Pearson-Exploring-Effective-Pedagogy-in-Primary-Schools

3. HomeworkThe EPPSE 3-14 study showed that in secondary school, after controlling for SES, children whospent two or more hours per night on homework, compared to children who spent no time onhomework, showed better progress for maths and, to a slightly lesser extent, better progress forEnglish. This level of homework was also associated with a positive effect on socio-behaviouraloutcomes and on positive changes in these outcomes from age 11 to 14 (Sylva et al., 2012).Although the use of homework was not systematically recorded in theprimary schools when classes were observed, there were referencesmade in the researchers’ notes to instances when homeworkwas set. Teachers in excellent and good schools appeared to sethomework that was more meaningful and more directly linkedto what the children were learning. They had a more flexibleapproach to assigning homework and this was sometimes inaddition to the timetabled requirements. For example, in oneschool (S27), the homework was used to clarify some teachingpoints. The children were learning how to measure irregular shapes andthe teacher used homework that had been set to clarify and consolidatepupils’ understanding.“teacherused homeworkthat had beenset to clarify andconsolidate pupils’understanding”In two other schools, although there was no direct mention of homework, pupils were set someoptional work to be done outside class time. In S30, a bottom set literacy group had beenworking on the “true” story of The Three Little Pigs. The children were asked to think aboutwhether they believed the wolf’s or the pigs’ side of the story before the next lesson. Childrenin S31 had really enjoyed a poetry lesson that centred on alliteration and on a combination ofcollaborative and individual work that was brought together during the plenary. The teacheroffered a house point to anyone who could write another verse of the class poem during theirbreak time. Although the homework in the last two cases was very informal, it was highly likelythat at least some of the children would take up these opportunities to extend the work doneduring the lesson.In the first case, the task was an interesting extension to the class activity and was easilyachievable by this group of pupils who struggled with literacy. Children in the poetry lessonwere highly engaged and really enjoyed writing their poems, so the opportunity to continuewith the activity, combined with the incentive of a house point, meant they were very likely totake on the challenge.This informal approach also meant the confrontation that may arise over incomplete homeworkwas avoided. Children who completed the tasks would be rewarded (by praise, by beingbetter prepared for a class discussion and by being awarded a house point), but those whodidn’t would not be singled out for punishment. While it could be argued that these tasksweren’t really homework and the informality of them was due more to the teachers’ laziness(no marking, no consequences to follow through on) or were simply the result of an unplannedmoment of opportunity seized by the teacher, setting work to be done outside of class timeEvidence from Research | 21