Children often complain that too much homework is bad for them—and now scientists have proved it. Homework should take just 60 minutes for pupils to benefit most and results drop if it takes longer than 90 minutes, a new study has revealed.
For teens to learn the most and get good marks, teachers do not need to set piles of work, but to assign it regularly. And on no account should students be helped with it, according to the study by University of Oviedo, Spain. It found pupils spent on average between one and two hours a day doing homework in all subjects. Pupils whose teacher systematically assigned homework scored nearly 50 points higher on the standardized test, while pupils who did their maths homework on their own scored 54 points higher than those who asked for frequent or constant help. The results were similar in science.
Dr Suarez-Alvarez said: “Our data indicate that it is not necessary to assign huge quantities of homework, but it is important that assignment is systematic and regular, with the aim of instilling work habits and promoting autonomous, self-regulated learning. The data suggest that spending 60 minutes a day doing homework is a reasonable and effective time.”
Students’ maths and science results began to decline when teachers assigned 90-100 minutes of homework per day. And while they found a small gain in results between 70 and 90 minutes, it required two hours more homework a week. “For that reason, assigning more than 70 minutes of homework per day does not seem very efficient,” Dr Suarez-Alvarez said. “The conclusion is that when it comes to homework, how is more important than how much. Once individual effort and autonomous working is considered, the time spent becomes irrelevant.”
The study, published in the American Psychological Association’s Journal of Educational Psychology, questioned 7,725 Spanish state and private school pupils of an average age of nearly 14, with an almost equal gender division.
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