Lagging Homework

Homework is a hot topic with people believing one should give it and the other group believes it is a waste of time.  I'm not sure how I feel about the topic but I have students demanding homework be assigned yesterday.

I've been reading the book Hacking Mathematics: 10 problems that need hacking by Denis Sheeran.  In it, he mentions lagging homework suggested by Henri Picciotto.

The usual way of assigning homework is to give a bunch of problems from the section being taught right now.  Instead of doing this, it is suggested you hold off a week, move on to the next section before assigning homework.  It gives teachers time to introduce and teach the material while giving students a chance to fully learn the material rather than both trying to hurry through the material.

Furthermore, Henri suggests teachers wait another week to give a quiz and an additional week for students to turn in quiz corrections. In addition, lagging homework gives students time to really process the new material, and had time to make connections.  Lagging homework is one version of spaced practice which is heavily recommended.

Another reason lagged homework or spaced practice is better is because people tend not to listen as well when the material is constantly repeated as it is when it is taught with homework in the same block of time.  In addition, the lagging homework is much better when assigned towards the end of a topic or after its concluded.

One person suggests that the lagged homework assignment should not take more than 20 minutes and should be done from memory.  The important idea is not that the student has to finish every problem but they do need to make an effort because by trying to recall the information, they are going to make stronger connections with it.  This work is not corrected by the student is expected to go back and check it, making notes about misunderstandings, etc.

The thing about lagged homework is that most of us automatically think about assigning another set of problems from the book.  Instead, we could assign problems from an online place for students to work.  I'm thinking of one of the places that provides automatic feedback if they miss a problem so they learn more about what they had trouble with.  If they do not understand the explanation, they could write the problem down and ask the teacher after school the following day.

The bottom line is to have students practice recalling information for this spaced practice.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.