Summary On Homework By Cathy Vatterott

Differentiation is a hot buzzword in the world of educational research and typically refers to classroom instruction; however, Cathy Vatterott has a different approach: differentiated homework. In the author’s opinion, teacher’s should give students personalized homework to help them reach their full potential. The students at Vinal Elementary School were in their third year of practicing this approach to homework. According to the school’s principal, Patrick Lenz, the approach is working wonders for student’s motivation: “What I saw in these classrooms was a group of young people who were intrinsically motivated to learn and then apply what they had learned outside of school." (Vatterott, 2017, p. 34). While having differentiated homework
“They did not know what to do when given a voice in directing their learning, and most of them had no experience with self-assessing their strengths and weaknesses.” (Vatterott. 2017. p. 35) For this change, all the teachers were heavily involved as homework assignments during the beginning of the transition. The teacher would give students an appropriate guideline for a week, and student specified goals that fit in with the core including reading, writing, and math. Students were then shown many different ways on how to best achieve these goals based on the student’s grade level, learning style, and independence. Students were also given small options on how they wanted to reach their first goal, as their interest and ability to self-reflect was crucial to the success of personalized homework.
The students were not the only ones who at first struggled with the change. It also took time to convince the parents that not only could children help come up with their homework assignments, but they could both enjoy and learn from standard focused work. As is most often the case, communication was key, and once parents understood what the school had planned, and their reasons for incorporating personalized homework, they were eager to provide any support they were able to. In some cases, this new approach to homework helped parents become more involved in their child's
This hard work does not go to waste, however, as having individualized relationships with students, especially in early elementary school, will get educators further than many other behavioral plans. Having students use differentiated homework will help the teacher learn more about what the student needs, as well as let the student know the teacher cares about their personal growth.
This introduction to planning was necessary as each student was given options on when the deadline for their homework was to be. At the beginning of the pilot year, students were given a week to do the work. They then quickly learned that the extra weekend gave them more time to procrastinate, instead of more time to work on their project. Some students then realized that they would do better work if the due date was moved to Friday. This brilliant experimentation with deadlines helped each student to understand how they worked best, and more students began completing their personalized homework.
An educator's primary job is to help students reach their full potential. Using personalized homework encourages students to obtain the most information, which will hopefully lead to better understanding of all that they are taught in