homework assistance

homework assistance

Effective Strategies for Providing Homework Assistance to Students

1. Introduction to Homework Assistance

The purpose of this booklet is simple: to provide just the basic information and techniques that should enable any novice to give clear and understandable help to students on their homework. Some of the problem areas that seem most likely to turn up in their child’s homework include the vocalism of reading, mathematics, spelling and writing, problem-solving, and test-taking skills.

Homework has long been a mainstay of American education for good reason. Homework provides a beneficial forum for parents to participate in and observe the educational process. In their role, parents can monitor the student, review class material, and discuss topics with their children. Homework assignments provide an immediate source of reinforcement to the student and are a feedback mechanism used by the teacher. Assignments help students to develop study schedules, strategic planning, and time-management skills. As a result, students who complete homework assignments usually do well and are rewarded by the satisfaction of meeting the standard of excellence set by their teacher. Furthermore, homework builds a foundation of content knowledge, skills, and habits of mind— basically, students who study learn how to learn.

2. Understanding the Challenges Faced by Students in Completing Homework

Others may also be unable to provide the same level of academic support requested, either because they have demanding jobs or may not understand the subject. This includes homework assignments, which have been part of the education system for a long time. When schools send homework assignments home, a lot of parents find these assignments to be more than they are capable of completing without help. A level of confusion is common among parents who never had to complete similar assignments, yet this circumstance may often discourage parents from supporting their child in the way they hoped to be supported. Parents are usually able to provide a lot of support for young students as they complete simple homework assignments but quickly back out to leave children without valuable academic assistance once assignments become more challenging.

Every student faces some degree of difficulty in completing homework. Some students may struggle with having a quiet place to work, while others may not understand the material and need their parent or guardian to explain it to them. It is important to keep in mind that for many students, the home environment is not conducive to doing homework. Domestic distractions, such as the television or chatter from housemates, can also have a great impact on how well students are able to concentrate on homework. Without a peaceful environment to help foster concentration, students may be less likely to complete assignments to the best of their ability.

3. Key Strategies and Best Practices for Providing Homework Assistance

Several homework-related help-seeking strategies that children and their families can use are developed based on concerns that children may not understand the directions for doing homework and may not complete it correctly.

(5) Most importantly, understand that every child has his/her own strengths, limitations, interests, and attitudes, and the most effective homework assistance can only be developed when cognitive, affective, social, and cultural factors are taken into account. It’s the best practice to treat each child as a unique human being and each child as someone who deserves one’s attention and care.

(4) Prompting helps students organize and structure the work and procedures of homework. Developing a stepwise prompting schedule to assist students is an effective homework assistance strategy.

Develop a plan to ensure that your child completes learning-related assignments.

(3) Modeling learning strategies and adaptive behaviors is essential if parents want their children to take a domain-specific learning objective seriously.

(2) Support the use of operant methods to ensure that students complete learning-related homework problems.

(1) Facilitate a classroom-wide environment that promotes learning and encourages students to have positive beliefs about themselves and their own potential.

Many parents want to help their children with homework but are not sure what to do. Some homework assistance might not only be considered the parents’ roles but also the roles of other individuals, such as siblings, grandparents, or even paid helpers. Five homework assistance strategies are suggested based on theoretical and empirical evidence:

4. Utilizing Technology Tools for Homework Assistance

Of course, the student can investigate and learn from the technology tool on her own, without the assistance of a family member. When the student uses the computer or other browsing device to connect to a homework assistance resource website, the student can submit questions to an expert, chat or post a question to a web-based community, access materials prepared by a webmaster, or take advantage of the many other resources available. For example, the student can communicate online with an online educational institution to determine whether the institution offers a software package that demonstrates the solution to the problem or offers other educational web-based resources. At the present time, some of the educational software providers and webmasters are offering both types of resources to students at no charge. Such activities can help the student to work more effectively, in an independent fashion suited to the needs of the students while at the same time developing sense of self and focus that can play a critical role in building a good homework habit.

Recently, the widespread availability of technology tools, such as the World Wide Web and its many associated web-based resources, has expanded the potential users of homework assistance beyond the traditional family members and friends. As an example, with the set-up of a study carrel or a home office with a printer, a high school student can log into an online chemistry accelerator class and learn from an MIT lesson. In addition, the family can take advantage of the resources through the web by creating a subscription to SAT or ACT Coach or a suitable online college application preparation course offered by The College Board or other web service. Prior to the advent of the WWW, assistance of this nature would require paying fairly high tuition, spending time traveling to a suitable educational facility, or enlisting the assistance of a knowledgeable friend.

5. Assessment and Evaluation of Homework Assistance Programs

The following are assessment techniques recommended by Successful Homework Programs: entity wall of completed homework, Burke time, location of community assistance, improvement in student school performance, erosion in student grades, monitoring of student’s achievement on tests, questionnaires, interviews, tests by staff, recording to acknowledge completion of homework, compare student work with the great homework, put a list of scheduled and unscheduled holidays in the entity window. Use all forms of testing to monitor students. Keep updated principal’s and teachers’ expectations for assignments. Maintain a school and parent advisory board. Treat students with dignity and respect. Provide mentor training. Monitor contacts between students and mentors. Maintain and update parent contacts and parental concerns. Use success data appropriately. Use the benchmarks of your organization. Promote these benchmarks wherever you can.

Evaluation is critical to the continuing successful revision of school programs. The district sponsors of homework camps need to attend a mini-conference for this retooling. Design of assessment techniques is an important part of the budget for your friendship with these evaluators. Where appropriate, have them on your retooling team. Support for the federal program may add required resources.