The purpose of Homework:
- Consolidate and reinforce learning / class work
- Revise important information
- Homework can be a valuable link with the next lesson
- Complete set tasks and course content where there is insufficient time in class
- Improve personal study skills – foster a work ethic
- Complete assessment or assignment work
- Preparation for further education
- Enhancement and extension of students’ abilities
- Develop long term memory for important information
- Provides a record of course content for students and parents
- Gives credibility to a subject
- Develop responsibility – self-motivation
- Encourage independent study habits
- To experience reward and achievement through dedication
It is part of the College’s mission statement to develop “independent learners”. Learning is enhanced through the provision of opportunities outside of school hours to review, reinforce and apply what has been learned during the day. Understanding the difference between completing daily homework, and studying for long term retention and comprehension is crucial for academic success.
Homework is general work set by a teacher for completion at home.
Study is revision and reinforcement of work covered. Study can include but is not limited to:
- Completion of class work
- Work on assignments
- Revision of past work
- Daily reviews of work covered in class
- Reading of reference material and wider reading.
All homework should be written in the student record book (SRB). Set homework that is not completed will be followed up and if necessary, the parents are informed of regular or repeatedly missed and incomplete work. If students are not assigned homework, it is advised that students use their time to study the coursework.
Homework Policy
There is an expectation that students will complete homework each day for most subjects except
Year 7 and 8 minor core subjects. Purposeful homework (Marzano, 2017, p.60) may take the form
of set tasks from the class teacher, revision of class notes, previewing of information for the next
lesson, text book questions or an inquiry task over a set period. Research indicates that it takes
“three to four experiences involving interaction with relevant information for a new knowledge
construct to be created in working memory and then transferred to long term memory” (Nuthall,
2000, p. 93). This makes homework an important practice to support long term learning. If specific
homework tasks are not set, students should be revising work from class or working on upcoming
assessment. The College’s learning management system, Canvas, provides opportunities for
students to continue their learning at home.
The following is a daily guide to the quantity of home learning to be undertaken at each year level. There will be times when these suggested timings are exceeded, especially prior to examinations and the submission of major assessment work.
| Year 7 | 50 to 60 minutes | |
| Year 8 | 60 to 70 minutes | |
| Year 9 | 1.5 hours | |
| Year 10 | 1.5 hours to 2 hours | |
| Year 11 | 2.5 hours to 3 hours | |
| Year 12 | 2.5 hours – 3 hours |
