Homework

Introduction

Homework is assigned, often on a daily basis, to students of all ages all over the world. Planning and assigning homework are a major responsibility and challenge to teachers at all grade levels. Cooper (1989a) defined homework as tasks assigned to learners by their teachers, that are to be done outside of school time and without concomitant teacher direction. (Cooper, 7-12) Homework is most frequently done at home and alone, but it may be done in other places such as the library, in study periods during or after school, or with other people such as parents or fellow students. There are different kinds of homework. Some homework is designed to assure that students review, practice, and drill material that has been learned at school. Other homework assignments are intended to provide students with the opportunity to amplify, elaborate, and enrich previously learned information. Homework is also sometimes used to prepare, in advance, material to be learned in the following classes.

Aim/Purpose of the Study

The main purpose of this research is to define what is homework and how it helps students in learning and achievement.

Research Questions

There are many questions that are related to this research, but the main three questions that this research will explain are:

Q.1. What is homework and how we can define it?

Q.2.

What are the differences between cognitive style, learning style and home learning style?

Q.3. Does really homework has positive effect on academic achievement of children?



Literature Review

The scope and depth of the literature on the topic of homework may be described in terms that Mark Twain used to describe the Mississippi River. It is "a mile wide and an inch deep." There is a large popular literature consisting of books and articles advising parents and teachers on how to help children with homework (e.g., Bursuck, 5), but only a sparse empirical research literature on the topic. Negative articles about homework are ubiquitous in popular periodicals with wide audiences. An article in the January 25, 1999 issue of Time magazine entitled "The Homework Ate My Family" and subtitled "Kids are Dazed, Parents are Stressed", is an excellent example of this literature.

Strong opinions on the topic of the efficacy of homework as a teaching strategy appear in the professional literature as well (e.g., Cooper, 19-33). The views range from strong criticism of the use of homework (Jones & Ross, 1964; Reese, 1995) to claims that the proper use of homework can yield a significant increase in the level of academic achievement (Cooper, 14-26). By contrast, there have been relatively few empirical studies on the effects of homework. A number of authorities on the topic examined these studies and concluded that (a) only a small number of studies have been conducted, (b) many of them were poorly designed, and (c) they focused almost exclusively on the characteristics of the homework itself (e.g., types, quality, amount, grading system, feedback) or on the effect of homework on achievement (Cooper, 85-91; Cooper, Lindsay, Nye, & Greathouse, 70-83).

Moreover, studies of the effect of ...