Researchers in the Center on School, Family, and Community Parterships at Johns Hopkins University have designed an interactive process to help teachers create assignments that guide students to interact with parents on their homework. For more on TIPS, see the Resources page. The most important part of TIPS homework assignments is that they require the student to talk to someone at home about an aspect of what they are learning at school. But TIPS homework requires parents to comment on their children's work and become involved in the learning process. One important outcome is that parents know what their children are studying and become involved in at least one aspect of how it is being taught.
Teachers use the assignments with students and families during the school year. .
Changes are made based on feedback from students, parents, and teachers using the assignment. The following are two examples of a TIPS assignment. Look at them closely and use them as models for designing interactive homework for your own classroom. We also offer a general template for intermediate-level math assignments. This is an example of an interactive homework assignment.