West Island School Home Learning Inquiry

1. West Island SchoolHome Learning Inquiry Findings From Surveys & Research Observations & Points For Discussion What are the aims of pre 16 home learning at West Island School and how can the nature and structure of home learning be further developed to meet these aims? WIS Home Learning Inquiry 2012

2. Rationale • Exploring areas for development in Home Learning is in keeping with the school’s aim to promote excellence, enjoyment and challenge in learning. • The establishment of a Home Learning review and development team is a response to the changing nature of student learning at West Island School. • This project is part of the increasing culture of professional inquiry within the school leading to significant learning and curriculum developments. WIS Home Learning Inquiry 2012

3. Objectives of Presentation • To provide a summary of feedback received from stakeholders (staff, parents and students) • To cross-reference the findings with recent academic and school-based research • To raise pertinent issues for discussion and to inform the next phase of consultation. WIS Home Learning Inquiry 2012

4. Context In July 2006, the Queensland Department of Education and the Arts released the ‘Homework in State Schools policy’. The summary document states: Homework provides students with opportunities to consolidate their classroom learning, pattern behaviour for lifelong learning beyond the classroom and involve family members in their learning. The setting of homework takes into account the need for students to have a balanced lifestyle. This includes sufficient time for family, recreation, cultural pursuits and employment where appropriate. WIS Home Learning Inquiry 2012

5. Time Spent on Homework Parents 56% say their children get between 0-4 hours 42.6 % say that their children get 5 + hours per week Students 57 % say they get between 0-4 hours 41.8% say that they get 4+ hours per week Teachers The time the teachers say they set correlates with information provided by parents and students. UK guidelines: Years 7-8: Between 45 - 90 minsper day Year 9: Between 1 to 2 hours per day Years 10-11: Up to 2 hours per day The Victoria Department of Education, Homework Guidelines: Middle Years (Y5-9): 30-45 minutes per day in Y5 to 45-90 minutes per day in Year 9 Later Years (Y10-12): 1-3 hours per night a week and up to 6 hours on weekends during the school term. Dixon, Nicolee. Homework for the 21st Century. Brisbane: Queensland Parliamentary Library, Research Publications and Resources Section, 2007. 22-23. Print. Parents and students agree on the amount of time they get for homework. Parents are very aware of how long their children spend on homework. A majority of students think they get the right amount of homework (60.4%) against parents (51%) 34.5% of students think they get too much against 6.1% of parents. 42.8% parents don’t think they get enough. WIS Home Learning Inquiry 2012

6. Extra-Curricular Activities Parents 43% 4 + hours May not be aware of some activities students do at lunch. Students 69% 4+ hours 23.2% 8+ hours The New South Wales Department of Education and Training website states that homework must take into account students’ other commitments. Dixon, Nicolee. Homework for the 21st Century. Brisbane: Queensland Parliamentary Library, Research Publications and Resources Section, 2007. 9. Print. Interesting that a significant number of students are doing more extra-curricular activities than homework. Something that we must take into consideration when thinking about models. WIS Home Learning Inquiry 2012

7. Help & Supervision Parents 82.2% say that their child requires help with their homework (sometimes (71.8%) usually or always) Only 17.8% say that their child never requires homework help Students 75.8% indicate they require help with their homework (sometimes (65.2%) usually or always) Only 24.2% indicate they never require help In her research, Vatterott suggests steps that can be taken to renegotiate the parent-school relationship. One of these is to Suggest guidelines for the parent’s role in homework. She explains that “most parents are unclear about what their role in homework is supposed to be. […] They need more guidance and more communication from the teacher about expectations.” She also suggests, following Goldberg’s idea that “parents should be encouraged to be less involved with the child’s actual homework task and more involved in communication with the teacher […]. Parents should be encouraged to be observers, not enforcers. Vatterott, Cathy. “Renegotiating the Parent-School Relationship.” Rethinking Homework: Best Practices That Support Diverse Needs. Alexandria, Va: ASCD, 2009. 48. Print. We must think about the appropriateness of the homework set if students can’t do it without help. WIS Home Learning Inquiry 2012

8. Methods of Informing and Recording Parents 76.2% say that student’s diary is an effective way of communicating homework 85.2% say that they regard email or online recording as the most effective way of communicating homework Students 60.1% always use their diary to record homework 39.9% don’t always record it Teachers 90% of teachers write homework on the board for students to write in their diary 77.1% verbally instruct them to write in their diary Although teachers and parents think that the diary is a good way to communicate homework, a significant number of students are not using it. We must think about the most effective ways to communicate homework (a combination of students’ diaries and online diary?) WIS Home Learning Inquiry 2012

9. The Value of Homework Parents 76.9% think that homework usually or always adds value to learning Students 54.9% think that homework usually or always adds value to learning Teachers 85.7% think that homework usually or always adds value to learning 14.3% think that it has little value According to the research done by Nicolee Dixon, some education experts “perceived the long-term effects of homework on academic achievement and learning include an improved attitude towards school; better study habits and skills and the encouragement of learning during leisure time.” Non academic effects are said to include improved self-direction and self-discipline; better time organisation; more inquisitiveness; and enhanced independent problem solving. A consistent finding by reviewers from the Queensland Government in October 2004 was that “some homework was better than too much or none at all”. Dixon, Nicolee. Homework for the 21st Century. Brisbane: Queensland Parliamentary Library, Research Publications and Resources Section, 2007. 8, 14. Print. Some subjects don’t set homework. Cross referenced year groups – didn’t make a difference All agree that homework has value; we could not really justify a no homework policy WIS Home Learning Inquiry 2012

10. Most Important Reason for Doing Homework Parents 72.9% say that consolidating learning is the most important reason Students 41.1% say that consolidating learning is the most important reason Teachers 75.7% say that consolidating learning is the most important reason According to NicoleeDixon, “Queensland Teachers Union president, Steve Ryan, is reported to have said that homework was about consolidating what was learnt in the classroom.” She also states that according to The New South Wales Department of Education and Training “homework bridges the gap between learning at school and learning at home and it reinforces work done in class.” Dixon, Nicolee. Homework for the 21st Century. Brisbane: Queensland Parliamentary Library, Research Publications and Resources Section, 2007. 9. Print. According to Vatterott, homework typically supports learning in four ways: pre-learning, checking for understanding, practice or processing. Vatterott, Cathy. “Homework Research and Common sense.” Rethinking Homework: Best Practices That Support Diverse Needs. Alexandria, Va: ASCD, 2009. 96. Print. Parents and teachers agree but the students gave a mixed response (‘extending learning’ and ‘completing classwork’ were other choices) Where does ‘flip learning’ fit in here? WIS Home Learning Inquiry 2012

11. The Homework Timetable Teachers 67.1% say they usually or always set work according to the homework timetable. 32.9% say only sometimes or never. Nicolee Dixon’s paper states that researchers from the University of Michigan identified the following problems to homework in practice: inconsistency in setting homework many homework tasks do not accomplish the educational goals they aim to achieve. Dixon, Nicolee. Homework for the 21st Century. Brisbane: Queensland Parliamentary Library, Research Publications and Resources Section, 2007. 10-11. Print. This does not correlate with feedback from student interviews. New models must consider a structure that is easier to stick to. WIS Home Learning Inquiry 2012

12. Homework ‘Follow-Up’ Teachers 56.5% always check it’s been done 43.5% don’t always check it has been done On this issue, Vatterottlooks at teachers’ attitudes about homework. She concludes that: “how a teacher chooses to give feedback about homework can encourage or discourage a student from completing homework. Nonthreatening feedback with no grades attached provides positive information to students and keeps the focus on checking for understanding and learning. Detailed feedback is more effective than simple numbers or letters. When students receive no feedback on homework, it sends a message that homework is not important and not related to classroom learning”. Vatterott, Cathy. “Homework Research and Common sense.” Rethinking Homework: Best Practices That Support Diverse Needs. Alexandria, Va: ASCD, 2009. 75. Print. We must consider the implication of this number on students’ perception of the value of homework What ‘time-efficient’ strategies for checking and feeding back on HW could staff share? WIS Home Learning Inquiry 2012

13. Response to Possible Future Models WIS Home Learning Inquiry 2012

14. Headlines The survey feedback highlighted some key areas for development: • The need for effective and user-friendly communication between teachers, students and parents. • The importance of a system which is both transparent, consistent and easy to adhere to. • The essential ingredient of VALUE. WIS Home Learning Inquiry 2012

15. For Additional Consideration 23% of students said that their laptops provided more of a distraction than an aid to their learning. This view was supported by comments made in WIS interviews and by a presentation on learning tech. given in a student forum at the IBO conference in Singapore. How does this affect our ideas for change? How can we educate students on effective use of their laptops? WISdom – the parents’ comments indicated that they like the use of the VLE as it provides them with an element of control over the homework their children are doing. Students, however, suggested that their parents attitude did not take into account the problems they often face in the use of WISdom. What are the problems faced by students and how can we solve them? Is the school VLE fit for the purpose of being at the centre of a new model for homework setting and completion? WIS Home Learning Inquiry 2012

16. Fundamentals? Vatterott states that designing quality homework tasks requires attention to four aspects: • Academic purpose – Tasks should have a clear academic purpose. • Competence – Tasks should have a positive effect on a student’s sense of competence. • Ownership – Tasks should be personally relevant and customized to promote ownership. • Aesthetics – Tasks should be aesthetically pleasing. Vatterott, Cathy. “Homework Research and Common sense.” Rethinking Homework: Best Practices That Support Diverse Needs. Alexandria, Va: ASCD, 2009. 99. Print. WIS Home Learning Inquiry 2012

17. Next Steps… WIS Home Learning Inquiry 2012