Homework and Practice

As all students know, homework is that dreaded topic we all know and hate to discuss, it can be time consuming and difficult to complete if the student does not find it relevant. Homework should be a way to help students develop and apply the material they been learning in the classroom. Homework is simply a tool for practicing new material and maintain prior knowledge. In some cases it can become a tiresome routine that will not benefit the student because the homework can become irrelevant when it is designed to engage the student. Timely homework assignments tend to disengage the learner and as a result there is no actual benefit of the assignment because there is no active learning going on. The teacher has to discover ways that can allow the student to practice the material in a timely effective method, which may include assigning a daily homework task that is short yet effective which allows them to use their own creative thinking to conclude the task at hand. In the case of the middle school math teacher, it can be productive to assign a 20 problem assignment that covers each area including accessing prior knowledge to keep each method fresh in their minds. This task can be time consuming for the teacher, however the benefits of configuring an assignment that will allow the students to complete without losing focus will allow them the practice needed to master a subject.