Once you have decided that it is appropriate to assign homework, the guidelines for student work described above should be considered. Here are some additional considerations in how and when to assign homework.

Differentiate homework based on the needs of individual students

 A check-up at the end of the class period will tell you and your students what they need to work on at home.  If you are using learning contracts, it is relatively straightforward to have the check-up determine which of several assignments a student should work on that night.  When they return to class the following day, the different work they have done can be discussed in study groups that are created based on who did which assignment. Alternatively, homework can be discussed within study groups composed of students who did different assignments; students who did more challenging homework can help teach students who did more remedial work.

Whenever possible, allow students to decide for themselves whether they need to work at home

If a student doesn’t finish her work in class, it can always be self-assigned as homework.  This, of course, adds an incentive to work more effectively in class to avoid having to take the work home.  It is often best to keep a low profile and simply remind students that the work is due the following day, rather than to be in the position of browbeating them into working more effectively.  The structure itself will train them to get work done in class without your putting yourself in the position of nagging them.

Homework assignments shouldn’t be excessive

Even infrequent doses of the right kind of focused homework can have a large impact on mastery.  It’s worth noting that in Finland—whose educational system is consistently ranked among the most successful—students average less than a half hour of homework per night for all their classes combined.

There is no way for you to truly know whether they are doing too much homework because the homework you assign is, of course, only one part of what they have to do every night.  Therefore, it is important to ask for and pay attention to your students’ feedback. If the amount of homework you assign is widely perceived by students as excessive or onerous, it probably is.

If you give them a voice, they can give you important information; it may be that the pace of the class is too fast, the level of difficulty is too steep, or that students need more time to digest and work through the problems.  If, on the other hand, only a small minority of students feel that there is too much homework, it is not necessary to slow down the pace for the whole class. However, it is essential to address those students’ needs by working with them to develop more effective techniques, explore the circumstances that are preventing or discouraging them from completing homework, and discuss other issues that make it hard for them to keep up with the class.

Listening to students requires trust.  This can only happen when a classroom culture has been created in which mutual trust exists.  If you trust your students, they are much more likely to give you honest feedback and live up to that trust.