Glastonbury Public Schools Mathematics Department

Math Homework

GPS Math Department Homework Philosophy

We believe that teaching students to be independent and responsible is an important part of the learning that occurs in K - 12 Mathematics. We help students to be independent when we give them opportunities to learn the connections between the practice, work, and studying they put into learning and their success with mathematics. Our homework practices support this learning.

In addition, we believe that a student's grade should reflect their understanding, knowledge and skills. For these reasons, the percent of homework completed or the apparent effort on homework is not included in the quarter grade.

Parents - Say less, ask more!

Think of yourself as more of a guide than a teacher. Don’t take over for your child. Doing that only encourages them to give up easily or to ask for help when a problem becomes difficult before trying to solve it.

Check these links out for ideas on how to support learning.

Guiding Questions for Math Homework- for parents, tutors and other helpers
How Can YOU Suceed in Math? - for students

Students - Practice, Preview, Study

The purpose of homework is to give you the opportunity to practice new skills and concepts, check your understanding, and receive feedback on your progress. Mastering a concept or skill in math takes practice, just as it does in sports, music, or other learning situations. Homework may also be a time for you to preview a new topic by reviewing prior knowledge or it may be studying for an assessment to demonstrate your learning.

Homework Practices Your Child Might Experience

Shorter Homework Assignments

Fewer high quality problems go much further in advancing learning that many little problems. One or two more rigorous problems mirror our expectations for students' problem solving practices.

Choice

Students may have opportunities to choose the problems or assignments that are going to be most beneficial to their individual needs. The process of self-assessment and determining the focus of necessary practice is essential in helping students to become independent and responsible for their own learning.

Homework that offers some kind of immediate feedback

Posting answers to the homework or use of technology that offers feedback so that students take the initiative to re-do, re-learn, prepare questions for class.

Record Homework

Completion of homework in power school, even though it is not part of the grade, helps students notice connections between practice and performance. You may notice the homework assignments posted in power school, but they are not part of the calculation of the quarter grade.

Homework "Quizzes" or "Checks"

Starting class with a formative quick check with a problem that is similar or the same as a homework problem helps students understand that they are still responsible for understanding the material regardless of the completion of the homework. Students have the opportunity to learn from the immediate feedback.

"Homework passes" will not be offered

If homework is truly important, students do not receive the ability to miss an assignment as a reward.

"Practice is good, but productive practice is seeing an idea in different ways, forms and representations, not the repetition of one idea in near identical questions." Jo Boaler

Parent and Student Feedback Regarding our Homework Philosophy

A parent sent a teacher the following email at the end of the year:

"I remember during the Open House how much you stressed that even though homework is not graded, it is important that the students complete it - and that not doing it regularly is the number one reason behind poor grades. Nick was really good at the beginning of the year about doing the homework regularly and then slipped as the year progressed. It was a good lesson for him to learn. And - now that he has been doing the homework regularly again, the correlation has been reinforced."

We often give students opportunity to reflect upon their learning. The connections students make between practice and learning can be surprising. Here are some comments written by students at the end of the year when they were asked:

What did you learn about yourself as a learner this year? and What advice would you give to a student in this class next year?

"Try to do homework because it actually helps, which I learned the hard way."
"Advice would be to do the homework when you need to. If you understand the content just review it but if you don't understand, do the homework."
"Do the homework, even though it doesn't count. It helps more than you think.
"Use the study guides and homework!! That messed me up on a lot of tests or quizzes because I didn't do them."
"Do the homework! The practice helps and you can figure out any questions you have for the next day."
"Don't just copy the homework off the key online, actually do it and then check your work."
"I learned that when I am struggling with a topic, it helps to do a lot of practice problems and do the homework every night for that topic. Otherwise, I will continue to struggle. Your homework policy taught me independence and how to do things for my own good."
"When I came to this class, I learned that I could enjoy and understand geometry and that sometimes going slower is better. I learned to have fun and understand rather than struggle through level 1."

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