#DITCHbook was created by Ditch That Textbook author Matt Miller. The chat focuses on innovative teaching ideas and disrupting standard textbook education.
Helllllooooo everyone!! Really excited to chat #DitchHW this evening on #ditchbook. I'm Evan Mosier, a Technology Integrationist Lead Teacher from Davenport, IA. Happy Thursday evening!
Hey hey, #DitchBook!
Glad to be joining you today on a snow/ice day from school here in Indiana!
Thanks to @dcarruthersedu and @sbruyns for guest moderating tonight!
A1: I don't remember a lot of homework beyond high school math classes and science, but the science homework was usually a project, like my insect collection for advanced biology senior year #ditchbook
A1. I actually did not mind it but I do remember getting a D on an English paper bc I did not write 5 paragraphs. Instead made Cliff Notes style report and was creative. If I wanted the A had to rewrite #ditchbook
A1 : The struggle was real with math…….other than that I don’t remember much of anything else. There was definitely not the emphasis on reading like there is now! #ditchbook
A1: Never did enjoy it. I can distinctly remember waking up at 1:30 one morning because I had forgotten to complete a homework assignment for the next day. Thankfully, my mom came and helped me, but it wasn't the most fun I had ever had! #DitchBook#ditchHW
A1: Found ways to avoid it in HS...Did it at random times, cramming it in in morning, between classess, lunch etc...More of a compliance hurdle #ditchbook
A1: I remember losing my homeworking assignments all the time, frantically trying to do them on the bus ride to school or doing them and then forgetting to turn them in. #ditchbook
Hey #ditchbook friends! Long time no see. Usually I'm in bed by now, but the to do list has me up. Julie here, edprof at @ConverseCollege popping in for a while.
It was good! Wasn't an education event ... I had some speaker training in Lambertville NJ to be precise, but we crossed the Delaware for dinner one night! (On the bridge, not Geo Washington style!) :) #DitchBook
A1: Basically hated it because it kept me from playing outside as a kid and added stress after going school all day and soccer practice afterwards. #ditchbook
It's amazing how ineffective homework can be when teachers shift the knowledge base from themselves to your parents, in hopes that the same learning can be achieved at home. #wrong! #DitchBook#DitchHW
A1: I remember having to do math homework for hours every night and my dad always had to sit with me and re-teach me how to do the equations. It was grueling and I think we both hated it. We would much rather have played music together. #DitchBook
A1. One of the bigger homework assignments I remember from high school was to take a scene from Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing” , make a movie and adapt it to a decade with slang and fashion of that time. It was one of my faves! #ditchbook
A1 I remember sitting at my parents kitchen table from the time I got home until it got dark diligently doing my homework. I also remember my mom saying "this is ridiculous" #ditchbook
A1: I'll never forget--had a middle school science teacher that made us copy vocab words from the glossary in cursive. If they weren't in cursive, they would through them away. Also, it was either busy work, or it was work that I didn't understand. #ditchbook
A1- Writing sentences with spelling words every week. If I could fit two in a sentence I could write less. I guess I've always had a creative streak #ditchbook
I think it depends on what homework is being done and why. There is value as long as Ss are engaging and involved and empowered to keep learning at home. Should not be forced. #ditchbook
A2: The younger the student the less evidence it has a positive impact on learning. Depending on the amount at secondary levels...it can have a negative impact. #ditchbook
A1: I remember struggling with homework, particularly math. I didn’t understand it in class so it was overwhelming to go home and try to complete additional pages from a textbook. #Ditchbook
A1. I was pretty compliant for the most part. 4th grade was a nightmare. Up until 9 or later sometime in tears...
In HS, I remember crazy stress when balancing HW with extracurriculars. #ditchbook
A1b I also remember pages and pages of math problems. Repetition of the procedure, but no understanding of concepts. I had that procedure down though! #ditchbook
A1 Every night I brought books home & every night I didn't open them. I didn't understand my math homework, so I copied it from Cathy. The rest of it I rushed through during studyhall or other classes. #ditchbook
A2: that it can be beneficial, very slightly. But not the biggest bang for our buck. Lots of other things we can do that have a higher impact on learning #Ditchbook
Reasearch almost conclusively states there is NO correlation between homework and academic success. None. At least, not how we are doing it, now! There is a positive correlation between time spent as a family/free play and academic success, however. #DitchBook
A2: Depends on which paper/book you read. What I have read and what has shaped me is that if you are going to give hw, it has to be meaningful and to the point #ditchbook
And students should challenge that. I tell my Ss to do as much as they need, stop when you don't understand at all and stop when you feel you know it. #ditchbook
A2: Not sure. I have not finished the book yet. I know from personal teaching experience. S’s do not like it and they don’t want to do it. I see in my own kids that is causes stress. To make sure they get it done correctly. #DitchBook
A2 the research from my own classroom said I don't give it. Instead, empower students to create and use higher thinking to apply what they are learning in at lass at home. #DitchBook
A1: I have memories of a 10-year-old me who stayed up until 11pm too many nights struggling to figure out endless math homework. I remember it clearly. #DitchBook
A2: You can find research that says whatever you want about homework -- positive, negative, neutral.
It's so hard to define homework, and even when you do, research can't seem to prove it as a best practice. #DitchBook#DitchHW
A3. I did the homework survey last year from @jmattmiller@alicekeeler book and got great feedback. Tears, fights, avoidance. Not what we want to see #ditchbook
A3: Do you, as an educator, enjoy grading homework?
Are you able to grade and return homework as soon as they turn it in for immediate feedback?
No? Then HW is not effective. #ditchbook
A2: I have read research that homework can have some positive impacts in the high school years, but no proven positive impact in the elementary years #DitchBook
A3: I have students who say they can do homework because the only place is the kitchen table and drug deals are done there nightly in their home. #ditchbook
A2: It’s important for families to be involved in learning together at home, but traditional textbook assignments are not helping improve student achievement. Simply talking together is more effective #DitchBook
A3: I worked in a school where many students HAD to work to make ends meet at home. How is it fair to make them choose to do well in school or have heat? #ThinkEquity#ditchbook
A1 I remember sitting at my parents kitchen table from the time I got home until it got dark diligently doing my homework. I also remember my mom saying "this is ridiculous" #ditchbook
Cooper (1989, 2006) meta-analysis shows these effect sizes (off the top of my head) ...
K-4: almost zero
5-9: 0.09
10-12: 0.29
None of which is enough to prove best practice. #DitchBook#DitchHW
A2 if a student is really engaged and takes ownership they will use what they are learning to create at home and share that with their parents #DitchBook
A3: Additionally, Hattie mentions that the effect size of HW in high school is slightly higher. BUT, that doesn't mean we need to jump on the bandwagon and bog our students with more work outside of a normal school day. #NoMoreHWProjects#DitchBook#DitchHW
A3: #ditchbook When the HW comes back in mom's perfect penmanship. Is HW really for Ss or is it for the parents? Too many times HW scores reflect the home environment, not students' knowledge.
A3: The only time I “give” homework is for Ss toncomplete what they didn’t finish in the classroom or fornadditijnal studying for our unit benchmark assessments. #DitchBook
And what about no wifi? lack of access? Love the guy who solved that problem by putting wifi in the busses and spreading them all over town at night #ditchbook
A2 my own unscientific qualitative research shows parents only ask for it bc they grew up with it and that is how they feel they know their child is learning (and what they re learning). #ditchbook
A3: Our kids get worked very hard during their day. Seeing my two sons enter school and the stress it causes, is enough. It's exhausting. Look at how we are pushing more and more academic/rigrous curricula into the younger grades (@EMercedLearning can tell us more) #ditchbook
A3: I don’t give out homework because it is a waste of time to grade and track down, I don’t change my instruction due to the results (too many variables at play), and it makes students dislike learning. #DitchBook
A3: I just mentioned one of my experiences in A1. Another experience was making mummies out of newspaper and guaze for our homework. (I used a clementine as its head.) MAKERSPACE??? Even as a 6th grader, I felt that it was a HW assignment assigned for the sake of HW #ditchbook
I can't even count the numbers of times I have said to my boys "I understand that you are bored, but I didn't ask you to do this, your teacher did" and in my head I add "go yell at him/her! #ditchbook
That's the powers of statistical research. You can always manipulate it to say what you want. Better evidence sits in your classrooms every day. What effect does it have on them? #DitchBook
This is so true. And it's content specific too. I can't imagine being in band without practicing at home. I want kids to do free choice reading every night as an ELA teacher, but is that still homework? #ditchbook
A3: When it is not working anymore. T’s need to change there mindset. We need to move out of the past and look to the feature. S’s now days have more baggage and responsibilities after school. #DitchBook
A3: The main experiences for me with my own kids would be that it places additional pressure on family life. Kids spend 8 hours at school and then come home and are expected to spend more time with school work. Have to find that balance #ditchbook
A3. I did the homework survey last year from @jmattmiller@alicekeeler book and got great feedback. Tears, fights, avoidance. Not what we want to see #ditchbook
Me too! Such a great story of innovation and thinking outside the box. "They CAN tell me I can't pay for internet at home but they CAN'T tell me where to park my buses!" #ditchbook
It is helpful to see steps broken down to find the error at times. Today I had a HS Ss upset and feeling bad about her math. Turned out she gets the concept but it was her pos/neg messing her up. #ditchbook
A3. I did the homework survey last year from @jmattmiller@alicekeeler book and got great feedback. Tears, fights, avoidance. Not what we want to see #ditchbook
A3 As a parent I HATE homework. My child knows how to spell short u words why does he need to spend tons of time "coloring the short u words" 😡 (he also already knows how to color 😂) #ditchbook
Saw it with my own 1st grader tonight...Was distracted from HW. Asked him to do it...completed it in 2 minutes with barely looking at directions. He didn't need that worksheet! #ditchbook
Research proves free reading is the one thing students can do at home that's seriously academically beneficial. (Citation in #DitchHW book ... can dig it out.) Again, it goes back to your definition, and everyone seems to have a different one. #DitchBook
A3: I did most of my homework in high school (the period before it was due by copying my friends’ or writing gibberish and then the answer from the back of the book. #FourPointOh#ditchbook
Q4: Educators have been assigning traditional homework as a way to prepare students for the real world beyond school. What are some other, more meaningful ways that we can prepare our students for their future? #DitchBook
A3: If you give points for HW, kids will cheat for the points. If you assign tons of work, the compliant will do it, maybe the wrong way, the non-compliant will take the 0 when they may know it. Can we "practice" another way? #DitchBook
I think this every time someone says "research based" or data driven. How about doing some boots on the ground action research with real students? Data from class to class varies. #ditchbook
That's the powers of statistical research. You can always manipulate it to say what you want. Better evidence sits in your classrooms every day. What effect does it have on them? #DitchBook
Good question, Josh. If a students isn't required, but yet chooses to do something, is it still HW? Read anything you want, but just read. That's choice to me. Not HW
Especially if we are intentional about telling Ss why reading is so important. Show them the data.
#ditchbook
A3: I did most of my homework in high school (the period before it was due by copying my friends’ or writing gibberish and then the answers from the back of the book.) #FourPointOh#ditchbook
Exactly. For those, I do what I can while at school. And if not, then they can use their extra time to do what they need to do! **Not that they have a ton of extra time... #ditchbook
My daughter is given homework to read at least 20 minutes a night, I can get behind that, she chooses the book, but some of her other stuff, no... #ditchbook
Cooper (1989, 2006) meta-analysis shows these effect sizes (off the top of my head) ...
K-4: almost zero
5-9: 0.09
10-12: 0.29
None of which is enough to prove best practice. #DitchBook#DitchHW
A3: the stress it causes students who struggle is major. By having too much difficult homework too early, they grow to hate homework at an early age and continue through their academic career #Ditchbook
A4: System was created to mold compliant, assembly line workers....Let them use non-school time to explore, create, read freely. Build friend and family bonds. #ditchbook
If students have already mastered a skill, why are we having them do more and if they have yet to master it, why do assume they will magically master it by doing it at home? #ditchbook
#Amen. I once let me oldest put stickers on a sheet where they were suppose to draw x number of things for math. I got a letter from the teacher explaining we didn't follow instructions. 😐#ditchbook
It's not positive when they spend 7 hours at school and another 3-4 at home on HW. If they want to be involved in sports or church that means 1 or 2 a.m. at the table still working on HW. UGH! #ditchbook
A3: Late but here! Reasons to rethink homework:
* When parents are busy, the little ones are busy.
* There is NEVER a reason for a word search of all American presidents that takes 2 hours and 2 parents to help a 6th grader do it.
* Ss share answers outside of class.
#DitchBook
BOOM. Statistical research has its place, but we have to remember that numbers don't tell the whole story.
We teach students. They're human beings. Life is messy and complicated and doesn't regress to the mean all the time.
#DitchBook#DitchHW
That's the powers of statistical research. You can always manipulate it to say what you want. Better evidence sits in your classrooms every day. What effect does it have on them? #DitchBook
A4. Ss learning how to communicate on a global landscape for a start. Let them blog. Come up with podcast ideas. Design. Solve problems. Create. #ditchbook
Q4: Educators have been assigning traditional homework as a way to prepare students for the real world beyond school. What are some other, more meaningful ways that we can prepare our students for their future? #DitchBook
@MandiTolenEDU - I have to be honest.....I still kinda miss @TTmomTT.... I know this one is much more professional, but it's important to have a #TBT to ye old Twitter handle.....#ditchbook
A4: Get speakers into your classroom to talk about there jobs. Get individuals from all walks of life. S’s need to see someone like them and someone that has “made it”. Job shadows are another great opportunity for S’s. #DitchBook
Q4: Educators have been assigning traditional homework as a way to prepare students for the real world beyond school. What are some other, more meaningful ways that we can prepare our students for their future? #DitchBook
A4: I have had students do so much more public speaking and collaboration this year. I do both almost every day and I find it’s something Ss need ALOT more practice with. #DitchBook
Q4: Educators have been assigning traditional homework as a way to prepare students for the real world beyond school. What are some other, more meaningful ways that we can prepare our students for their future? #DitchBook
A4: Prepare students for the “real word” by setting realistic deadlines for longer term work AND teaching time management explicitly. Teach the art of conversation. Teach how to collaborate with difficult/different personalities. Help with those “real world” skills. #DitchBook
Q4: Educators have been assigning traditional homework as a way to prepare students for the real world beyond school. What are some other, more meaningful ways that we can prepare our students for their future? #DitchBook
A4: Reading. Being creative. Finding time to communicate in the right ways. Exploring. Asking questions. Having discussions.
NO WORKSHEETS! #ditchbook.
A4: The traditional homework prepares Ss for types of jobs from 50 years ago (or longer). It does not promote the valuable soft skills needed today. HW, if any, should be short to reinforce skills, imaginative so that Ss can create, & relevant. #DitchBook
A4: more problem-based, real life, tech-driven homework would be more meaningful and engaging for self-paced learning to replace homework. I use @decktoys for my kids. My daughter here doing a jigsaw to learn abt the earth n she wants to learn more after homework! #ditchbook
I've seen this assignment combined with a @padlet for morning work (instead of the traditional reading log) to share book recommendations. Talk about growing a reading community in your class! #ditchbook
In reply to
@sbruyns, @AndersonEdTech, @KarlyMoura, @padlet
A4: Plan with the Global Competencies in mind. Give them opportunities to pay it forward in their communities, research global issues and plan for solutions, become entrepreneurs, passion projects, etc. In other words, Ss voice should be amplified and encouraged. #ditchbook
Q5: Often educators cite “instilling a sense of responsibility” as a reason for assigning homework. What other ways can educators assess responsibility? #DitchBook
A4: The biggest thing I stress is just reading every night. I feel if I can make that a routine then I have succeeded and it will carry over in their future #DitchBook
A4: Community service ventures, passion projects for HW, My friend @DerekRhodenizer assigns summer homework to his school (he is the P) - tasks include "Learn to fish", and have a picnic on the beach. #ditchbook
Q4: Educators have been assigning traditional homework as a way to prepare students for the real world beyond school. What are some other, more meaningful ways that we can prepare our students for their future? #DitchBook
How about give the kids an answer (number) and have them come up with the question for math HW with their family. How cool would it be to see all of the different responses! #ditchbook
A4: Create! Design! Be innovative. Employers are looking for something much more than someone who can work in a factory. Prepare them for the real world by allowing them to create FOR it. #ditchbook#ditchHW
A4: Instead of HW, we can prepare students for the future by:
👉 Teaching them about how their brains learn
👉 Helping them hone problem solving skills
👉 Encouraging their creativity
👉 Fostering an entrepreneur mindset
#DitchBook#DitchHW
My daughter, Ani, is cognitively impaired & autistic. When she began school, I explained to her Ts there would be no homework - ever. Her "homework" was to become Ani...socially, emotionally, behaviorally, mentally, and all the other "ally"s #ditchbook
A4: I have had students do so much more public speaking and collaboration this year. I do both almost every day and I find it’s something Ss need ALOT more practice with. #DitchBook
Q4: Educators have been assigning traditional homework as a way to prepare students for the real world beyond school. What are some other, more meaningful ways that we can prepare our students for their future? #DitchBook
Q5: Often educators cite “instilling a sense of responsibility” as a reason for assigning homework. What other ways can educators assess responsibility? #DitchBook
Q5: Often educators cite “instilling a sense of responsibility” as a reason for assigning homework. What other ways can educators assess responsibility? #DitchBook
A5: First of all… This isn’t about responsibility.
Secondly, how about we hold the accountable to the work in the classroom? We know the factors of our four walls. However, we do not know their home lives. Some Ss have more on their plates than we could ever imagine. #ditchbook
A5: For starters, that can be done in the classroom. Classroom jobs, responsibility to the group during collaboation, finishing tasks in the room. #ditchbook
A5: Should responsibility be assessed? I would think that instilling responsibility within your students is more of a function of classroom management than anything else. #ditchbook
A3: I think you have to approach it with the endgame in mind. Is it worth it? “It” being the time, energy, and effort for which you are asking. And, do all Ss have an opportunity to experience success. If not, it’s more likely to harm than help. #ditchbook
Q5: Often educators cite “instilling a sense of responsibility” as a reason for assigning homework. What other ways can educators assess responsibility? #DitchBook
A5: Homework is an INAUTHENTIC way to instill responsibility.
It feels like Sisyphus pushing the boulder up the hill and watching it roll down again.
Not sure how much real, lasting responsibility comes from that ... #DitchBook#DitchHW
A5: Learning responsibility is a must! But I’m trying to learn how much responsibility can we expect from a 12 year old middle school student?? #ditchbook
A3: Sometimes it's all in how you frame it too. I offer side quests in my gamified class and am shocked at how many kids choose to work on these side projects that aren't for a grade but help their team in the game. #xplap#ditchbook
A5: I implemented @pennykittle ‘s and @KellyGToGo ‘s idea of #bookclubs; students make all the decisions and if they don’t read, they risk letting their own peers down. They care a lot more and kids are doing the reading “homework” more than I’ve ever seen! #DitchBook
Q5: Often educators cite “instilling a sense of responsibility” as a reason for assigning homework. What other ways can educators assess responsibility? #DitchBook
A5: so wouldn’t Ss that don’t do HW then be the most responsible kids st the end of the year? HW is not an effective or even appropriate way to teach responsibility #Ditchbook
A5: check ins on long term projects, showing up to class on time, bringing materials to class everyday. I teach 8th graders we have 1:1 iPads so many of them don't bring them charged which is not responsible of them. #ditchbook
Yep! Thinking like an entrepreneur. Finding problems in the world, brainstorming solutions, iterating, promoting/marketing, etc. @DonWettrick is my inspiration for this one. There are examples in his dozens of episodes of the @letsstartedup podcast. #DitchBook
In reply to
@adaleylife, @DonWettrick, @letsstartedup
A5: A friend of mine teaches MS SCI. All Ss work in groups and 1 random student’s work from group is collected for grade for all Ss in group. Responsibility right there. Plus, less grading!! 😆 #DitchBook
Q5: Often educators cite “instilling a sense of responsibility” as a reason for assigning homework. What other ways can educators assess responsibility? #DitchBook
A5: I hate when people claim students need homework to learn responsibility. Twitter doesn’t have enough characters for me to go off on this one. SOS. #DitchBook
Q5: Often educators cite “instilling a sense of responsibility” as a reason for assigning homework. What other ways can educators assess responsibility? #DitchBook
A5: Allow them to take control of their learning and the lesson. Have them design a lesson and teach the class! "The person doing the talking is doing the learning." We just discussed this in a district PD on Tuesday. #ditchbook#ditchHW
A4- Reading is essential! But one assignment that my kinder twins came home with was to graph Halloween candy that they collected. They loved it! #ditchbook
A5: Ss can be responsible by: * Completing work & meeting deadlines w/in the class time
*Organizing charitable events
* Spearheading clubs
* Keeping work area clean
* Connecting with Ss from outside their district or state to work together to solve problems. #DitchBook
A4: Community service ventures, passion projects for HW, My friend @DerekRhodenizer assigns summer homework to his school (he is the P) - tasks include "Learn to fish", and have a picnic on the beach. #ditchbook
Q4: Educators have been assigning traditional homework as a way to prepare students for the real world beyond school. What are some other, more meaningful ways that we can prepare our students for their future? #DitchBook
A4 Give students a problem and have them brainstorm ways to solve it with family members. You would be suprised by how many ways they come up with. #ditchbook
As a learner I would hate that. You always have one kid who just won't do the work. If my grade suffers because of their lack of effort I would be upset. #DitchBook
