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Department days:

COMPASS Day dates: · Tuesday Sept 21 Eng or ** HSS ** · Friday Nov 5 (Same day as NCAIS) · Tuesday Jan 25 Eng or HSS - Friday March 4 **SCI**

World Languages: Late October (22?)

HSS would prefer the Sept 21 date; but January or March would work too. March, however is least good for me because of our Self-Study Visitation Committee coming about that time. So I'll bid for Sept or Jan. Thanks. Steve

I think English would like either September 21 or January 25. I'll confirm after I've heard from department members. I know that we wanted to have next year's retreat earlier in the year. Will all teachers go to NCAIS next year? Vickie

Vickie and I have to go to NCAIS as we are part of the Summer Reading committee and are presenting. Therefore, Science will take March.

WL department - we're still waiting to hear back from the person we've invited to do a workshop with us, and are hoping that one of the two suggested dates with work for him. Will update as soon as we hear back from him.


 * Math:** We can't do Nov 5 because several folks in the math department are interested in going to NCAIS, and we usually do the Financial Lit program the third Compass day. We are hoping to have our department day October 25 and use one sub for all math classes.

(I hope the font reduces itself. . . .) It might help students and parents make wiser choices about courses if teachers provided estimates of the amount of time that students qualified for the courses should expect to spend on homework each week. Students and parents could then choose courses accordingly, piecing together a schedule that meets their particular understanding of a "reasonable homework load." Lisa G.

 It would be interesting to have Harris Cooper talk with parents about the impact of homework and his personal experience with his daugher and how she approached her HW time (as one example of how some girls study and work on homework)
 * Homework Issues**

[|Harris Cooper] visited our campus August 13 and discussed his book with us. Notes about topics covered are found on this page-

· //Does homework really affect achievement? · Is homework more effective in some subjects than others? · Is there an optimal amount of homework? · Should homework assignments be individualized within a classroom? · Does the length and frequency of homework influence its effectiveness? · Should homework be voluntary or compulsory?// · Interesting question. If homework was voluntary would the students who didn't need it be the ones who did it anyway?
 * Some of the more interesting questions he asks in the book:**

//· Should all homework be graded or commented on?//

It is likely that students interested in their learning will complete homework assignments even when it is voluntary. It would be interesting to look at research on self-efficacy in high school school students coupled with what factors foster greater intrinsic motivation. Additionally, as teachers, it is of central importance that we continue to provide clear and realistic expectations, provide information to students and families in a timely manner, and articulate the goals and approaches to assessments and how they will factor in the overall evaluation for the course.

Motivation is a key component of academic success in an environment such as SMS. I would love to know more about how to develop that skill.

Some of the questions I would like to hear Mr. Cooper discuss with us are things that are left out of his book: 1. What difference does it make that we're not a coed public high school (which most in the studies are likely to be) with a wide range of abilities in the students? The book's general conclusion seems to be that 2.5 hours of homework a day is about the limit. But how do we measure how far we can go with the particular population of students we have? 2. Along the same lines, how do we take into account the number of students we have with multiple honors and AP courses? Does Mr. Cooper know of any studies that focus on students in that situation? How much homework can/should they do? 3. I was disappointed to read on page 49 that "...I am leery of making generalizations about the value added my using computers in homework assignments;" and that "...the research on using computers in homework raises more questions than it answers." Disappointed not so much because I expect students to use computers in doing a lot of their schoolwork, not just homework, but because the author seems unprepared or unwilling to answer one of the big questions we need to look into. Since writing the book, does Mr. Cooper know more about this issue? Can he make some comments/recommendations? Finally, an observation: The book seems to me to be useful for providing some guidelines for us to draw up policies. It's more descriptive than normative, of course, because it's a study of the studies and not a book of speculation about homework. But I'd like to hear Mr. Cooper's normative comments at least as much as I want to know what the studies show. They seem to show us what a lot of us already know about homework. The issues for us involve where to go with the particular problems we're facing with students stretched in honors and AP classes that require that they give more than they seem able to give to their work. SWE Definition of homework; historical perspective in USA; difference between actual attitudes and what media portrays Positive impacts of homework Negative effects of homework factors that might affect homework effectiveness homework and academic achievment has positive impact (C to B-) (class rank from 50 to 27 out of 100) "10 minute rule" valid; honors an AP classes more No subject area differences Distributed homework (Review, reinforce, preview) most effective Interspersed (easy hard) better and students prefer Individualization of homework does not show positive effects® Grading as diagnostic v.s. Summative assessment Learning Disabilities no exceptions Parental Involvement. setting rules Tips for teachers, parents, and students (in book) Q & A Summer Reading / Summer Work Computers; issue is equal access Autonomy for student VS. Guiding study skills So what is the limit? (Don't quote; 3 hours per night) What about students who ore in over their heads? What about students who one so distracted it takes hours to complete "one hour worth" of homework Is AP curriculum at odds with high school best practices? Seems like recs are high (Go To 5 Minds for the Future page)  (Go To the A Whole New Mind page) I'm still struggling with the most appropriate place to write a comment on these Wikis... Is this right? At the bottom? -Clarice Moran
 * Notes from Harris Cooper talk:**

Dr. Cooper's presentation was very interesting, but our faculty have a two-pronged issue. On the one-hand, we have issues related to workload, and students are claiming they have 5+ hours of homework (which he clearly advocates cutting), but then, on the other hand, we point to students wrongly placed in advanced classes as the culprit. I would like to see a legitimate discussion about a) our college prep students and their workload (as they also say they are overwhelmed) and b) an examination of the workload for those students we consider properly placed. --Hugh Davis
 * On Sept 4 we discussed this further. Departments discussed how homework was designed, assessed, and communicated.

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