No one teaches a toddler how to walk. No one moves his legs for him. We encourage him to stand, applaud his first step, and tell him it's OK when he falls. Yet when it comes to academic learning, writes Cathy Vatterott, we often fail to appreciate children's inborn desire for mastery or to trust their self-knowledge of how to get there.…

As heated as the controversy is and has been, most opponents of homework actually support at least a modest amount of "independent study," and the most ardent advocates are likely to emphasize moderation in the amount of homework and emphasis on the quality of independent assignments. In this article, the author focuses on this troublesome issue…

Beneath the banalities of buzzwords lies a syntax of philosophical traditions that have pedagogical impact on how we willingly or unwittingly conduct ourselves as educators. This paper presents an analytic review of two contrasting educational philosophies and their corresponding learning outcomes. Questions will be raised concerning the schism…

The question of homework is addressed with emphasis on the fact that few new English instruction textbooks call for homework. This article discusses "groaning and moaning" about homework, mass-preparation and mass-correction, and creative homework. (three references) (LB)

Finds that homework assignments should be based on considerations specific to the field of foreign language learning rather than on general pedagogical theory. (IFS/WGA)

Discusses how to use homework as an effective teaching method and offers creative sample assignments. (SRT)

Argues that students will accept and even learn from homework provided that its design takes into consideration students' learning styles and study skills. Describes an effort at an all-boys high school in Brooklyn, New York, to tailor class instruction and homework to results obtained from a Learning Styles Inventory. (BCY)

Offers (1) suggestions on how to teach students the importance of regular study habits for learning to spell, (2) story ideas to help students get started with creative writing, and (3) a model of a daily record assignment book to help students organize and remember their homework assignments. (SRT)

Argues that one way to reduce academic stress on children is to assign leisure reading as homework. Describes teacher-parent and teacher-student procedures for oral reading at home, with confirmation by parents, and homework assignments which are cooperatively set by teachers and students. (RS)

Four essential steps toward effective mathematics teaching are presented, concerning enthusiasm, discussion and questioning, homework, and evaluation. (MNS)

Three types of homework are described: consolidation, challenge, and diagnostic. Details on homework for less able students, general guidelines, and replies to arguments against a homework program are included. (MP)

A review of the literature on effects of homework for students with and without disabilities offers a homework process model, and suggests that homework policies and practices for students with learning disabilities should emphasize: simple, short assignments; careful monitoring by and prominent rewards from teachers; and parental involvement to…

Reviews the opportunities for and obstacles to promoting independent learning at the middle grades level. Proposes the substitution of compensatory practices that discourage self-directed learning activities, such as test review handouts, with instructional practices that support independent learning activities, such as performance feedback and…

Many students are deterred from science because of the way science courses are packaged. To find out what makes science hard for intelligent students, the author employed nonscience faculty and graduate students as surrogate students in science. Their responses to the sequence of the units, demonstrations, homework assignments, examinations, and…

Discusses the need for college science teachers to show students the fundamentals before expecting them to "dive in." Argues for the importance of homework in post-secondary science classes. (WRM)