Homework is an incredibly important part of the learning process; if used correctly, it can help students consolidate class material, practice independent learning and improve academic performance. But one big question looms large; how much homework should teachers set?
To get some answers, we sat down with Professor Harris Cooper, an academic social psychologist at Duke University and editor-in-chief of the American Psychologist journal. This blog post breaks down our conversation with him, reflecting on key points from his research on homework and tips for assigning homework that is truly beneficial for students.
So, read on to learn about:
- What the “right” amount of homework is
- What the research about homework actually says
- Top tips for assigning homework
What is the “right” amount of homework?
One of the first points that Professor Cooper stressed in our interview was that “too much homework is a bad thing”. Whilst homework can be beneficial to learning, too much of it can lead to chronic stress, emotional exhaustion and burnout.
So, how much homework is too much homework? Professor Cooper suggests there isn’t one “neat” number. Instead, the amount that students are assigned should change depending on their age, skill level and the amount of support they receive at home. This suggests that, where possible, teachers should try and adapt homework assignments to individual students’ needs.
However, Professor Cooper did suggest a helpful guideline; as an anchor point, many teachers begin with the 10-minute rule. This rule proposes that homework should increase by 10 minutes as children move up a year group. For example, first year students might get 10 minutes of homework and fifth years might get 50 minutes. After using this rule as a general guide, teachers can then make further adjustments based on other factors such as the complexity of the assignments, the student’s interest in the subject. For example, if a child is really interested in a topic, a teacher could work with their parents and suggest additional tasks or reading the child can complete at home.
It is also worth keeping in mind that, as Professor Cooper says, “the same homework assignment, if it goes home to different family settings and kids with different levels of abilities, is going to take them different amounts of time”.
Top tips for assigning homework
If done correctly, homework can be really beneficial for students. But how can teachers ensure their homework tasks are making the best use of students’ time? Drawing from our interview with Professor Cooper and other research in this field, we’ve come up with some top tips to help.
1. Trust your judgement
As Professor Cooper highlighted, there isn’t a “neat” number for the right amount of homework; teachers can use the 10-minute rule as an anchor, but adjustments still need to be made according to the task and the student. This is where the “wisdom of the practitioner” comes in; teachers know their students and are usually the best people to judge what will help them along in their learning journey. When it comes to assigning homework, it’s important for teachers to trust their instincts and do what they think is best for their students.
2. Check in with students
The best homework assignments are ones that are manageable and relevant to students. Teachers can often make a good judgement of this, but it is important to check in with students as well. Are they finding the tasks very difficult? Are they experiencing burnout due as a result of large workloads? Asking these questions can help tailor homework tasks to student needs and maximise the effectiveness of assignments.
3. Pay more attention to quality instead of quantity
As we’ve covered, assigning lots of homework is more likely to hinder than help students’ progress. Instead, the quality of each task is much more important. Are the tasks meaningful? Do they help students practice a range of important skills? If you want to learn more about this, we cover methods to increase the quality of homework tasks in our Teacher CPD Academy module “Homework”.
Final thoughts
Homework can boost progress in a student’s learning journey, but only when done correctly. Quite often, students are assigned too much work and are left exhausted and unmotivated as a result.
However, by tailoring the amount of homework students are given, we may be able to avoid some of these negative outcomes. Teachers may see improvement when taking age, skill level and other factors into account.
We would like to thank Professor Harris Cooper for sharing his expertise. You can watch our full interview with him, along with other Expert Insights, by joining the Teacher CPD Academy, our online platform that makes high-impact CPD easy.
