Prepared by the researcher : Dr. Hussein Ahmed Ayed Rababa – PhD in Measurement and Evaluation – Al Hashemi Center for Public Opinion Polling, Irbid – Jordan
Democratic Arabic Center
International Journal of Educational and Psychological Studies : Twenty-Third Issue – December 2023
A Periodical International Journal published by the “Democratic Arab Center” Germany – Berlin
:To download the pdf version of the research papers, please visit the following link
Abstract
This study came after conducting an opinion poll for (375) male and female students from the schools of the Jordanian governorate of Irbid, conducted by the researcher through the Hashemite Center for Public Opinion Survey and Conducting Research / Jordan / Irbid. Is homework important to you? And why? After collecting and analyzing the data, the results of the survey showed that (287) of the respondents, constituting (77%), answered that the educational duty is not important to them, while (34) of the respondents, (9%), answered that it is important to them, while he answered ( 54) of the respondents, constituting (14%), answered “I don’t know.” This study touched on the educational duty, its objectives, importance, and implementation procedures, which educational institutions must take into account and pay attention to the educational duty as a fundamental pillar in the educational-learning process that leads to growth and development. The ability to comprehend, understand, organize, analyze, evaluate and increase opportunities for innovation. The study concluded with a suggested model for the educational assignment and its implementation procedures.
Introduction
Homework is a controversial topic for teachers, students, and parents, and if used properly, it can be a valuable tool to reinforce the learning that takes place in the classroom.
The educational assignment is defined as every directed activity carried out by the student outside the classroom with the aim of mastering the educational material that he dealt with in the classroom, and given the importance of the definition, Homework is also defined as the functions that are assigned by the teacher and are supposed to be performed by students during non-school hours (Ramdass and Zimmerman, 2011),
Many students who have grown up in more affluent areas have a wide variety of activities after school. They may receive some extra lessons, and they may participate in fun activities with their peers. In poor areas, many children go to work after school to help their families, and some of them take care of their siblings while their parents work, which makes homework an important matter that must be handled carefully, and presented to students in a relaxed manner so that educational duties are not heavy and disturbing and do not achieve their goals.
The educational homework achieves many goals, including: it helps learners to enhance the learning process, works to confirm the facts and information given to the student at school, and provides outstanding students with new opportunities to develop their learning and strengthen underachieving students, and homework works to increase school interaction with the home, and develop self-reliance, And increase opportunities for students to feel responsible and help them to coordinate and organize their work.
The educational duty is of great importance to the student, the learner, the school and the community, as it helps in learning based on understanding and application, good participation in life situations, familiar and unfamiliar, building self-confidence, cooperation between students and teachers, the ability to issue and feedback, in design and preparation, expanding the knowledge base.
In a study (Catalano and Catalano 2018) aimed at analyzing the advantages and limitations of homework, survey questionnaires were used in the study to measure teachers’ awareness of the importance, size, classification, purposes, degree of difficulty, time spent, parental involvement in homework in primary education, educational experiences, peer dialogues, and studies focused on positive effects. And the negative impact of homework on academic performance, and its impact on the school results of students in the primary stages. Designing homework in line with the needs of the current generation in light of the digital environment and research in the virtual environment, and being affected by the use of technology since early childhood.
Quantitative Study on the Usefulness of
Homework in Primary Education
Quantitative Study on the Usefulness of
Homework in Primary Education
Quantitative Study on the Usefulness of
Homework in Primary Education
Catalano, H., & Catalano, C. (2018). Quantitative Study on the
Usefulness of Homework in Primary Education. In V. Manolachi, C.M. Rus, S.
Rusnac (eds.), New Approaches in Social and Humanistic Sciences (pp. 129-
136). Iasi, Romania: LUMEN Proceedings.
https://doi.org/10.18662/lumproc.nashs2017.11
In a study (Fernandez and suarez ,2015 (that aimed to investigate systematically the effect of homework on student performance in mathematics and science, and multi-level models were used, the sample consisted of 7,725 Spanish adolescents with an average age of 13.78 (0.82), of whom 7,451 were adolescents. A two-level hierarchical linear analysis was performed, for student and class, with 4 individual adjusting variables: gender, socioeconomic and cultural level, general failure, and school grades. Class level, frequency of assignment, and amount of homework, estimated using school grades, were considered the most important predictors of achievement. In the study, its effect is greater than the combined effect of all other variables studied, and the homework variables that most affect the test are the student’s independence and frequency of homework by teachers, and it has been shown that independence when performing homework is the most important variable at the individual level in both mathematics and science, not the effort and/or time spent doing homework. The optimal time for homework is one hour a day.
In a study (Trautwein and Schneider, 2009), which indicated that students who did not achieve academic achievement at their academic level could take advantage of the extra time given to them when working on educational tasks in order to reach a higher level of achievement sooner than their gifted peers, and in another study conducted by Timothy Keith and Valerie Cole in 1992, (Trautwein and Schneider, 2009), which concluded that dedicated students spend more time on homework and learning content leads to increased self-confidence which leads to achievement in completing tasks in an efficient manner, In a study by researchers Ulrich Trautwein, Timothy Keith, and Valerie Cole, students who devote more time to homework do better on the subject and content of the assignment and also have positive interpersonal feelings of accomplishment, which is important for their sense of self-confidence.
In the study (Coober, Robinson, and Patal, 2006), multiple analyzes were made of The educational homework for the comprehensive semester, and the results concluded that there is a positive relationship between the amount of educational homework that students do and their academic achievement, and this contradicts what researchers have found in their studies, such as (Kohn ,2006), (Bennet and Kalish,2006) , and (Kralovec and Buell, 2000), who make a strong argument against homework because of the marginalization of economically disadvantaged students who find it difficult to complete their homework due to unequal home environments, and that teachers, in general, do not have the capacity to use homework and provide it to students. Because of the lack of training required, and how to create effective homework, these researchers also point out that homework can do just that and beneficial school policy should be implemented and improved to prepare students and make use of homework best practices.
The focus has been on that teachers should design educational assignments to meet the purposes and objectives of learning(Voorhees, 2011), as indicated by (Epstein and Van Voorhees, 2001), that when the educational assignment is used correctly by teachers, it produces an effect on Learning is three times greater than the effect of socioeconomic status (Redding, 2000), ( Cooper and colleagues .2006) concluded in their analytical study that there is a positive effect of educational assignment on achievement, it was found that the average student in the class is given enough homework.
In a study (Marzano and Pickering, 2007), which showed that the relationship between the amount of homework completed by students and the determination of their achievement are positive and statistically significant. And that there is a correlation between educational assignment and achievement and it is stronger in grades seven through twelve than it was in kindergarten until the end of the sixth year (Cooper et al., 2006; Marzano & Pickering, 2007; Protheroe, 2009).
Cooper suggested (Cooper,2007) that teachers should consider the broad benefits of an educational obligation, the most notable of which are: long-term academic benefits, such as better study habits and skills; non-academic benefits, such as self-direction, increased self-discipline, better time management, and more independent problem-solving; and greater parental involvement in education (Protheroe, 2009).
We note from previous studies the following
- There is a positive relationship between the educational assignment and the achievement level of the students.
- The educational assignment needs skills from the teachers to prepare it in an elaborate way, design it, and present it to the students
- Teachers need to be trained in competencies and strategies related to teaching assignment.
- The previous studies did not pay attention to the methods of evaluating the educational assignment.
the importance of studying
In the light of modern technology, the educational duty is no longer linked to the student alone, but it has become possible to apply it with his colleagues in an atmosphere of interaction and motivation and the development of a spirit of competition between groups of students, and to get rid of the atmosphere of isolation and the development of a spirit of cooperation and participation, so this study came to focus on cooperation, participation, competition and access to Solutions in a way that targets proficient and continuous learning related to life applications by expanding the system of teamwork and mutual evaluation.
the problem
Students’ view of educational assignment has become a manifestation of a useless routine, or as a means of completing educational tasks without benefit, or as a means of punishment that teachers use for students, whenever they want, thus forgetting the neglect of the educational assignment, which is considered an integral part of the academic curriculum and which works to cover multiple aspects of the book. The school assignment that the teacher cannot cover for reasons related to the time of the class, the number of students in the class, climatic conditions, etc. Also, the assignment works to enable the student to master the academic material according to his abilities and abilities. These assignments may be a reason for discovering many of the obstacles that the student finds in his mind, and there may be other reasons for his inability. Teachers are required to give assignments in the required manner and in the appropriate manner for students. Therefore, this study came to show the extent to which students feel the importance of educational assignment, and how to build the method. Therefore, this study came to answer the following questions:
- What is the percentage of students’ satisfaction with the educational duties that they are assigned to perform outside the school?
- What are the reasons for the answers of the students who answered with interest and those who answered without interest in the educational task given to them by the teachers?
- How can the educational assignment be built by the teachers and presented to the students?
- How can teachers evaluate their students’ homework?
Objectives of the study
The study aims to make the educational assignment motivating work and motivating the warmth of students, improving the task of education on the basis of quality and not quantity, and presenting proposals to educational institutions on how to prepare teachers and develop their skills in constructing educational assignments and presenting them to students, through which the desired learning is achieved in accordance with The tripartite assessment that this study came up with is through a group in which all students in the class participate, regardless of their different achievement levels.
Goal, hypothesis, methodology
The main objective of this study is to present a proposed model through which the educational task is presented and evaluated in a way that finds acceptance, passion and motivation to accomplish the educational task in a modern way that is far from quantity and based on quality. from education. The educational task that is based on diversity and taking into account individual differences that achieve the goals of skilled and continuous learning, through the descriptive survey methodology that uses two questionnaires through which information is collected from the study sample consisting of (375) males and females. the students. In grades 4-12 studying in Jordanian public and private schools in Irbid for the academic year 2022/2023
Results
Results related to the study question one:
After collecting the students’ answers to the study question related to Do you consider the educational assignments presented to you by the teacher useful? And why? The results indicate that (287) answered that it is not useful, with a percentage and 34 of the respondents answered that it was important, while 54 of the respondents answered, “I don’t know.”
This percentage calls for a review of the educational assignments that are presented to the students, their contents, the way they are presented and evaluated in order to meet the students’ ambitions, and they implement them in a correct way that leads to achieving the learning goals, so that the students do not feel that it is a burden on them, nor is it a punishment that is taken against them, and is practiced on them to cover the aspects of the subject. education routinely.
Results related to the study question two:
The responses of the students of the study sample came that the reasons for their answer were that the educational assignment provided to them by the teachers was not useful, as shown in table (1)
Table (1) represents the reasons why the students answered that the educational assignment is not useful
| The answer | Repeat the answer |
| Too many duties | 81 |
| It is not corrected | 76 |
| Pointless | 64 |
| Do not help to understand the lesson | 57 |
| Hard | 41 |
| annoying | 33 |
| random | 12 |
It is clear from the table that the answers of the respondents who believe that the educational assignment is not useful, which were arranged according to the number of times it is repeated, too many duties, it is not corrected, Pointless, do not help to understand the lesson, Hard, annoying, random
which indicates the student’s lack of awareness and awareness of the objectives of the educational assignment, and also indicates a clear weakness in the mechanism of providing the educational assignment, and the teacher’s inability to encourage Students and motivate them to perform the assignment in the required ways
While the respondents (34) who answered the importance of educational duty mentioned the reason for their answer as shown in table (2).
Table (2) Represents the reasons why the students answered that the educational assignment is useful
| The answer | Repeat the answer |
| essential | 11 |
| Deepen understanding of the lesson | 8 |
| Help search and find the answer | 6 |
| More skill training | 5 |
The table above shows the students’ answers, which are arranged according to the number of times they are repeated: necessary, deepening understanding of the lesson, helping students to search for solutions, and training in skills, These answers appear in Table (2), which were mentioned by a small number of students, and they indicate that this small group of students realizes the importance and objectives of the educational assignment, which indicates that the educational assignments do not take into account the individual differences between students, and the inability of these assignments to empower all students. From adapting and interacting with it, and considering it as an essential pillar of the learning process
The answer to the third question:
By defining the educational assignment, we extract the expressive sentences shown in the figure (1)
Figure (1) teaching assignment
| 4- Improve and develop student learning |
and through the responses of the two categories of students who answered that the educational assignment was useful and those who answered that it was not useful, the researcher begged for a model for structuring the educational assignment and presenting it to the students, which is based on four pillars:
Choice: The assignment is chosen from the interests of the student, and helps students communicate with each other, and develops the three aspects of learning: cognitive, affective, and psychomotor.
Activation: The ability of the educational assignment to attract the student’s attention, stimulate his motivation, and motivate him to perform.
Presentation: Presenting the educational assignment in a variety of ways, and focusing on enabling the student to present solutions in ways that enable the rest of his group members to understand and build on them.
Evaluation: Evaluation is an integrated process for each educational assignment that starts from the teacher and returns to the teacher according to a series that the teacher shares with his students and the students share with each other.
Figure (2) model for structuring the educational assignment
Duty procedures
- The students are divided into groups. The number of groups is equal to the number of students divided by the number of book units
- Example: the number of students is 30, the number of book units is 8, the number of groups is 30 / 8 = 4 (to the nearest whole number)
- Divide students into groups periodically (each student will change to all groups so that in the end all students have participated)
- The number of groups should not be less than three and not more than five, and the number of members of each group should not be less than three.
Example: 30 students are divided into groups 4
Group1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4
24 16 9 1
25 17 10 2
26 18 11 3
27 19 12 4
28 20 13 5
29 21 14 6
30 22 15 7
23 8
Duty fulfillment
Each group is assigned three tasks that take the following forms
The mental aspect: It is linked to the cognitive aspect that depends entirely on what the student has studied in the classroom
Practical aspect: It is related to the practical aspect of the given previous training (the cognitive aspect).
Investigative aspect: Adding phrases to the question in the cognitive side, what if, so that the data of the question changes into data that requires higher mental skills.
Design: related to the above and directing the student to design a model for the above
The evaluation aspect: the exchange of judgments between groups for what has been achieved
Figure (3) represents the main aspects of the educational assignment
Teaching homework evaluation for each study unit (for the total assignments included in the study unit in the textbook)
In order for the learning process to occur through educational assignments, the evaluation process must go hand in hand with it. In this regard, the evaluation process consists of 3 stages: pre, simultaneous, and final.
pree: All that the student has learned previously and is related to the topic of the current lesson) This type of assessment is directed from the teacher to the students(
Synchronous: Mutual evaluation between groups for each assignment or branch thereof, so that it revolves around two groups at least) This type of evaluation is conducted among students without the participation of the teacher (
final: Group participation with the teacher in the evaluation process (group participation)
It is not approved to complete the task without triple approval: approval within the group, approval from the groups, approval from the teacher
In the event of any negative observation from the triple dependence, the group is provided with the solutions, and each student in the group is marked with a red dot. The student’s performance depends on the educational assignment, and the final evaluation of the student’s performance in the homework is as follows:
The absence of any possible red qualified
Having two red dots at least is good
Four or three red dots average
Red five points or more low
The evaluation tool was presented to five specialized arbitrators, with an approval rating of 95%.
Figure (4) It represents a tool for evaluating the educational assignment of the study unit
Application example: “The example was chosen from the subject of mathematics”
A rectangle has a length of 5 cm and a width of 4 cm. What is its area?
Cognitive side the area of the rectangle length width = 5 x 4 = 20 cm2
Practical side: drawing a rectangle, defining its dimensions, and clarifying what is meant by space practically
Investigative aspect: What if the area of a rectangle is 20 cm2 and its length is 5 cm, what is its width?
What is its circumference? Is it possible to find the length of its diameter?
Design aspect: Writing the rule for the area of a rectangle, the rule for finding one of the two dimensions of a rectangle through the other dimension and its area, the rule for the perimeter of the rectangle.
In this aspect, reliance is placed on the ingenuity of the request in designing what is required of him through the forms or other means available to him.
The evaluation aspect: exchanging solutions between groups with the aim of informing students about the answers, the work of other groups, and issuing judgments on it, which helps the student to think and develop his future vision for solutions, which improves student learning, increases his motivation to learn, and generates the ability to innovate in an organized manner. And purposeful and thoughtful.
-Answers are exchanged between groups electronically using visual communication devices
-Determine the teacher’s weaknesses and strengths and address them
-Exchange of answers back between the teacher and the groups
Review: It takes place during each of the previous aspects, through which gaps are identified and appropriate solutions are developed. In the final review, the necessary recommendations for treatment and development are put forward.
Figure (5) Outcomes of the structured educational assignment
This figure was presented to five specialized arbitrators, with an approval rating of (92.5%.).
Recommendations: The study recommends the following;
- Activate the educational assignment presented to the students in a way that motivates the students and raises their motivation.
- Paying attention to the developmental aspects of the student and not focusing on the cognitive side only.
- Focusing on the evaluation in the manner included in the study.
- Activate the model proposed in the study (the educational homework model).
- Conducting studies dealing with the proposed model.
Conclusions
In light of the current study, which showed the importance of homework for students and its impact on the student’s performance, developing his thinking, and stimulating his motivation to learn, which leads educational institutions to focus their attention on educational duties, raise the level of their teachers, spread awareness among them of the importance of these duties, and work to organize workshops and training courses. It focuses on the importance of educational assignments and how to present them to students, and enables teachers to use the tripartite evaluation found in the current study, which in turn helps in giving the educational assignment the desired benefit in a smooth, simple, dynamic, and integrated manner
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