Hey math students and parents,
And I welcome new subscribers. How’s math goingggggggg in your world!?
The biggest frustration I’ve seen students experience over the years is doing homework and not remembering.
Not remembering (aka forgetting) what you’ve practiced is the quickest way to have any desire to do homework sucked out of you. I am forever repeating to my students,
The purpose of homework is not ‘to practice.’
The purpose of homework is not ‘to practice.’
The purpose of homework is to remember!
Think about that for a moment!
I wish that reminder was etched on every blackboard/whiteboard! When I speak to students about homework not being about practice but more about helping them remember, a light bulb
goes on inside their heads. It’s the start of a shift in how they think about homework.
Here’s what I mean: If you think that the purpose of homework is to get practice, then the odds are high you will:
Do it quickly,
Skip steps,
Rush to get it done and over with, especially if you don’t like math,
Procrastinate and do it late at night when you’re tired.
You’re getting ‘practice’ because you’re doing math homework, but if it doesn’t help you remember, then was it worth doing?
Here’s what I know: Spending your time and energy on homework and not remembering it is a guaranteed fast track to getting frustrated. And that frustration becomes the little voice in your head that tells you, “What’s the point in doing this, I’ll just forget it.”
If you do homework quickly, skip steps, rush to get it done, or procrastinate, then you’re viewing homework as something you have to do but don’t really want to do. I feel your pain, but it doesn’t have to be that way.
Best in learning,
Edison
Edison Hopkinson BSc Mech Eng, B.Ed., OCT
Math Learning Strategist
Strategies to use when the usual isn’t working!