CAN CULTURALLY RELEVANT HOMEWORK BE AN EFFECTIVE LEARNING STRATEGY FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL MATH STUDENTS? A project submitted by Leah Larkin Selbie to LaGrange College in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of SPECIALIST IN EDUCATION in Curriculum and Instruction LaGrange, Georgia July 18, 2011 Abstract
Table 4.13 Itemized Frequencies from Student Survey 5. My family helps me with my homework… Never Sometimes Most of the time All of the time 9 50 11 9 11.4% 63.3% 13.9% 11.4% I turn in homework that someone else completed… All of the time Most of the Time Sometimes Never 3 5 4 67 3.8% 6.3% 5.1% 84.8% I think that homework helps give a deeper understanding of the material presented in class. Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree Strongly Agree 6 13 45 15 7.6% 16.5% 57.0% 19.0% I that doing homework will help make me a more successful student. Strongly Disagree Disagree Strongly Agree 4 13 33 29 5.1% 16.5% 41.8% 36.7% I receive negative consequences from my parents when I do not Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree Strongly 10 25 26 18 12.7% 31.6% 32.9% 22.8%
complete my homework. receive negative consequences from my teachers when I do not complete my homework. Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree Strongly Agree 4 10 44 21 5.1% 12.7% 55.7% 26.6% am more likely to complete my math homework when it is in the form of practice problems. Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree Strongly Agree 2 17 51 9 2.5% 21.5% 64.6% 11.4% am more likely to complete my math homework when I have a choice in the assignment. Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree Strongly Agree 1 7 33 38 1.3% 8.9% 41.8% 48.1% am more likely to complete my math homework when the problems relate to a topic that interests me. Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree Strongly Agree 0 9 28 42 0.0% 11.4% 35.4% 53.2% 4.14 Chi-square Test Results
Survey Question Response Variable of Significance Chi-square Statistic (χ²) My family helps me with my homework… Sometimes 61.91139241*** I turn in homework that someone else completed… Never 150.8227848*** I think that homework helps give a deeper understanding of the material presented in class. Agree 45.30379747*** I think that doing homework will help make me a more successful student. Agree and Strongly 28.08860759*** I receive negative consequences from my parents when I do not complete my homework. Agree and Disagree 8.341772152* I receive negative consequences from my teachers when I do not complete my homework. Agree 47.2278481*** I am more likely to complete my math homework when it is in the form of practice problems. 71.63291139*** I am more likely to complete my math homework when I have a choice in the assignment. Agree and Strongly Agree 51.78481013*** I am more likely to complete my math homework when the problems relate to a topic that interests me. Agree and Strongly Agree 54.11392405*** * p<.05, **p<.01, ***p<.001 The results of the chi-square test displayed significance for every item in the survey, with one item, “I receive negative consequences from my parents when I do not complete my homework,” being slightly less significant than the other items in the survey. On every item in the survey, a high percentage of students had the same answer to those items based on what would be expected by chance on those items. The Cronbach’s alpha test was used to show consistency reliability. The test measured whether items on the survey were consistent with other items that represented the same area of interest (Salkind, 2010). The results of the Cronbach’s alpha were α =
McCoy, 2009). Culturally relevant homework accounted for individuality with differentiation for different learners and for different interests. For the analysis of the second focus question, which asks how learners, teachers and administrators feel about homework, student surveys, student reflections, teacher interviews and administrator interviews were used. The student surveys were analyzed using a chi-square test and Cronbach’s alpha. The chi-square test was used to determine if the observed frequency of responses were equal to those expected to occur by chance. This test was used to determine which questions were significant in the survey. Significance was reported at the p < .05, p < .01 and the p < .001 levels. The student surveys consisted of 13 questions, with item numbers five through thirteen pertaining to homework. Item five had a chi-square result of χ² (3) = 61.91, p < .001. The student responses were significant at the sometimes response variable for this survey question. A significant number of students stated that their family sometimes helped them with their homework. Item six had a chi-square result of χ² (3) = 150.82, p < .001. The student responses were significant at the never response variable for this survey question. A significant number of students stated that they never turned in homework that someone else completed. Item seven had a chi-square result of χ² (3) = 45.30, p < .001. The student responses were significant at the agree response variable for this survey question. A significant number of students stated that they think homework will give them a deeper understanding of the material presented in class. Item eight had a chi-square result of χ²(3) = 28.09, p < .001. The student responses were significant at the agree and strongly agree response variable for this survey question. A significant number of students stated that they agreed and strongly agreed that doing homework would help
Another popular subject in the student reflections was centered on time to complete assignments. A dominant theme in the reflections was that students wanted an assignment they could finish quickly, but an emerging theme was that students enjoyed having multiple days to complete an assignment. The idea that students could spend less time on homework was stated in a previous chapter, where homework critics Bennett and Kalish argued that homework takes away from family time (as cited by Marzano & Pickering, 2007). These reflection responses also validate the argument from the same authors that teachers should give fewer assignments and only give valuable homework assignments. Finally the reflections showed a recurring theme that students were motivated by the possibility of a good grade in culturally relevant homework assignments. There was also an emerging theme that some students did not complete their assignments because they did not have the necessary supplies at their home. Pool and Milner (2009) were cited in a previous chapter stating that student choices increased student motivation. Homework critics Kravolec and Buell were cited in a previous chapter stating that homework puts a socioeconomically child at a disadvantage since their home environment is not optimal for completing homework assignments (as cited by Marzano & Pickering, 2007). The emerging theme listed above corroborated the cited research. To determine reliability, Cronbach’s alpha was also used. The results from the Cronbach’s alpha were α = 0.42, which showed that the survey is a moderately reliable source of data. This indicated that the trends were different for similar questions in the survey.