who rarely complete homework and list each one’s average. These values I have graphed

in Appendix G. Additionally, I held two separate co-generative dialogues with 4 students

each during a two week time period to discuss some ideas they may have about the theory

of homework. I chose two students who had completed every homework assignment that

week and two students who completed less than 3 homework assignments. I chose 4

different students for the following week. The questions that facilitated this dialogue are

found in Appendix H.

My last piece of data came from involving myself in the Pennsbury Homework

Assistance Program. This is a club that was initiated and designed by a math teacher at

our high school to make available a setting and resources in which students can complete

homework. I joined this year as a tutor and representative of the science department.

After-school programs were discussed in some of the literature I reviewed and I wanted

to be able to observe the evidence my self. I signed on and made myself available three

days a week after school between 2:15-3:15 for any student who needed extra help with

science homework, lab completion, or study time.

 In the 45 day time period the study lasted, I collected data from experimentation,

survey, direct observation, and discussion. The results of my study on the effectiveness

of homework follow.

Results

In my quantitative experiment, Appendices C and D display the information

regarding my students’ completion of homework assignments versus their quiz grades at

the end of a one week period. Appendix C illustrates the relationship of the completion

of graphic organizers and quiz performance while Appendix D shows the relationship

between note taking and quiz performance. In both graphs, a direct proportional

relationship existed between completion and score. Students with more homework

completion received higher percentages on their quizzes. This is evident in the positive

slope in the graph. Secondly, a graph is drawn up in Appendix E comparing the number

of students who completed more than half (3/5) of the assignments with the number of

students who scored at least an 80% or higher on the quiz, for each week. Week one

(Graphic Organizers) is represented in light blue, while week two (note-taking) is

represented in purple. Here, 21 students completed more than half of the note taking

assignments while only 5 scored higher than an 80% on the quiz. During the first week,

18 students completed more than half of the graphic organizer assignments and 14 scored

higher than an 80% on the comprehensive quiz. Lastly, Appendix G illustrates 30

students chosen randomly from the classes of the teachers I polled. I created a line graph

that charts students’ averages who regularly (90% of the time or 4/5 nights per week)

complete homework (navy blue line) and students’ averages who do not (50% of the time
or 2/5 nights per week or less) complete homework (pink line). The averages of those

students who regularly complete homework range from 70%-98% with an average of

89.2%. The averages of students who do not complete their homework regularly range

from 34%-92% with and average of 65.8%.

My qualitative results include the open ended responses of teachers and students

on my surveys and co-generative dialogues respectively. When asked if the teachers

assigned homework, 28 teachers responded with yes. Teachers assigned three basic

‘types’ of homework: 14 assigned reading with questions and/or a reflective piece, 15

teachers assign review sheets/practice problems/vocabulary study guides, and 1 teacher

assigned weekly projects. When asked what percent of students complete homework in

the class 6 teachers said students in their academic or AP classes complete 95%-99%

of the homework assigned. Fifteen teachers said that their academic classes complete at

least 80%-90% on a regular basis. Six teachers said 60%-70% of their students in general

prep classes complete homework on a regular basis. Three teachers said less than 50% of

their general prep students complete homework regularly. Twenty eight teachers agreed

that busy work or text book work assignments do not contribute to success, while two

teachers said long assignments or projects were in effective. When asked to list an

assignment in which almost all of the students completed, all 30 teachers said either

review for test, reading with questions, or practice problems. When asked to list an

assignment in which half of the class did not complete, 7 teachers said they could not

remember one, 4 teachers said the completion of an essay, 2 teachers said a poster

assignment or an oral interview, 4 teachers said taking notes, and 3 teachers said any

assignment scheduled just before an event like senior prom/senior trip/cut day. Lastly, I
asked teachers to list two popular reasons why students fail to complete homework; 29

teachers responded with “student forgot” or “student had to work or go to practice”. One

teacher said the parents don’t care if homework gets completed.

My co-generative dialogues were beneficial in gathering information pertaining to

my class. I asked 8 students a series of questions outlined in Appendix H. Four students

were chosen at the end of week one and four students were chosen at the end of week

two. All four students said their parents help them with homework. Three out of four

students said their grade would suffer if they did not complete homework, and one

discussed the lack of understanding if she failed to do her homework. The students

agreed that they enjoy homework as a review or if it includes creating a poster or

something visual. They all agreed that vocabulary sheets were the least effective. In my

second cogen discussion two students revealed no one helps with homework and two said

their parents and other family members help. Two of the students said that they do not

always complete homework because of sports or a job. All four agreed that book

generated worksheets and taking notes is the least favorable and effective type of

homework. The homework they enjoy most includes study packets, diagrams, and

anything creative.

Lastly, the results of my time spent involved in the homework assistance program

were positive. I worked with a few students sporadically and two students regularly.

Student A was an 11th grade girl in Chemistry and Student B was a 9th grade boy in

physical science. Both students had higher averages by the end of marking period as well

as a higher homework grade. Student A saw an increase in test average and felt more

prepared for the final. Student B saw a consistent test average but felt more comfortable
with the material going into the final exam. The results of my quantitative experiment

and qualitative study and observations are explained in the following section.

Discussion

Overall, the results of the full homework study were very telling. Using my class

experiment, faculty members, and participation in the homework assistance program, I

organized significant results. First, I devised the in-class experiment after reading the

literature on effective types of homework. I wanted to use my students as an indicator of

how homework affects academic performance. I was studying not only homework

completion versus performance but effectiveness of homework assignments. In both

Appendices C and D, students who completed more homeworks that week received a

higher quiz grade and a higher average overall because completion points were awarded.

The positive slope on the plotted graph illustrates this. One can deduce that as homework

completion increases, so too does the quiz score. A more visual representation is offered

on the stacked area graphs in which purple represents quiz average and blue represents

homework average. Homework averages are plotted between 0-100 while quiz average

is plotted between 100-200 to delineate the two entities. Both areas mirror one another in

the peak and valley pattern to illustrate the relationship between homework completion

and performance. The relationship between effective and non effective types of

homework can also be observed looking at the bar graph in Appendix E. More students

completed the note taking assignments than the graphic organizers, however the students

performed better on the quiz administered on the information from the graphic

organizers. When I conducted the co generative dialogue after week one, I asked two
students who completed less than half of the homework assignments and two students

who completed all 5 assignments which types of homework were most effective. All of

the students agreed that creative assignments worked best for understanding and

motivation. However, my results show that students were more likely to complete simple

easy task of note-taking than invest in something critical they had to complete. I brought

this to the table with my second group of students (same criteria) after week two and they

discussed reasons why note taking is an “easy” form of homework while coming up with

relationships and making connections is much more work. My cogen group revealed that

sports practice or an after school job keeps them from having a lot of time to complete

homework. Furthermore, the “free” time they do have must be divided among several

subjects. Similarly, half of the faculty members I polled said that they assign worksheets

or study guides on a regular basis, but many decided that this type of homework can be

ineffective if it resembles ‘busy work.’ Lastly, I included a graph that depicted the trends

of homework completion and academic performance in other classes. The chart reveals a

relationship between the students who regularly complete homework and those who do

not. The results of this chart are similar to my findings that suggest homework plays a

vital role in the students’ averages. In light of these results it can be said that the

completion specific types of homework that foster critical thinking and force students to

invest time and thought affect their performance on assessments, participation, and

overall average.

Following my study, my next goal is to build and develop a stronger homework

assistance program in which a membership of teachers is involved. The results I gathered

from this experience were significant enough for my study, but I would have liked a
larger body to work with. Unfortunately, the program is so new and only a few faculty

members encouraged their students to attend. The relationship I had between the student

seeking after school help and the classroom teacher was beneficial to both parties. It

allowed the teacher to understand where the student was in terms of comprehension and

allowed me to relay the concepts and skills the teacher wanted the student to master. The

two students I worked with showed improvement in areas such as comprehension,

perseverance, and motivation. Additionally, their classroom teacher became more

willing and flexible when s/he was made aware of the improvements each student made.

Overall, the literature suggests after school programs positively affect students, both

socially and academically. My results illustrated this relationship.

Conclusion

As traditional as the practice of assigning homework may be, educators, parents,

and students want to be sure it is effective and significant. Critics of homework support

the growing trend of the increasing number of students who do not observe the practice.

Their literature offers reasons why students do not benefit from the types of homework

implemented by teachers today. While these critics maintain that homework generates

frustration and denies children opportunities, some of the literature reveals benefits

homework can offer. The greatest homework myth is that students do not profit from

completing work outside of the school day. In order to take advantage of the benefits

homework can offer such as increased academic performance, higher self esteem,

determination, and development of social skills, educators need to be trained to

evaluate the assignments they dispense. Assignments should be designed specifically for
learning taking into consideration purpose, authenticity, and student background. Tasks

that involve the student personally, asking him/her make connections or add ideas, allow

for a deeper more meaningful understanding of the material, whereas tasks that are

designed for recalling information allow only for superficial understanding. Finally,

motivating students to complete homework so that these benefits may be revealed

involves establishing activities that allow the students to share their work and programs

designed to provide a setting for homework completion and guidance. In the end,

homework is a factor in academic success. It can affect grade and it most assuredly can

improve comprehension. The homework truth: when evaluated and administered by the

guidelines set forth in the literature and study discussed here, homework has proven to

aid in classroom and community performance. This may be one tradition that will outlive

all others in the field of education.

References

Battle-Bailey, L. (2003) Training Teachers to Design Interactive Homework.

ERIC Clearinghouse on Teaching and Teacher Education.

Bryan, T., Burstein, K. (2004) Improving Homework Completion and Academic

Performance: Lessons From Special Education. Theory Into Practice. 43 (3).
p213-219.

Cosden, M., Morrison, G., Albanese, A. & Macias, S. (2001). When Homework is
not Home Work: Afterschool Programs for Homework Assisstance.
Educational Psychologist. (36) 3. p 211-221.

Darling-Hammond, L.& Ifill-Lynch, O. (2006 ). If They'd Only Do Their Work!

Educational Leadership. (63) 5. p 8-13.

Epstein, J.& Van Voorhis, F. (2001). More Than Minutes: Teachers' Roles in
Designing Homework. Educational Psychologist. (36) 3. p 181-193.

Kohn, A. (2006) Down with Homework. Instructor. (116)2. p 43-68.

Kohn, A. (2006) Kids may be right after all: Homework stinks. USA Today.
Appendix A:
Appendix B: 602 15 89.9
124 14 92.4
Student 565 9 85.6
ID Homework Average
791 9 82.4
521 11 70.1
1126 8 80.9
615 14 95.9
188 10 87.8
1401 15 83.4
1330 14 90.7
277 15 91.3
705 15 81.4
302 12 87.5
286 5 80.73
92 9 81.2
1151 2 77.6
1423 15 85.5
919 4 82.4
793 15 97.2
904 7 70.59
223 7 83.7
1090 3 75.2
864 10 86.2
261 15 83.6
1072 14 84.5
624 12 79

Initial Average v. Homework Completion out of 15 Assignments

120

100
Class Average

80

60 Series1

40

20

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
number of Assignment Completed

Initial Average v. Hom ew ork

250

200
Percentages

150
Class Average
Homework Average
100

50

0
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25
Students
Appendix C:
624 4 78
Student Quiz
ID Homework Average 602 5 82
521 3 66 124 5 90
615 5 90 565 2 92
1401 4 70 791 3 74
277 5 94 1126 1 58
302 3 78 188 4 90
92 3 92 1330 4 94
1423 2 78 705 5 96
793 5 100 286 1 88
223 2 92 1151 0 71
1090 0 80 919 3 76
864 4 78 904 3 76
261 2 64
1072 4 88

Graphic Organizers v. Grade

120

100

80
Quiz Grade

60 Series1

40

20

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Number of Homework Assignments Complete

Graphic Organizers V. Performance

200
180
160
140
120
Percentages 100
Quiz Average
80
60 Homework Average
40
20
0
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25
Students
Appendix D:
Student Quiz
ID Homework Average
521 4 46
615 5 82
1401 3 50
277 5 84
302 2 76
92 1 64
1423 3 66
793 5 86
223 4 76
1090 1 58
864 4 76
261 3 56
1072 5 68
624 5 58
602 5 88
124 4 84
565 3 66
791 2 72
1126 3 44
188 4 62
1330 5 70
705 5 76
286 4 64
1151 3 75
919 0 52
904 4 77
 Note Taking v. Grade

100

90
80
70
Quiz Grade

60

50 Series1
40
30

20
10
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Number of Assignments

Note Taking v. Performance

200
180
160
140
Percentages

120
Quiz Average
100
Homework Average
80
60
40
20
0
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25
Students
Appendix E:

Student Quiz Scores Vs. Homeworks Completed

21
25
18
20 14
15
Number of
Students 5 Week 1 (Graphic Organizers)
10
Week 2 (Note Taking)
5

0
3 out of 5 80% or higher on quiz
Assignments
Complete

Appendix F:
Appendix G:
Do not
Complete Complete
Homework Homework
95 45
96 70
93 65
91 70
79 79
84 82
83 92
81 75
76 42
92 62
91 49
80 64
93 54
94 52
96 47
98 77
94 81
90 74
98 85
93 82
95 61
90 62
88 68
70 64
84 75
93 68
92 71
84 34
94 67
90 58

Homework Completion v. Class Average

120

100
Regularly Complete
Average (%)

80 Homework

60
Complete < 50% of
40 Homework
Assignments
20

0
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29
Students
Appendix H

Co-Generative Student-Teacher Dialogue

Who helps with homework at home?

Do you do it?
Why or Why not?
What would happen if you didn’t do it?
Does it help your understanding in
school?
What types do you like?
What types do you dislike?
Which kinds of homework help you?