Homework in the Contemporary College Classroom

Purpose

The contemporary college student may find him or herself swimming in an ocean of overwhelming activities, such as volunteer activities, projects, labs, organizations, fraternities, sororities, and the dreaded homework assignments they receive in class. A walk through walk a college campus will reveal that most students find themselves working on homework assignments, whether independently or in groups. Students can be observed doing homework in libraries, computer labs, and even on the many benches located throughout the university landscape. For most, if not all, of college students, homework has been an integral part of their lives, from kindergarten to their senior year of high school. It is thus only logical that it is an integral part of their lives in college, assigned by professors to reinforce course concepts and provide students with an opportunity to apply learned concepts.

Students doing homework in and around campus

Homework comes in many shapes and sizes, ranging from simple reading assignments to solving difficult calculus problems and can take anywhere from five minutes to long hours to complete. It has become so integrated into the lives of college students that it’s meaning and function are overlooked and taken for granted. Our purpose is to analyze the true meaning of homework and define its function in the contemporary college classroom. We wish to discover what homework symbolizes to both students and teachers and how these views overlap or differ. Most importantly, we wish to step outside of our roles as students to reveal the “strange in the familiar” about homework. In doing so, we will understand its purpose and meaning in the contemporary college classroom.

Methods

To find the fundamental meaning of homework, we conducted interviews with both students and professors. Using only students would have produced biased results, because only the student point of view would be represented in the data. As Nathan exemplified in her discussion of cheating, we must use the tool of cultural relativism to find the real meaning of homework free of bias. With this in mind, we interviewed two teachers and three students in semi-structured informal interviews to gain an insight into the student and professor perspective of homework. This qualitative approach provides more adequate data from which to draw conclusions and build a working definition of homework. We also conducted a survey of a sample size of 50 students to gain insight on how much homework students actually complete and the time they spend doing so. In addition, we asked this same sample of students to define homework and explain what it means to them.

Findings

Homework as Practice

Both students and teachers viewed homework as practice for class exams. In addition, they both viewed homework as work needed to be completed outside of the classroom. However, there is a subtle distinction between these views. Students seemed to emphasize that homework is more of a “required” than voluntary practice. It is part of the overall final grade they receive in the course, but when they do it, they find that is to their benefit. It helps students become fluent in course material and apply the concepts that they learn when the class meets. Professors, however, view homework as a challenging practice that prepares the student for the exam by recreating the test-taking atmosphere. We found that professors oftentimes make their homework equally challenging, or even more challenging, than their actual exams. In addition, they pick out homework problems that are strikingly similar to exam questions. Professors wish to recreate the difficulty, stress, and anxiety students undergo during class examinations. In doing so, the student who completes all homework assignments will be better prepared than the students who don’t. One of the students even referred to homework as a “test before a test,” reinforcing professors’ attempts at making homework test-like. Ultimately, homework follows the old saying of “practice makes perfect,” as students practice applying a working knowledge of the material to perfect their test-taking ability.

Homework as a Stimulant of Student Interaction

A surprising find in our study reveals that homework benefits students in other indirect ways that students do not usually acknowledge. Whereas students perceive only one main function of homework, the practice of material before an exam, professors credit homework to have multi-dimensional functions. One of these dimensions views homework as a tool to stimulate student interaction. Professors know that large lectures can be intimidating, and that the fast pace of college life may often make difficult meeting and making new friends. One of the reasons professors assign homework is to encourage peer interaction, as the difficulty of the questions will spur students to form study groups and work together. As a result, students complete homework assignments in groups and often form friendships with the students in their study group. In addition, homework brings students into office hours, which provide a place for student-student and student-professor interaction. In a subtly indirect way, homework creates friendships between students and opens the field for student-professor relationships as well. It is an easy excuse for students to interact with each other and meet new people, while completing class assignments that benefit their learning in the long run.

Homework as a Voyage of Discovery

Another interesting discovery we can draw from our data is the role of homework as a voyage of discovery. While escaping the attention of students, professors assign homework with the intention of teaching students about themselves. Professors acknowledge that homework provides students with the opportunity to catch any of their mistakes before an exam. In other words, it’s a way for students to discover which concepts they fully understand and which they do not. Homework helps these students rid their mind of faulty understanding and avoid these blunders on the real examination. Professors believe it’s better for students to do this in the privacy of their own room, or with groups of people they study with (as discussed above) rather than on an exam where it will make a larger impact on their overall course grade. Additionally, this function of homework allows students to learn at their own pace. This serves as a refreshing break from the speedy lectures in which professors try to cram in as much material as possible. A student can discover his or her strengths and weaknesses and thus determine what material requires more attention. Also, this idea of homework allows the introvert, the student does not interact with others, to discover any flaws in his or her grasp of knowledge in private.

 Survey Results

This bar graph depicts the amount of homework completed by a sample size of 50 students.

50 students took a survey regarding the amount of homework they complete. The same 50 students were asked what they believed the purpose of homework is. Most of the students' responses included the word "practice." We provide a small sample of responses to highlight the recurring theme of homework as practice. The question in the survey is as follows:

Q: What is the purpose of homework?

A:  “I see it as something a teacher gives us to make you go over the topic again, kind of reinforce it in your brain and get some practice.”

“It’s to practice application of ideas and conception preparation for tests and things.”

“Its use is to further learn through practice.”

“Homework is necessary and it provides good practice for what we need to learn.”

“It’s a way to practice and study what we need to learn.”

“It is a hassle, but practice makes perfect.”

“The purpose of homework is to help you practice and get a better understanding of the subject especially for tests. “

“The purpose of homework is to reinforce what we have learned for the day and give us a chance to practice it. Plus, it gives us a few chances at easy grades.”

Homework Through Symbolic Interactionism

Junior Nancy Rodriguez, Sophomore Mandie Medina, and Freshman Steven Garza discuss perspective of homework

When using the symbolic interaction paradigm to study homework’s role in the contemporary college classroom, we noticed that homework symbolizes different things to the students and the professors. To the students, homework symbolizes grades and practice. To the professors, homework symbolizes knowledge of the material taught in class. When asked the purpose of homework, the majority of students responded that it was used to “practice what [he/she’s] learned in class so [he/she] can do well on the test.” This view of homework illuminates the students’ goal in the classroom: to receive the highest grade possible. Students view homework as a weapon in their arsenals for success in the classroom, but most of their views of homework end there. No students we interviewed mentioned anything about homework being used to learn the material strictly for the purpose of learning the material. All student responses leaned toward homework being some form of means to achieve a higher grade on tests and subsequently in the class itself. Overall students view homework as a beneficial aspect of college life because it aids them in achieving their goals. 

Chemistry Professor D. Walker and Mathematics Professor C. Irwin discuss their perspective of homework

           

To professors, homework is not as one-dimensional as it is to the students. Professors agree with students on the basis that homework is practice material for exams and increases the chances for students to receive high marks in class. However, professors’ view of homework does not end there. Professors also view homework as a means for students to come together and interact with each other. As one professor stated, “my best work isn’t done alone, but in groups,” a way for students to make the most out of their homework is to work in groups. In this setting, students become the teachers as they help each other with homework and, in turn, solidify their knowledge of the material.

Since homework, in most classes, only accounts for a small portion of the overall course grade, homework also serves as a way for students to gauge their knowledge of the material in a manner that will not negatively harm their overall grades in the class. The mistakes made in homework assignments do not count as much as the mistakes made on exams. Because of this, homework serves as a way to measure how well they understand the material. Once the students have evaluated themselves, they are encouraged by the professors to inquire information on the concepts which they have not yet mastered. All of this can be done before examinations to make sure the students grade does not suffer.

We believe that because the professors have played both the role of student and professor, they have a firmer grasp on why homework is a crucial component in the college classroom. They have received and given homework assignments and thus are able to see it from both the perspective of the student and the teacher. Professors understand the value of homework in the classroom and view it as a necessity in order to fully understand the concepts taught in the class.

Conclusion

Homework is viewed by student and professor in similar ways. Both parties view homework as beneficial. This allows for a consensus between the two. Homework is given by the professors and received by the students with the understanding that it is in their benefit to complete the assignments. Only when the students feel that the homework load becomes excessive is their conflict between the student and professor. Most students admitted that they did not particularly enjoy doing their homework assignments, but viewed it as a necessity for their success in the contemporary college classroom.

Professors, as a result of having been a student at an earlier point in their lives, view homework as a more dynamic tool that benefits students in many dimensions. In addition to perceiving homework as practice for an exam, professors also view homework as a stimulant of student interaction and as a voyage of discovery. To them, homework brings students in their courses together and open the doors to friendships. Homework provides an easy way for students to interact and meet new people while getting their work done. Additionally, homework serves as a way for students to discover what material they completely understand and what material they should focus their studying on. At their own pace, they can discover mistakes in their thinking and prevent these blunders from occurring on the real examination of the material.