I encourage you to read this book with attention to nuance and detail. This isn’t a book to fly through, but one to read with care, ideally in conversation with others. There are gems in here that a quick read might miss. For example, in a paragraph in section 2, Janine shares a study on the effects of teaching students strategies for managing their homework, including setting goals, self-evaluating, self-monitoring, and planning.
Students who received this training from their teachers over the course of five weeks, as compared to students who did not, demonstrated improved time management, self-reflection, self-efficacy, effort, interest, and desire for mastery—wow! Janine offers a powerful reminder that we can’t just assign homework, we need to teach students how to do homework.
In section 3, Kathy describes a scene in the classroom of fourth- grade teacher Kevin Moore. Students worked in small groups to dis- cuss how they solved a math problem assigned for homework the night before. Kathy “went from group to group, growing more enchanted by the intensity of children’s participation.” She explains that, “Mr. Moore circulated, too, offering support and asking follow-up and go-deeper questions.” Her description illustrates both that homework can provide a starting point for compelling in-class activity and that peer-to-peer interactions can be a productive—and time-saving—strategy for providing feedback on homework.
— From the Introduction
