"So how's that no-homework thing going, anyway?"

Glad you asked.  Let's look at this undertaking in the format of one of my favorite children's books, 13 Experiments That Failed (I am not implying anything about my own experiment).

Question: How would the absence of homework affect class engagement and skill development?

Hypothesis: Students will be more engaged and independent if homework is replaced with meaningful and challenging class work which focuses on skill development over content knowledge.

What you need:  Students; a structured plan for how students will use class time; a timer; a healthy view of failure; a willingness to turn over control to and to trust students

What to do:

1. Examine and understand the skill standards for your content area and grade level.
2. Decide which and how many skill standards your students can adequately practice and hone within the time frame you are allotted (for me--12 week trimester, meeting every day for 62 minutes).
3. Examine your curriculum: decide what content MUST be covered, but, more importantly, how you will use the content as a vehicle to practice and develop certain skills.  Match content to skills keeping the focus on skill.
4. Decide how and where student choice will drive skill development.
5. Set up a daily schedule in which 75% of the time involves the students implementing higher-order skills. Limit "teacher-time" (the time in which students become listeners rather than learners) to 25% or less of class time.
6. Develop skill lessons you know will need to be taught, but reserve "scheduling" them until students are at a point where the lesson will be most appropriate and well-received.
7. Set due dates that must be met and create a procedure to follow when deadlines are not met.  Discuss this procedure with administration to ensure their support in your policies and procedures.
8. Write a student/parent letter detailing your no-homework policy, expectations, and structures put in place to support student success in your class.
9. Smile and give it a whirl!

What happened:

Areas of strength

• Students in English 3 consistently show high levels of independence, self-direction, critical thinking, and enthusiasm towards learning
• Students in English 3 engage in daily small and large group conversations that demonstrate deep understanding and application of text
• At least 80% of English 3 students are actively reading their selected text (Huck Finn, A Lesson Before Dying, Incidences in the Life of a Slave Girl)
• English 3 students are not only willing to, but are excelling at "doing the hard stuff" in class
• 96% of English 4 students turned in their narrative writings on time
• 100% of English 4 students turned in their narrative writings
• 20% of English 4 students consistently turn in highly skilled writing products
• 50% of English 4 students consistently turn in proficient writing products
• A student who previously was not writing without intensive teacher/parent prodding/help is now writing frequently, independently, and confidently (still not proficiently, but he's writing!)
• Students in English 3 and 4 are writing daily
• A student in English 3 commented that class moves quickly and he doesn't have the chance to get bored
• Many of my struggling students have gained confidence in their abilities and in themselves
• Several English 4 students commented that they were able to get all of their writing completed entirely within class and were grateful because they worked a lot outside of school.
• I have a better sense of where all of my students are in terms of their skill development because all of their practice is being completed in my presence.
• I see my students becoming more independent as I (and my student teacher) spend less time "giving information"
• The majority of students are accepting more responsibility for meeting deadlines because they know they have been given adequate time in class to work as well as adequate access to teacher help.
• I feel like I know each of my students better, not just their skill levels, but their personalities and attitudes as well.

Areas of weakness/glitches

• 27% of English 4 students did not turn in informative writings by due date
• 10% of English 4 students did not complete the informative and argumentative writings yet
• 25% of English 4 students do not consistently use writer's workshop time productively and therefore miss deadlines and/or turn in hastily completed non-proficient writing
• Some English 4 students state that they "just work better at home" but then do not use class work time to conference with me or to revise/edit what they wrote at home
• Students missing deadlines would not attend the Saturday school to complete the work missed, which was part of my policy
• I did not get to conference with English 4 students as often as I initially wanted to; next year I will assign each student to a day of the week and that will be the day all trimester long that I meet with them individually
• Many English 4 students used workshop time to write but were not prepared and/or willing to conference with me about their writing leading to under-performance

Conclusions:

Despite being frustrated that not all students are using class time like I was hoping they would, so far, I find that my hypothesis has proven true for most students, especially my juniors in English 3.  They are more engaged and more willing to attack difficult tasks from complex reading and writing to conversing with fellow classmates in Socratic seminars where they analyze and synthesize challenging texts and topics.

My seniors posed the greatest challenges, but I found myself more frustrated with the structures that seemed to have instilled in them the idea that they are audience members in their education rather than the leading actors. I am unclear if this is a "senior" thing, and, in particular, a "this senior class" thing.  It will be interesting to see how my current juniors adapt to English 4 next year under the same structure.  I plan on looking into the overall systems that may be unknowingly creating the dependency that seemed to slow down some of my seniors' progress and success in a no-homework environment that challenges them to be "on" every day in class.

I look forward to continuing my year without homework in trimesters 2 and 3.  So far, I would recommend this structure to anyone who would like to see increased classroom engagement and/or wants to have a clearer idea of all of their students' skill levels.  Overall, the students appreciate not just not having outside work, but getting to practice every day, right in front of me.  They are more confident and less afraid of failing.

So shake things up a bit!  You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

"Students take risks when teachers take risks..." (Brad Currie).