Purpose and Plan
One of my biggest issues right now has to do with homework. I assign homework in my algebra classes every day except test days. Each homework assignment has been a worksheet because my students did not have textbooks. I have a very low percentage of students that turn in their homework. According to the students, this is due to a couple of factors. One, they forget, even though I give homework every day. Two, they want to ask me questions on the homework before turning it in, and then they forget to turn in the homework late after asking me. Three, if they were absent the day it was assigned, they forget to get make-up work.
My idea was to assign a packet of homework at the beginning of a new lesson. The packet should be easy for the students to keep up with, since it’s one packet instead of a worksheet everyday. The students will have many opportunities to ask me questions about the homework since they have more than one day to work on it. I will not have to worry about getting students their make-up work. It will be easier for me to grade because I will get only one packet from each student instead of lots of individual sheets.
I had not tried this before mainly because I have to do a lot of planning ahead of time in order to make this packet. I have to guess how much time my students will need to cover the topic, and about how much will be covered each day. But, if I put in the planning at the front end, I will not have to worry about making homework every night for the following class. My other concern was that the students would not do any of the homework until the night before it was due, but I reminded them to work on it each day. I also told them each day which problems they should be able to complete each night after completing a particular lesson in class.
Hypothesis
My hypothesis was that not only would more students turn in their homework, they would make higher grades on the homework for four reasons. One, they could ask me questions on their homework in class or in tutorial. Two, I told them that each homework packet would be counted as three homework grades because it was essentially the same as receiving three separate homework assignments. Three, I explained to the class that I would be writing a paper for my research class on their homework and I expressed my expectation that the homework packet would help them bring up their homework averages. Four, the students had just received their report cards, and very few of them were pleased. My students have the false notion that the only grades that factor into their nine weeks grades are the grades that they get back. They forget that any work they do not turn in becomes a zero. So, many expected their averages to be higher, until I showed them how much their homework average brought them down.
Data Collection Procedure
I used the students’ homework averages from the first nine weeks to compare to their homework averages this nine weeks, because I started giving the students homework packets at the beginning of this nine weeks. I also looked at their rate of turning in homework.
The students received two packets over a three-week period. I could not analyze my second period because I only started teaching those students after the first seven weeks of school. I initially planned on analyzing the other five classes, but in the end I chose one class, my eighth period, because it had had the fewest disruptions during the class period. For example, two classes were interrupted by class pictures, and another two did not meet one day because of the PSAT. I had to change due dates in those classes, and many students forgot when their packet was due because of these changes. Only with my eighth period did I not have to change due dates. There are fifteen students in my eighth period class, but I could only use twelve of those students because three transferred into my class at the end of the first nine weeks.
Data Analysis
First, I looked at the students homework averages from the first term compared to the second term and calculated the percent change. This is shown in Table 1. I grade every homework for accuracy. Any assignment not turned in receives a zero.
Table 1. Homework Averages
|
Student |
1st Term Homework Avg. |
2nd Term Homework Avg. |
Percent Change |
|
A |
88 |
89 |
1% |
|
B |
73 |
91 |
25% |
|
C |
10 |
77 |
670% |
|
D |
4 |
0 |
-100% |
|
E |
17 |
0 |
-100% |
|
F |
26 |
91 |
250% |
|
G |
51 |
0 |
-100% |
|
H |
8 |
40 |
400% |
|
I |
48 |
64 |
33% |
|
J |
0 |
0 |
0% |
|
K |
11 |
0 |
-100% |
|
L |
14 |
0 |
-100% |
The average homework grade the first term was 29, and the average homework grade second term was 38. The average percent change was 73%.
Students A and B are consistently good students. They would complete any assignment in any form. Student C made huge gains this nine weeks in her homework average. Student F already passed the algebra state test but failed the class last year. After getting her first report card, she realized that she will have to put effort into this course or face taking it for the third time. Student G failed pre-algebra twice, but because he is 17 the counselors put him in algebra so he would have the chance to graduate. Students E, H, and K were recently suspended for at least one week each for fighting, and I am worried that they will not be able to catch up with the class. These suspensions came after I finished collecting data, though. Student J has failed pre-algebra 5 years in a row and is 19 years old. He rarely comes to school. Student L was supposed to be in all special education classes, but the counselors accidentally put him in all regular education classes for the first time in his life. I did not work with him as much this nine weeks because he was supposed to have a change-of-placement meeting to be put back in special education classes. Students J, K, and H are being removed from algebra after the Thanksgiving break and placed in a pre-algebra course instead, because they are not interested in succeeding in algebra.
After looking at the students averages, I determined their turn-in rate, based purely on whether or not they completed and turned in each assignment this term and last term. This is shown in Table 2.
Table 2. Turn-in Rate
|
Student |
Turn-in Rate 1st Term |
Turn-in Rate 2nd Term |
Percent Change |
|
A |
100% |
100% |
0% |
|
B |
89% |
100% |
13% |
|
C |
11% |
100% |
800% |
|
D |
22% |
0% |
-100% |
|
E |
22% |
0% |
-100% |
|
F |
33% |
100% |
200% |
|
G |
78% |
0% |
-100% |
|
H |
11% |
50% |
350% |
|
I |
67% |
100% |
50% |
|
J |
0% |
0% |
0% |
|
K |
22% |
0% |
-100% |
|
L |
22% |
0% |
-100% |
The average turn-in rate first term was 40%, and the average turn-in rate for the second term was 46%. The average percent change was 76%.
I was very surprised to find that five students who had done a minimal amount of homework last nine weeks completely stopped doing their homework this nine weeks. I found that those students were my most inconsistent students in the class as well. Sometimes they would pay attention in the classroom, but often times they would not. They did very poorly with the long-term deadlines, as they could not remain interested long enough to complete a packet of work. One the other hand, the other half of the class did much more homework this nine weeks. These students are more consistently interested in class, and they really benefited from the long-term deadlines. A few of these students took advantage of my after school tutorial to ask questions about the homework.
Conclusion
I will not continue using the homework packet idea. I think ultimately it hurt about half of the class. I will continue to assign homework every day, because the students need the additional practice and it is the policy for our school. I want the students to have short-term deadlines for homework, and long-term deadlines for projects. Also, I received textbooks for my algebra classes the second week of November, so I will try assigning problems out of the book.