Homework and Practice:
the “content” from Marzano
Early Release Day Session #1
East Elementary
September 2009
Purpose of Homework and
Practice



To deepen a student’s understanding
To extend learning opportunities
beyond the confines of the school day
Two purposes
1.
2.
Practice
Preparation
Source: Classroom Instruction that Works: Research-based Strategies for Increasing Student
Achievement, Robert Marzano et.al – pp 60-71
Purposeful and Meaningful
Homework
 Is
an appropriate amount
 Requires minimal parental
involvement
 Clearly communicates to students the
purpose for the Homework or Practice
 Provides feedback to the student
1. Amount of Homework
Different levels require different amounts of homework and
practice - elementary, middle, high school
Cooper’s Study reported the following gains:
 24 percentile points: high school
 12 percentile points: middle school
 6 percentile points: elementary school
Marzano et.al reported a 28 overall percentile gain
from their meta-analysis study.
NOTE: Although the percentile gain at the elementary is a
single digit, other studies (Cooper and others) determine that
purposeful homework at the elementary level is beneficial.
It produces good study habits
It fosters positive attitudes toward school
2. Parent Involvement in Homework
Role of parent → minimal
 Encourage independent solving of
content problems by students
 To facilitate homework, parents can:

 Reinforce
the purpose of homework
 Provide a quiet and consistent place
 Reinforce and recognize the effort
3. Purpose of Homework
Students need to know if the homework assignment is:
• for practice
• for preparation/elaboration
For Practice
 Structured around
highly familiar
content for the
student
 Reinforcing a familiar
skill
For Preparation or
Elaboration
 Preparing students
for new content
 Having students
elaborate on new
knowledge
Articulate clear guidelines & expectations for the assignment
Value, Benefit, Time-frame, Acceptable parent involvement
4. Feedback on Homework

Homework with feedback (from teacher)
30% gain
Homework without feedback
11% gain
Vary the approach to feedback




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Specific comments from teacher
Peer feedback monitored by teacher
Written
Verbal
Rubric
Let students know type of feedback to expect
Ideas for giving feedback on hw: students give each other
feedback, students keep track of their accuracy or speed, students
keep a hw portfolio that teacher comments on once a week
5. Purposeful Practice: Helping
students shape a skill or process
While practicing, students should adapt and
shape what they have learned.
 Allowing students time to “shape” skills builds
their conceptual understanding.
 Mastery takes focused practice spread out over
time.
 Have students practice fewer examples to
develop a deep understanding vs. many
examples that create a shallow understanding.

6. Determining Skills to Practice and
How Much Practice
Students need about 20 practice sessions
before they grasp the new skill enough to
use it effectively on their own
 Massed practice
 Distributed practice

7. Establish and Communicate a
Homework Policy
Students and parents need to understand
the purposes of hw, amount of hw that
will be assigned, consequences for not
completing hw, and description of the
types of parental involvement that are
acceptable
 Sample Classroom HW Policy- clearly
communicating your expectations
(students and parents sign)
 ISS HW Policy

8. Students Charting Accuracy and
Speed
Speed- speaking a foreign language,
estimating cost of purchases while
standing in line at a store
 Accuracy- converting standard and metric
units, learning scientific method, writing a
good descriptive paragraph, indirect
measurement
