Assigning homework is a great way for teachers to monitor student progress and catch anything that might need re-teaching or review. Unfortunately, despite best efforts, getting students to complete homework is a frustrating task. Here's what parents and teachers can do to get homework completed.
1. Share Homework Tips with Parents
The most important strategy of all is to get parents involved. Parental involvement can help reinforce their children’s learning, performance and confidence. Many parents are clueless about the best way to help their child complete the homework. Here are some tips:
· Set up a consistent place for homework to be done with all the materials needed by their child at hand. Ideally, the child should have a study table where he can sit comfortably and concentrate on his work without distractions like television.
· Help establish a regular time for completing homework. This helps the child manage his time better so he or she has some daily free time at home to relax.
· Provide guidance, not answers. This is probably the most challenging and time-consuming aspect of helping one's child with homework. The purpose of the homework is for the child to revise and master what was done at school. If the child can't do the homework, e.g. a Maths problem, go through the method to help the child understand how to go about solving the problem, and have the child attempt it alone.
2. Colour-Code the Homework File
It's easier for the student to remember to do his homework if all the homework is placed in a coloured file labeled "Homework".
3. Reward homework completion
Teachers can give errant students a slip of paper to explain why they didn't do their homework, and tell them that this slip will be shown to their parents. This system can also be used to reward homework completion. For example, students who do their homework can have five more minutes of break time or get to participate in a class activity.
4. Get Parents To Sign Homework
Teachers can get parents to sign on completed homework daily, which is a good way for parents to keep an eye on homework progress. This is a great motivator for students to complete their homework on time as parents are likely to reprimand them if their homework is late. Alternatively, parents can also sign a homework planner in which the student has recorded down the list of assignments he must complete.
5. Explain Homework
Teachers can explain the purpose of the homework assignments and ensure that they understand the assignment. Research shows that one reason students drop out of school is because they don't know how to do their homework.
6. Give Relevant & Meaningful Assignments
Research shows that students are more keen on doing homework if the assignments are meaningful and relevant. Teachers can learn how students feel about homework assignments by having them indicate their feedback at the corner of homework pages, or simply asking for their feedback verbally on a regular basis. Once in a while, variations such as experiments or activities that reinforce learning instead of conventional homework assignments can also be introduced. Parents can get involved by helping to confirm that the students have completed the experiment or activity.
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