2020 - No more High School Math Homrwork (for my students)

HS Math classes don't (necessary) need homework....

About 3 years ago I migrated to no outside of class math practice (no homework).  And after some bumps have had success and student's continued to grow.  For me and my students a real positive!  Had presented about it a few times at conferences.....
This post really deserves to be better, but instead I am posting about what happened next.....

A parent contact the Channel 3000 local news about my teaching without assigning homework in HS math courses (Algebra, Geometry, Algebra 2 and Pre-Calculus).   They wanted to do an interview and good PR for the school is always welcomed.

They came down and did a 3 minute segment and article. - here.

But then it really caught fire, had a Smart-brief wtih ASCD about it - here
then, probably received 80 emails about how....

And finally an NEAtoday article - here

Rethinking Homework: Best Practices That Support Diverse Needs, 2nd edition

by Cathy A. Vatterott  - here  

(My Hitchhikers Guide to No Homework - yes 42....)

My goal for this post is to simply connect these for any teacher considering changing.  There are always naysayers, but I run on data and while HW for HS math is good - I skip good for great....

I am always open to discuss -   It can be done and I know my students are better because of it!

Organization -- Not enough, or too much?

Statement of fact - I am not the most "organized" teacher.  Maybe I could be - but time is a limited commodity, and I do not like trading teaching time for neat piles.  I also don't trade teaching time for homework checking time (on a daily basis), a type of "neat pile."  I now check homework once every few days; I used to work hard at checking the work but the longer I have taught - the less I check and the better my students do.

Some of that is simply gaining some experience - I look back and know I do better in year 3 than year 1.  But it is more than that too.  The experience between year 7 and year 9 is not nearly as dramatic.  So student performance is definitely effected by teacher experience but there is point where it does not have a substantial impact.  It then becomes how you the teacher lead the class - your expectations, what you demand of them.

In industry you only give power for decisions to those you trust - and then you manage.  It is the same in school - a 16 year old cannot be allowed to decide to not be part of school or do school.  It is a young person's job, and if they cannot handle the decision to "do school" - then the educator (the senior manager) needs to take over and push.  And that is a ton of work - 10% of my students take 75% of my time.

I may not be  "organized" but homework is not a cornerstone of what we do (in my math room).  We work bell to bell like it is our job.  It is non-traditional, but I do not worry about what my class should "look like" either.

We do math from beginning to end.  A student is given a plethora of chances to show mastery - but no one is allowed to sit idle.  I joke, kid, mentally push them to be part of the class - just being quiet will not save you.  And thus everyday, every student has to do math for 44 minutes.

It allows me to ignore the routine of other rooms.  It allows me to use homework as practice but not learning.  It allows me to push students to mastery - so passing means a student who can succeed mathematically in the world.

And that is powerful.

End of pencil & paper homework?? Not yet......

So school starts in 2 days, volleyball is in a two day lull and I am reflecting on finishing touches for the school year.  And what I keep focusing on is how little homework seems to help students understand mathematics long term.  I see how they can quickly internalize a procedure and how rote practice can imprint a procedure but I wonder how to make homework a real learning and understanding tool.

I remember myself in High School - I was not interested in learning, I did the absolute minimum to get the grade I wanted, no care for understanding.  I know I am not the typical teacher, I did not like to play school.  But I was a pretty typical student for my class with respect to homework and caring how much I learned.  If I could take the first number divided by the end number in a word problem to get a correct answer that is what I did.  So why would I expect different from my students, that's why it is on me as the teacher.

On me?  I mean my homework and lessons must set the bar high enough that real understanding happens.  And that has meant less topics done longer, it has meant changing my grading so a D in Algebra 1 results in a student who can do Algebra 2.  Prior to my epiphany a D student was someone who did their homework and reworked tests, and that used to show on ACT tests (not college math ready).

Now I demand students can repeat and understand why, and homework is not much help in that goal.  So it has gone from 1 thru 59 odds (30 problems) to 4 to 8 targeted review problems - and I am seriously questioning the value of those.  I am going to assign 2 days of Khan this year - they have done some updating and I received a Morgridge Family Foundation grant for 10 ChromeBooks to help.  I like that better because it lets student's work at their level and makes them get the correct answer!  (It seems like every time I check assignments the students are just giving me any answer, even though I always provide the correct solutions for homework!)

So here I sit, here I ponder, here I wonder if homework should go yonder (ugh - sorry for that).   It is a bridge too far today, but I am going from 4 days per week to 2 days and that is progress.  And I will keep a firm grip on the my metrics - especially ACT score - to judge if this move is successful. 

Because that is my job to adjust and improve making every day better than the previous and to deliver the best education to my students.

Curriculum Improvement is slow work, Just going one step at a time....

So another nice day out, and I am making boards about Algebra 1 and Calculus.  These are the two classes out of the seven I teach that I am trying to flip.  It simply taking steps during summer to be slightly better each year - just 2% each year I joke and next thing you know you are making real substantial progress.

School in-service starts in 2 days - and I have done a lot of reflecting and working this summer on curriculum.  But I will admit the ugly truth - I have not made the best lessons and videos I could have.  That's because there is never enough time, I am always delivering less than my best (it is my best for the time available).   (Note - I know I read about this ugly truth in another article or blog  - but cannot locate it to cite - but I am joining that author and admitting the ugly truth.)

And sometimes that can be a weight on me.  I want to do the best - not just the best I can within my workload, or the best I can in some amount of time.  But that is not truly possible and something I rarely discuss - I talk about working hard, and making choices that maintain sanity.  I cannot spend 4 hours prepping a 45 min lesson - cause I have 7 different ones that day (7*4>24).

So another nice day - and I worked on curriculum - not all day, but part of my summer day and that is the best.

No more paper/pencil homework --- Using Donors Choose: Post thoughts, find solutions

Like many teachers the ideas I have do not match the budget of our school.  And when the story becomes interesting - I tend to chase the projects  -- one of the places I use is Donors Choose.

I have just used it again to help fund four Chrome Books for my room.  This is not the first time I have used the site - it is the third.  It helps close the gap between what the school can supply and things I want to do.

And now the Gates Foundation is matching funds - so all projects are "half-off."   And like so many things in this world it just takes promotion to cause motion - I think the project has real possibilities in making my class different.

My plan is to use the Chrome Books as a workstation with Khan Academy versus traditional homework.  The station is to get students to practice concepts and ideas correctly that are targeted to that student's current level -- allowing brave students to get ahead and helping others be secure in their concepts.  And I remember being one of those students who really did not care if I got the right answer - just that I had one -- Khan does not allow that (and what hypocrite I am too!).

So if you have parents/community/businesses who will support your school and you have a good idea & story try Donors Choose.

Homework questions & dilemmas --- reflections on Cathy Vatterott's Rethinking Homework

A teacher/friend/co-worker of mine is reading "Rethinking Homework: Best Practices That Support Diverse Needs" by Cathy Vatterott for a class and was asked to get some people to answer some questions for her.  I have read the book and it is one of many that has moved me from being a believer that homework is mandatory to learn math, to the idea that it is an assistance (when done in the right context), but not a necessity.

The questions are bold - my reply follows.

What is your philosophy of homework?  What do you consider the role/purpose of homework? 
It is practice.  In a perfect world it should be individualized and time based versus number of problems based.  Meaning strugglers do less problems, different problems, "easier" problems.

I also believe new material should not be practiced at home - it needs to be done under the expert (the teacher).    (Comparing homework to my previous life -- homework is low level paperwork)

At the HS level I don't think homework teaches responsibility at all (I doubt it for all grade levels), it may teach a little about consequences (And again in the real world you are not punished for skipping some "homework" - skipping some low level work can be important, and for me personally it resulted in promotion -- skip good, do great)

And finally - if homework is low level - how much time should I or my students put into it?  Until you reach a high level of math - my answer is not much.  At high level classes with a quicker pace, it is needed that students do some learning on their own (sort of like college) but for the traditional K-8, Algebra 1, Geometry, and Algebra 2 sequence I don't think asking students to learn "themselves" is a good idea.

What are your struggles with homework?
If I assign homework - I should look at it (theoretically) but that is impossible (20 problems, 100 students is 2000 problems per day, at 8 seconds per problem is over 4 hours!).  Not checking homework is my largest struggle, but checking it in class is a waste; you know 5 students watch (who got them all) and 25 are in the twilight zone.   I know there is only so much of me and it is impossible to do it all - homework's return on my investment is simply not enough.  I also struggle to do good differentiation on homework assignments -- that is why I am looking into more computer based practice programs (see below).


What do you think about grading or not grading homework?

I feel practice should not be graded for a score (I give a couple of points for "completed" work, which ends up being only about 1% of the student's grade).  But as the teacher it is important for me to know that students are learning from their mistakes and correcting when doing homework.  That is why with paper and pencil homework I always provide the solutions, which a lot of students still don't check! (Ha!)  That is why I am pushing towards more on-line, have to be correct to move on type of homework.  My plan is to use Khan Academy heavily this coming school year.  But errors must be okay and homework is where they should occur.

What do you think?  Homework is one of the hardest parts of being a math teacher - go ahead and write me a comment, or a drop me a note.

I pledge to not allow "Pump & Dump" - You should too

 So I was doing some reading on education and ran across an article on terrible learning habits (3 Terrible Learning Habits You Probably Picked Up In School)  and it discussed 3 ways that are poor ways to learn new concepts.  It discussed re-reading, cramming and catering to your "learning style."  Instead of arguing about if they are or are not "good" I found myself really thinking about why these methods are prevalent.  Why are students just rote memorizing, dotting i's and crossing t's, not really learning and understanding.

Because students do what is required.  They are trying to survive and when educators allow ways for students to "get-by" without learning material but simply by regurgitating it - that is what they typically do.  And it is not the student's fault, but the teachers'.  And the simple fact is many educators feel that is the job of teaching - making drones able to spew facts with no idea of what they mean or how to use them.  Because it is not what you say as teacher, but what your students can do.

I often talk about how when I was a student that I simply cleared the bar, as a young man I did whatever the minimum required was to make the grade.  I was not interested in knowledge or being prepared for the world, I was interested in just completing the course and moving on.

When teachers raised the bar, I raised my performance.  If I was allowed to memorize - I did - which I now affectionately call "Pump & Dump."  And I talk often about the fact that we do not "Pump & Dump" in my room, we study, learn and use.  We do not turn math into 4,000 rules to memorize but talk the language of math and its interconnections.  We do not use it once and forget it, but have recursive practice on all math concepts they have learned.

We do projects, write and struggle - not as much as I want, but it is part of what we do where I teach.  

I often joke there needs to be changes on how we teach and our expectations, that I work for the student; the 27 year old student not the 15 year old student in my room now.  And that I just talked to the student's future self and they want me to be tougher, to make them into tenacious problem solvers.   

I also joke that we are learning how to learn and problem solve, not memorize math.  Actually there are only a couple of rules in math -- all expressions must remain equivalent and that all equations need balance.  That's it.  So when I hear of students memorizing rules and formulas I wonder what bar they are hopping over, and how high is it?  Are they better problem solvers because of it?  

Unfortunately hopping over the bar sometimes makes them better students -- but rarely better problem solvers.

Homework - How much does it matter?

So it is final exam time at my school, we are coming into summer, so it is summative assessment time!  So I will start grading finals shortly (or my student teacher will) and it will indicate how Juda is doing with respect to math education - according to the world (I measure myself and my students by a whole different set of metrics - basically performance following HS.)

When I started teaching eight years ago, I taught how I was taught.  We reviewed homework, graded homework, introduced a concept and started homework.  I was the boss, it was their job.  And what they could recall for final was typically not good.  But that was teaching, then - now.... 

Now I never take homework problems in class, no grading, no chasing - homework has minimal value.  And if I gave 2014 finals to my students of yesteryear only a few would pass.

I get over 7000 minutes per year to teach math to a student (42 minutes/class * 170 classes).  How much time is needed to teach Algebra or Geometry?  Some practice must occur outside of class but how much?  Is 10% enough - that would be only 5 minutes per class period of homework, maybe 30% - that is only 15 minutes.  So when I hear of an hour of homework I think about how brilliant of students they must be.

But it is the summer that shows what the student has really learned, what they really know.  The first assessment on "old skills" in September with little to no review shows what they truly know and understand.

And what do they know after a summer off?

My old students doing lots of homework needed lots of review -- basically an entire quarter.  The students where I started bell-to-bell teaching, extremely limited homework and time outside of class is doing projects (essays, powerpoints, etc) - get just a couple of weeks.   And they perform well.

So I am sitting at the end of year and the start of summer of curriculum planning where I must reflect on the question "How much does homework help students?"

Wisconsin Math Council Conference 2014

Reflecting on the two day WMC conference in Green Lake, Wisconsin.  Got back home last night and was just too tired, too overwhelmed from all I saw, too relieved from completing my 2 presentations, just too --- to type my thoughts.

As usual the WMC put on an excellent conference, they brought in good speakers but most importantly teachers stepped up to show what they were doing - which as a small school teacher I am so thankful for.  It is a  stress to present to your colleagues, to put yourself out there, to prepare the presentation.  But the reward for me as a member of the audience is great, I also think there is a huge reward in being a presenter - personally it makes me so much more reflective.

A huge portion of my PLC is this conference, what I look at, what I heard, the networking I do  - those things are the catalysts for how I plan curriculum and instruction.  I always plan improvements from my two, always seemingly rainy, days at Green Lake in early May. 

This year I presented twice; I presented about our school's mission to have a portion (~15-20%) of our class time devoted to mastery of non-negotiables using the ACT test as metric.  It was well attend and overall I felt I did a decent job of telling people about what we have done to improve our ACT math score from 1 point below the state average to 1 point above the state average.  It is a corner of our philosophy of creating students who are mathematically ready for our world.  (Link to Powerpoint)

The second presentation was the one I was more excited and nervous about.  It was titled "Making Homework look like it's 2014 instead of 1985." LINK to Powerpoint  It was based upon how I changed my classroom from my commitment to a June blog entry.  The blog entry reached well beyond the "12 other rural math teachers who occansionally viewed my reflections" (my joke in the conference) and like-wise this presentation was a room "filler."  (The only gripe I have about the conference is when a presentation fills up, many of the really interesting titles only have 50 seats and fill up well before their starting times.)

So as I rolled into the room at 11:00 to set up for my 11:30 presentation, the room filled quickly also, and was full at about 11:07.  Which was good and bad, I felt good about the interest level, good that I could start early and talk about a couple of things that I decided to cut for time (the number one thing I wanted to do was actually record a flipped video based upon the FIZZ course I took, last year at the WMC conference I heard really good stuff about flipping but I always like seeing, so I "showed" a flip).   I felt it went well and I took an hour instead of 50 minutes.

To really simplify the presentation is to say I have done 2 major things - first, no more class time doing homework questions, homework grading or homework chasing.  Homework is assigned as a combo of  things - Khan Academy, some paper/pencil (NO new material on paper/pencil work, I wait until things are mastered before it is assigned as homework) and adding more projects into curriculum.  And secondly, I started flipping my Algebra 1 course - and that has made a difference in how much time we can really do math in my class.  It has improved my ability to give better feedback (while sticking to my motto of "be less helpful").

At times it has been hard to maintain, in the presentation I talked about how I went too far in the first semester and let my pendulum swing too far back in the second semester.  There is a sweet spot which I will try and hit next fall.  In the end, it is not about being "perfect" next year. 


You will never hear about 20% improvement in 1 year with me teaching, but all of the work that has been done is making Juda 3-4% better every year, year after year.  And that continuous improvement is all I chase; and I believe it is what we all should be chasing.

Homework amount? The real question is its value.

I have read many articles lately on the amount of homework students are getting today, is it more or less, etc.  Are students over-worked, under-worked?  I don't know the answer to the questions of amount - whether it is more or less, or if it is too much, but the question of the value of homework keeps popping up in my head.

A lot of what I am reading is connecting rigor and homework amount together, more homework is more rigor.  And the question I have is this: does homework make better learners, better students who are more prepared for college and career?  This is the question that I try and remember to ask with each assignment I give.

Is the homework creating a student more prepared for the future, not for the next big power test, but does it support my vision of a person who can problem solve, learn and understand/deal with situations.

I feel like when I started teaching my first instinct was to assign homework because that is what you did, how else can students learn.  But the longer I teach the less homework I assign and it is simply because now I ask myself - how does work make the student stronger, better.

Assigning the homework to be "forward-moving" for the student, making him/her more ready for the next step beyond high school is my only goal.  For me that means a blend of practice, problem solving and justifying - perhaps not every assign gets all three of those things, but when I think about what I assign over the course of month or quarter I think I am getting a decent blend of the three.

In the end - I do my best not to assign busy work, I try real hard to assign work of value.  And my plan is not to stop asking "Is this of value?" when making homework assignments.

Studying 15 minutes can save you 15% or more on math tests

Encouragement comes in many forms, 10 minutes and a flip camera....

Fun!

Now it's 2014, any progress on changing how the math looks? Is it 1985? Is it 2003? Is it 2014?

So last June I made the simple declaration that math homework was going to look different than 1985 in my room (It's 2013, shouldn't HS daily homework look different than 1985?).  I set up some ideas and defined a mission of my vision going forward.  I was looking at a 3 prong approach to practice (homework): weekly practice, projects with milestones, and combo of workbook/text problems (1-2 times per week). 

 

Now we are done with 3/4 of the school year, so how does homework look in my room?   Is the "time-machined math teacher" from 1985 comfortable in my room, or would he/she think it is a futuristic math room?  What year is my room?  (I will answer those questions at the end)

But first - how do the three prongs look like currently?  First, I did start by having weekly practice on IXL Math and Khan Academy.  I felt the review and feedback would work well.  For high schoolers I quickly discovered that IXL was not going to work with me, it is too rote for my students and myself.  Khan worked better and for the first semester I used it as part of the homework, I asked for 2 to 3 focused 20 minute sessions.  Khan would e-mail me each class with a report, which worked okay.  I still found it hard and time consuming to track what my students had done (and that is the kiss of death for me personally).

I continued to keep pencil and paper homework assignments small (about 6 questions) and completely review.  We moved to two times per week with review homework, but the move from daily homework to just a couple of assignments really made me wonder about the value of it.  Over the past few years I have changed my classroom to a point where we do not cover homework questions (it is all review material), we do not grade together (everyone has the answers) and the expectation is for the student to complete and turn homework into a slot by my desk (no stopping class to collect or ask are you done, occasionally I mentioned that "You should turn in your work").  I have just found taking homework questions, grading homework and collecting took too much precious class time.

So as I lowered the homework amount I really reflected on whether this homework had real value, so I let the homework become de-emphaisized -- I did not ask for the work or follow up with students about it.  This underemphasis was quickly picked up by the students and then I had the students who wanted to do well doing the work, and the others would "learn through tests and quizzes."  I discovered a lower limit with regards to homework, without it student performance started dropping (I really was truly surprised!).  So we went back to occasionally mentioning of the homework, making minor pushes for it and 'making' students do it; now student learning is back up.



Second, I had mentioned a workbook to get some practice on concepts and skills in my original post.  The goal of the workbook was practice, but I was concerned about the rote nature of worksheets.  What I needed was more time in the classroom to integrate problems in the course of the 44 minutes to keep students skills "in-practice."  Plus I really did not have the budget for workbooks.  So instead of a workbook, I flipped the first semester of Algebra 1 (Playlist 2).   And it has worked alright!  I plan to continue this next year and expand it into other courses.

Finally third, we continued our large scale projects.  I have slowly (so slowly) added more milestones, but this part of the change will have to continue into the summer and future school years. (Pay Day Loan Algebra 1, Stocks Algebra 2 and Constructing a house Geometry)  The long term goal with the projects is to have them become a larger part of the curriculum and make them tie better to direct mathematical concepts, for example teach area of a parallelogram through the house project versus lecturing on it and using it in the house project.  This PBL idea for math is still slowly, glacier-ally slowly happening.  (Though in my Physics class we have add a year long class project very successfully, our school is driving towards have 10% of our energy generated on site done by the class.)





So "Has it worked?" is the wrong question, is it making my room 2% better per year is a more appropriate question.  And yes, my room is evolving and getting better.  The projects are good and I am adding milestones (success).  The flip lessons were a great start in flipping and have worked well (success).  The on-line component has been too much work and has gone from a major weekly component in the first semseter, to once per week,  so we are back to paper/pencil homework 4 times per week. (in process). The on-line part will take more reflection this summer.

So what would a guest see in our math room?
 
The typical class now looks like this:  students enter and immediately start the warm-up on the board (usually using expo markers on their desks), we spend the entire period working on math, the room is loud with everyone working on problems, some helping others, some getting help from me.  We hit the recent concepts, the problems that have been a struggle, some easy, some hard.  (No homework help, no grading, no working on tomorrow's assignment - it's homework).  A quick lesson is presented  - where students are often ask to work problems as the lecture is happening.  We work on math for nearly the entire hour, I am guiding the room versus lecturing to it.  We recently received a grant for a new quad smartboard, and instead of just replacing the current board, we moved it to the back of the room - so we have 2!  Now I am trying to keep one student or 2 on the back board at all times, I am constantly having students do the work.  I simply prowl the aisles looking to assist while always remembering to "be less helpful."


Twice a week we have short recursive summative assessments of nonnegotiable mastered material (quiz), once week we have a test on current material and once every 2 weeks we will have a project day.  So 3 days per week there is some sort of recursive assessment, we never test on one concept, or one unit.  The class, the assessments and the homework are always set to make a Juda graduate ready for college and the world.



So is the "time-machined math teacher" from 1985 comfortable in my room, or would he/she think it is a futuristic math room?  What year is my room?  (the end is near....)

A teacher whether from now or 1985 would see plenty of action, practice is done in a variety ways, students always working, very little lecture, and no emphasis on pencil/paper homework.  They would be slightly uncomfortable with how much the students do, or how little I do.  It would be the project days where students justify the math, make assumptions and conclusions and chase projects that would make a time-machined math teacher confused. 

But alas that is only one of ten days, maybe next year it will be 2....

Why you should not assign new topic homework.

Imagine you have just listened to your 403 Abstract Algebra professor drone on about Sets A & B and their union, his passion for the subject is evident (or maybe not), but the sunlight from the window is really distracting your attention.  What does bring your focus back to 100% is when he says "Alright we will hustle through this last proof so you can do the homework for tomorrow."

Ahhhh.  Can you do the homework efficiently for this topic?  You have just heard this topic once and really did not understand it.  You know you can get it, but who understands a new math topic after seeing it once - just that Anderson guy (Jay).  And why would you get it, it is the first time you have heard it, heck there aren't even any numbers in this even to help you push your way through it!  Maybe if you saw it once more, saw how the next concept related to today's lesson you would be okay -- but nope you're screwed.   Instead of getting skills and confidence - you are going to spend hours struggling and may actually learn it incorrectly.  

Now while college may be a place where students need to learn themselves, I believe, that should not happen in High School.  To be clear I think students need to show tenacity - but should not happen from new mathematical concepts.  Large projects require tenacity (problems with multiple answers, requiring justification,it stretches skills versus creates them, etc)!  When I send a student home too soon with new material I am really allowing them to proceduralize the math, why spend time understanding - just follow the example and finish.  And for most students whether they are doing it correctly is not even a concern.

My job as a math teacher is to reach everyone, thus I believe when I send work home for practice - traditional homework - it should be just that --- practice!  It should not be a struggle, it should be "easy."  If it isn't the student knows to come find me -- that something has been missed!

I think anyone who has taught math for awhile can find a time when students went home and completely screwed up a topic.   That is why I don't want to send a student home to factor trinomials the first day (or anything)!  They learn all kinds of things incorrectly!    Such as x^2 - 6x - 5, how many times have we seen (x-6)(x+1) as they learn?

But math teachers fall into the rut of assigning the current material, then answering tons of questions the next day in class.  Why not plan topics over days, use class for practice versus answering questions.  That makes the students do versus the teacher!  

Changing what you are assigning may seem a small step - but as the culture changes you can gain lots of time.  And time is our precious commodity!  It is one simple step, so when you do Chapter 8 section 4 for lecture, assign homework from section 1.  It will make a difference for you, your class and most importantly your students.

Balancing Act - Time reviewing, collecting Homework

So one of my goals is to balance the homework time in class, collecting, dealing with it --- all the time homework takes from doing math in class, and all the time it takes from me planning math (cause it takes time to assign, handle & record) and weighing that time against homework's value. 

And the more I work with the ROI on homework the more I find its value is minimal.  But as I approach the lower limit (no homework time in class) I am finding that some homework has returns with certain students.

It really can be a reflection on extremes - one endpoint, is a class is all about homework: Students come in ask questions, grade, record grades, a quick lecture and then homework (on an unending loop).  The other end is a class with no assigned homework thus no time spent on homework, all the work is done in class and any work done outside of class is students studying math. 

Now after a semester of "finding a lower limit," I believe, for high school,  that no homework is not going to work.  And though I have gotten very low on the amount assigned, there must be an assigned amount of practice.  And that means there must be class time dealing with it.  [Because if you assign it and don't "handle" it - most students will not do it.] 

One note of bias here, when I started working towards the lower limit of homework and finding ways to use other things to replace homework, I must admit that I had/have believed that some homework is needed for the typical math course.

So the new semester is about to begin and I have come to the conclusion that somehow we must spend time working on homework, but different than before.  I want to avoid the age old question/answer & grade/lecture/assign new work thing.  I want to continue to give flexibility for students to take the time to really practice - meaning soft deadlines (which is hard to manage).  I can picture what it looks like - yet I don't know what it looks like.  It means collecting all work, making sure everyone does the work - taking the time to track.  It means tracking and helping students who are missing work - not accepting zeros.   

And we will see if this can be balanced.  Because demanding the work would be easier.  But I also believe that learning happens on independent timelines - and I plan to try to allow it. 

Project Based Learning - Homework

So just received some publicity in the Wisconsin State Journal for our work in the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow contest - we are using our green project to reduce Juda school's carbon footprint as the basis for the contest.

This is the work that makes students see and do what the real world wants from students.  Big goals, no set plan, students trying and revising -- it is problem solving.  All you have to do is pick a problem and set them free.  If it is a genuine thing and they own it.  Too often we try and control how a project ends, for a project to have a real impact there has to be challenges and chances to fail.

And as the teacher your job is to motivate and keep up the student's level of tenacity.  When that happens good things happen.

Progression of Homework

So I am still thinking about homework, how to do it (or should I), how much value does it have, what is the best thing for my students?

Where I started teaching just 8 years ago I ran a traditional class - or at least the class I was use to in High School (even though I was more than 15 years removed from it).  I did like many first time teachers - I taught  like I was taught (quite a bit). 

Class started with checking homework, I usually collected it too.  But we spend time grading it, answering questions and then answering more questions.  Then correcting what students did incorrectly the evening before, or copied in the hall.  And the whole time - 6 students really focused while 20 were zombies - eyes open and nothing going on.  Then I would be pressed to teach the lesson.

I quickly moved to just collecting and handling questions by doing a different problem with similar content so everyone could work it.  That quickly help, at least everyone was involved.  But I still had a ton of questions from homework and misconceptions to "clean up" from students trying to do their work and doing it incorrectly.  And why wouldn't I have to fix misconceptions?  I was assigning something  new, something that we had just been introduced too.

Then I started not assigning new concepts immediately, we would do new in class together for a number of days, and then my question time quickly decreased I would lead the problem as I walked the isles. 

And now over the span of years I have migrated where I supply solutions and just have students turn in their work occasionally.  That way a student who is struggling can have an extra day, find time for help in the class or study hall.  It opens up a ton of my time to help students during the hour. 

And there you see the progression, I no longer consider homework really important.  Otherwise I would be "on my students" to be done every day.  But homework is for the student, it is what he/she needs, thus I give some flexibility.  

The students know they are responsible  for the material in the text (I sure say it often enough) and their grade is based on their knowledge of that material.  I often joke that students "can learn through homework or through test and quizzes, I really don't care which way."  Note, in my class, grades are based upon summative recursive assessments on mastered material.  And since the quizzes are recursive, always focusing on mastered material students are continually "practicing" twice per week. 

Now is good time to mention that my goal is not their grades but the knowledge they leave my school with, are they college and career ready.  (They can be a pain with some students or parents sometimes - but when is last time a person was asked about their Algebra 2 grade when applying for a job?) 

I don't care how they learn it, students that play school do the work and earn a better grade typically.  But the student who really won't play school still typically gets the skills!  And a D in my class means they are ready for the next course.   (I find the D thing to be an epidemic - if a student gets a D and cannot do the work - how are they ready for college/career -- no wonder we have 30-40% of college students doing remedial math!)


And over the span of time the end results have gotten constantly better.  I have had better results on the ACT test, better results on the class assessments, better results from students who report back to me about how they are doing in their jobs or in their college math courses.  And that is because I feel I have increased the time a student does math!  I went from most students being zombies, who spent 20-30 minutes per day on math with homework, to an entire class doing math for 45 minutes, 5 days per week minimum.  Now the 6 students with questions just wander in before school or during homeroom for help.  My room is now a whirling dervish of math activity!   The homework is beyond that, and so if a student copies it (and that never happens) he or she is still doing 45 minutes of work per day.

Now I am pushing for less paper & pencil and more instant feedback practice - websites (Khan, IXL, textbook), spreadsheets, etc.  The hard part is changing me, I still find myself more comfortable collecting homework, than checking website reports -- and weird as that sounds it takes a lot more time to change me than to stay the same.   

I know practice is important and I will keep working for a balance between paper/pencil (a skill that must be maintained) and some sort of on-line portion (which I think gives students better feedback and increases the return on their practice time).

Most importantly - we will keep on trying to be better each day.

It's nearly 2014, does my HS daily homework look different than 1985? Update time!

Any time you try and change it is hard work.  And changing homework to this century is slow, changing is just hard.  What I mean is that I am trying to make sure my class looks distinctly different than a math classroom of 1985 (previous post).  And with today being a snow day on the last scheduled school day of 2013, I can state that it is the end of 2013 for my classes.  (Whether I am dedicated or simply lame for working on a snow day is up for debate though.)   And while the year is about 1/2 over I cannot say I am 1/2 way on making my class(es) like I would like.  There are a lot of times it still seems like 1985.

So I committed to not being the same.  I decided to have 3 elements: weekly practice, projects with milestones, and combo of workbook/text problems (1-2 times per week).  So I am half way through the year, and it is time for a mid-term check (I suppose I could grade myself - but I hate grades, progress does not move strictly by a clock - and that is what grades measure.  Plus I would be brutal on myself with respect to a grade.)

The first prong of my trident was weekly practice being on online sites where feedback is immediate - since my budget for the move was basically zero I defaulted to Khan Academy.  And this has actually worked okay, the problem was getting the students on problems that they needed to practice.  Initially they spent time on things that were "too easy."  But once things are mastered they moved to topics that were more "grade-level."

When I committed class time for Khan , which included the initial set-up and time for practicing during my precious class time the results were good.  The big problem is how to check that students have done the time and staying on schedule. 

Again small school teaching is different, I have 8 different courses in 8 hours.  That can sometimes be a little overwhelming, and Khan did a new roll off of there site in August, too late for me to get comfortable with using quickly.  (Yes - these are all excuses)   So I have been stuck with seeing where students are at certain times,  And because that can be cumbersome I have found myself in the last month falling back to assigning 6-8 problems from the text in a couple of my preps (mainly Algebra 2 and PreCalc) - just because it was easy and I have found myself to be too busy.  (Have great excuse here - won Solve for Tomorrow Contest).   

I have found Khan to be good for my students who need more practice.  Students in my lower Algebra groups etc.  I think that has been better than average.  But all the courses above Algebra 1 the progress has been choppy at best.  I have given credit like homework, it has been less than 0.5% of their grade.  (I believe a grade is a representation of their total math ability - which is why I use assessments versus homework to demonstrate mastery.)

So the mid-year evaluation of the on-line work, is well, a work in progress.  I plan to commit a class period during January and Febuary to see where that leads.  (We have progressed pretty well in the curriculum so that is a move we can do).  I need to figure a better system to record the students progress.  I am leaning to weekly emails where they tell me there point total, and weekly change.  Or I could just do a daily check during the class period, but I really want to make the students own their learning.   The big thing moving forward will be to double or triple the time so I am close to my goal of 20 minutes, 3 times per week - a solid hour outside of class per week of targeted practice.  

 
The second tine of the trident is large multiple answer projects with milestones.  I have started my large projects that I have used in the past with more milestones and hopefully a higher level of expectation.  Algebra has started a Pay Day Loan project, Algebra 2 has Stocks and Geometry has started the House Project  (Google sketch up in Geometry, youtube video). So far the quality of work is better than years past.

I think adding more milestones has helped with the quality of work.  I have worked at adding milestones that still make the student be a "critical thinker" but allows them more feedback, more often. The key remains that no one flunks a project - everyone needs to deliver.  Just like the world, if the boss (me) does not like the quality the employee (student) reworks/revises.

The last part of the trident was the workbook/text book combo.  This was the fuzziest part in the beginning and the part where really little has changed from last year to date.  I am working from targeted worksheets much more this year versus just using the text.  That has seemed to work - but that is a "gut-feel" opinion, I have no data to support the opinion.  And I always feel there really is no difference between worksheets and the text book. 

The last part with the textbook was "moving" low level things out of my class (flipping & outside reading).  And some of that has been done by flipping my Algebra 1 course.  I spent the end of my summer completing a self-paced course called FIZZ -- which really helped me.  But I have not done any text reading yet, which can be an important college skill.   I also find that making videos is much more work than doing the equivalent in class lecture.  So I am doing a mixture of videos outside of class and lecturing inside class. 

Has it worked?  Well, again there is progress, but it is slow.  But I always stick to my line that I just want to be 3% better every year - cause in 5 years you are 15% better which is huge.  And 3% is achievable - because it is not a pendulum but a slow steady climb of a hill. 

So in the new year, the second half of the school year, I want to focus on the on-line portion and the flipping portion.  Those are the 2 items that seem to have the largest return.  And just try to be a sliver better each day.  I also have agreed to present this homework change at the Wisconsin Math Council conference in May, so I really would like to show "more" progress than I currently have had.

And while I don't think my room screams 2013 - it definitely is no longer says 1985.

Does math homework work? (Really work?)

Practice is a key for learning math.  I don't believe there is much argument with that in the math world.  Some people need a little practice, some more - but how that practice is done, when, etc is a really big difference between math teachers.  The carrots and sticks we use, I wonder if we think about that often enough.  When is homework effective, how much should we give and on what topics?  To really discuss homework, we have to think about what our goal is mathematically.

My goal is not the Common Core, I run to its standards but my goal is to have students ready for college credit math, and have the ability to do math in a problem solving context for the world.  They need to a toolbox of skills but also the ability to handle problems including finance, research and justification.  So homework is for building the toolbox and using the tools for problem solving & revision. 

And since I accept that homework is to reinforce previous knowledge versus to learn new things or to work on projects - I use homework differently.  To start with I do not assign current material - because I need conceptual understanding before I let a student work on it alone.  And if that is the case why take precious class time reviewing it?  Secondly the projects I assign, starting every October for the remaining part of the year, are big multiple revision, multiple solution exercises.  This two prong approach meets my philosophy and the goal I have for my students.

My class periods are for working and gaining understanding on topics that may too difficult for homework.  And remember everyone once struggled with 2*6, meaning there is time where it is hard, a time where it can be practice with guidance and time it can simply be reviewed in homework.

That thought process leads me to provide all solutions to daily practice homework - they need to do the work. but the students need to know they are doing it correctly.  It has also lead me to using computer programs for practice - I use Khan mostly - because it is free.  It is also fights the number one problem - just doing anything to finish.

I was one of "those" students back in the day - I either copied, wrote just answers, used old homework assignments (just change the section number on the top), or just did not do the homework.  It may have slowed my progress but like most 16 year old students I did not  care.  How many students that age really think that math is important?  Especially the context-less math that usually gets assigned.

So as we assign the homework - that you know the A/B students will do it just for the assessments (the tests) and that the C students are copying and that the rest are not doing - is it really working?  What is it for?  Are those low B students on-down really ready for the world and college?

Does your math homework make sense?  It is a question I continually ask myself.

Flipping pains - still moving forward

So as I try to flip my room I find some small problems and I myself to be a problem.

So one of the issues I am having is trouble with internet and students adapting to watching videos for homework.  In our rural community some students do not have access to reliable internet, so as an instructor I must be prepared to give multiple days for assignments (just have to adapt my plans).  I also must do a better job of checking that they do the videos (notes).

I have always found checking homework to be a task.  Sometimes I collect it or check it at the desk, or just tell the students that it will wait for the next day.  I know some homework has value, but the class time is always more valuable - but the videos are a higher priority.  They need to be watched prior to the class time to be really effective and that means my attitude must evolve.   But as your typical cro magnon man I find that difficult.

I need to keep focus - but all the preps wear on you.  The main thing is that I take small steps - if I keep small stepping the flipping will eventually get there.

Why flip my classroom?

So this year I am 'flipping,' recording mini-lectures, and asking my students to watch a video for homework -- in essence I am 'flipping' the lecture and homework. I see it as a way to help differentiate for my students and gain precious class time.  Some students, maybe even a majority (arguable), do okay with the traditional lecture, but that leaves a large portion who cannot follow the lecture due to many factors - whether they struggle or excel, or are more kin esthetic -- the point is lectures are not the best for a sizable segment of a class.

And it looks like the videos will really work well for nearly all the students -- this is based on the instructional videos I have been watching at FIZZ.  The traditional lecture students will still get what they need, the advanced students can fast forward and students that want or need more review can stop me and repeat me!

The challenge will be planning higher order activities in the open time.  I am starting slowly, just my Algebra Class and maybe a couple of Physics things.   And as I finish the first group of 20-30 videos I will spin my attention to how the class will run from bell-to-bell.

It means changing the work they do, how they do it and how they show they did it.   Now the FIZZ site does have a team grouping worksheets and a lesson plan that I want to work with (just starting to work with it).  It kind of matches what I want to start doing, which is taking more time with students working out problems in groups and presenting out solutions. 

But I also want to have them spend more time working out bigger problems too.  Ones requiring research, assumptions, conjectures and revisions.  And I truly believe this is how we will make students ready for the world.  So watch out world - here comes math videos co-starring Mr. Anderson, remember the math is the star.