Home Learning
What is Home Learning?
Home learning is defined as tasks assigned by teachers that are meant to be carried out outside of the timetable curriculum. It contains an element of independent study that is not usually directly supervised by a teacher. Not all home learning is done at home; in fact for some students who find it hard to work at home or for some tasks which may require resources more readily available in school, it is necessary or desirable to carry out the task in school.
What does the research say?
Home learning can often be a contentious issue for students, parents and teachers. There has been much academic research into the value of home learning with some contradictory findings. However, there is a strong correlation between home learning and student performance. The indications are that it is not hours of home learning but the quality and discipline of completing home learning that supports student achievement. Research demonstrates that with only rare exceptions, the relationship between the amount of home learning students complete and their achievement is both positive and statistically significant. The Educational Endowment Foundation Trust’s Teaching and Learning Toolkit research shows that effective home learning can increase student progress by 5 months. For many, this could mean the difference between a 4 and 5 at GCSE or the difference between being able to access a future pathway they were working towards or not.
When is Home Learning effective?
Home Learning tasks, when designed and implemented effectively, are valuable tools for reinforcing learning. At Chosen Hill School increasing the effectiveness of home learning tasks is a multifaceted goal as research clearly evidences that home learning is an important factor that increases students’ rates of progress and achievement.
It is the teachers’ responsibility to create effective home learning tasks and to provide students and parents with the tools necessary for the process to be as successful as possible.
Accommodations, organisation, structure of tasks, technology, home-school communication and students’ home lives all influence the effectiveness of home learning tasks. A key focus for teachers at Chosen Hill School is to work on how home learning tasks can be improved to be ‘doable’ and effective. When home learning tasks are designed to meet specific purposes and goals, more students complete their home learning tasks and benefit from the results of doing so.
What are the benefits of Home Learning?
Three core benefits to home learning are:
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Long term academic benefits such as better study habits and skills;
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Non-academic benefits such as greater self-direction, greater self-discipline, better time management and more independent problem-solving – acquisition of self-regulation, including handling distraction, monitoring motivation and controlling negative emotion - a positive relationship exists between the development of self-regulation processes and self-efficacy beliefs as well as goal setting and maintaining attention;
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Greater parental involvement and participation in schooling with the benefits evidenced from this.
How much Home Learning Should students be doing?
Research indicates that the benefits and purposes of home learning vary for different age groups of students.
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Years 7 (Foundation phase) home learning tasks should aim to promote positive attitudes, habits and character traits; allow appropriate parental involvement and reinforce simpler skills taught in class.
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Year 8 (Foundation phase) home learning tasks should play a more direct role in fostering achievement in subjects.
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Year 9 onwards home learning should facilitate improving assessed outcomes.
For all students, research evidence shows that students can be trained to develop self-regulation skills during home learning activities. Teaching self-regulation skills is a key component in designing home learning tasks that promote progress and develop an appropriate mindset for learning.