Regular Routine of Study in Junior Secondary
Rationale
Kawana Waters State College's homework policy intends to reinforce the essential skills being addressed in the classroom and provide intrinsic skills children need to be successful beyond school and home.
"With only rare exceptions, the relationship between the amount of homework students do and their achievement outcomes was found to be positive and statistically significant. Therefore, we think it would not be imprudent, based on the evidence in hand, to conclude that doing homework causes improved academic achievement." Cooper, Robinson and Patall (2006).
Belief Statement
Our homework focusses on children and their families being active and supportive in the homework process to encourage positive family interactions and provide an opportunity for students to be confident in owning their learning journey. Our approach to homework aims to engage children in key learning skills and should be acknowledged and recorded in partnership with children, parents and teachers. Children are encouraged to develop skills such as self-motivation, independent learning, a positive attitude toward effort and time management. Homework is a valued tool for student learning.
Purpose
- Encourage children to interact more with their families and promote an opportunity for parents to become actively involved in an educational partnership with the school
- Reinforce, revise, reflect and compliment current classroom concepts
- Prepare for forthcoming classroom learning
- Prepare students for secondary education and life-long learning through organising a regular routine of study and self-study to prepare for the demands of schooling in the later years
- Enhance student learning by preparing homework that is; relevance to students' needs and classwork, appropriate to the phase of learning and capabilities of the student and develop the students' independence as a learner.
Responsibilities
Kawana Waters State College expects that all students engage in a regular routine of study. Completion of homework and submission by the due date is the responsibility of the student. Support, encouragement and the reinforcement of importance is the responsibility of parents. Teachers are responsible for setting, monitoring and checking homework within reasonable expectations within students' capabilities. Students requiring assistance with homework and/or completion need to negotiate with teachers who will provide support with time, location, resources and further instruction if necessary.
Regular Routine of Study in Junior Secondary (Years 7 to 9) Regular Routine of Study in Junior Secondary (Years 7 to 9) is informed by the belief that students in this age group should be given more responsibility for their own learning. As such, homework at a Junior Secondary level requires students to engage in independent learning to complement work undertaken in class. Teachers may also on occasion, include set homework tasks for completion. Students should, on average allocate 10 minutes per year level per day to their regular routine of study, ie Year 7 – 70 minutes per day, Year 8 – 80 minutes per day, Year 9 – 90 minutes per day. Increasingly, students will be required to use time at home to work on class assessment tasks. This could involve drafting assessment tasks, studying for upcoming exams, rehearsing oral presentations and completing work for practical subjects.