Homework: The CCHS Working Group

(this is the 3rd part in a series of posts on homework)

The CCHS Working Group on Homework

I formed the CCHS Working Group on Homework to figure out the nature of the problem and to implement solutions. When I put the group together, I wanted to make sure that there was a solid balance of students and educators, and that, as importantly, the students’ voices would be heard. The group was comprised of four students, eight teachers (one from every department), a guidance counselor, two special education tutors and two administrators.

Prior to the first meeting, I met with the students. They represented a broad range of students in terms of academic achievement levels and homework completion rates. I took the important step of coaching them up so that they would truly speak their minds when in the room with their teachers.

The smartest thing I did was explicitly state at the outset that there was no “black-box”, meaning I had not formed any conclusions and that their efforts would be for not.

The Working Group on Homework Process

• met five times
• during the school day - this was done to ensure we’d get every member for every meeting
• researched the latest findings
• Every member read Cathy Vatterott’s Rethinking Homework
• conducted student, teacher and parent surveys
• created School-wide Guidelines

Google Cal

Homework free vacations

Assignment posted by end of block

One mistake we didn’t make: putting time limits on homework assignments - we knew we’d immediately lose the faculty if they were told they couldn’t assign more than say 30 min of homework a night. Instead, we developed a catalog of “best practices for teachers” that included research-based practices on ways to instill intrinsic motivation in their students.