If you don’t give teenagers piles of homework, doesn’t that mean they don’t learn enough?
Not so.
“There are simply no compelling data to justify the practice of making kids work what amounts to a second shift when they get home from a full day of school,” says Alfie Kohn, an author and expert on child education, parenting, and human behavior.
It’s hard for some people to imagine students without hours of homework. It is a ubiquitous part of education in this country, even though studies reveal only the most minimal of positive benefits.
Many teachers simply can’t believe that cutting down/out homework from their repertoire of learning tools is a good idea. What can you possibly do with the idea of no more homework?
The teachers at LEADPrep are creative, and know that they have the tools and skills to de-emphasize the over-reliance on standard homework assignments and insure student learning.
At LEADPrep we change the paradigm of homework by giving our students hands-on, student-led engagement with class lessons. This is replaces learning expressed through homework (completed, hopefully by the student and not a tutor or parent). Our students get to demonstrate their learning and build on it, while collaborating with peers and teachers. This creates more learning than happens in the isolation of homework. They also get to adjust the parameters of the work with the teacher, making it more relevant and aligned with passions than a one-size-fits-all homework assignment.
Classroom activities emphasize the use of the knowledge the students have, ways to find and synthesize more knowledge, and how to productively share this knowledge with others.
Students find this more interesting which means more involvement and more learning.
As one teacher in Tulsa put it: “They work hard in class all day. After that, they need to be kids and teens. And I’ve seen no change in the achievement level of my students since I stopped assigning homework.”
Hooray for No More Homework!
Read more: Should Schools Be Done With Homework?
