The power of good homework and what to set

“What is the point of homework?” It’s a question that teachers have to face regularly from students, but it’s also one that teachers might ask themselves if they spend more time setting and marking it than actually teaching. In this blog, we will cover what makes good homework, as well as how you can reduce the burden on teachers to set and mark homework tasks.

What is homework?

Homework is anything that students are asked to complete outside of lesson time. This can include work completed during homework clubs at lunch time or before or after school. It can be tasks to reinforce what has been covered in previous lessons or something that students complete in advance of a lesson. 

Does homework have a positive impact on learning?

The Education Endowment Fund (EEF) shares a list of studies looking into the effect of homework and have found that it can result in an average of 5 months additional learning. This effect is seen more regularly for secondary school students, something that Inner Drive noted could be due to the fact that younger students need more structured tasks.

Tom Sherrington points to the lifelong skills that learners develop through completing homework, such as independent learning skills, resilience and resourcefulness. He also highlights the fact that students can take their time and work at their own pace. Tasks completed outside of school can act as a “leveller”, contributing to reducing educational disadvantage, so long as schools provide opportunities to complete tasks during homework clubs. This is essential in giving students a place to work and access to technology that might not be available at home.

Sherrington is also a big advocate of flipped learning, something that we see in a number of our partner schools. This approach asks students to complete knowledge learning outside of class, leaving lesson time free to deal with students’ misconceptions.

What makes good homework?

The EEF has compiled a list of things that make effective homework. Tasks need to be purposeful and linked to the work that is completed in class. This also ensures that students see the value of homework as they know that it will be referred to during future lessons. Quality over quantity also prevails, with some evidence to show the more time students spend on homework, the less effective it becomes. 

Feedback is also an important part of effective homework; taking time to unpick wrong answers. This is a view shared by Tom Sherrington who advises making sure homework tasks feed into follow-up lessons and asking the key questions, “Which questions did we find hard? What different kinds of answers did we get?”

What to set as homework?

We now know what makes good homework, but what can teachers set that is linked to classroom work, delivers high quality feedback and doesn’t add hours to their already heavy workload?

With Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT making it difficult for teachers to identify if learners have completed essays and other long-form answers themselves, more and more schools are making students complete essays in controlled conditions in class. This is one way of going about things, but it’s also important to highlight the ways in which ChatGPT can be used to support students with questions, rather than being used by students to write full essays.

CENTURY’s AI-powered platform can be used to set meaningful homework, whatever your homework policy. Its micro-lessons (or nuggets, consisting of videos, slideshows and assessment questions) mean students can reinforce knowledge and skills from previous lessons or prepare for future lessons. Learners can study at their own pace and receive immediate feedback that deals with any misconceptions on the spot. Teachers are provided with students’ scores and insights into their performance, reducing teacher workload whilst allowing them to tailor future lessons accordingly.

For more information about how CENTURY to fit your homework policy, book a demo here. For specific examples of how CENTURY can support your homework policy, click here.