Why Homework Matters

Why Homework Matters What might at first glance seem harmelss, doing homework or studying while watching TV, texting or checking social media can actually impair learning the material as well as lower test scores. Research has shown that it's one of the worst study habits a student can develop. Perhaps the most important step in making tasks feel less intimidating is breaking the task into smaller parts. For the student who seems to wait until 11pm the night before a big test to study, help him break down the unit into 15 minute study blocks for several nights. If a third grader has a difficult time writing her three paragraph essay, have her draw the topics she wants to discuss. Then have her arrange them in order of importance and write captions underneath. Find a starting place that does not generate a lot of stress and build from that foundation. In addition, my Personal Nerd suggested me useful databases where I can find articles in social sciences â€" that helps me so much to do my homework much faster. One of my biggest problems when it comes to doing homework is procrastination and getting distracted. I constantly check my social media accounts, my favorite blogs, or just browse without getting anything done. If you struggle to stay focused when doing your homework, challenge yourself to be like Nike and “Just do it! ” Set a timer for the amount of time you think you will need to do an assignment and challenge yourself to beat the timer. You may be surprised at how quickly you can finish your homework when you are focused. Do not stash your math homework in a textbook, your science homework in a notebook, and your English homework in your book bag or you will spend a lot of time just looking for your homework. Keep all papers in ONE folder to save the search time and complete your homework faster. At one point, I realized that all I do is just wasting time, so I wanted to change it somehow. One time, while trying to write a 500 word essay, I was struggling for 5 hours and finished it only by 2am â€" 6 hours before I had to submit it. All of those “extra-curricular” activities are good but if you stop using them as excuses for not doing homework that would be even better. It sounds like you need a time for important things in your life and the school with its homeworks definitely doesn’t fit in the scheme of things. Another variation of forgetfulness the students are inclined to. In teacher’s eyes, to forget about homework is as bad as refusing to do it. Because I have a BIG problem with the amount of time-zapping homework my daughter’s school system doles out and because of that, I’ve decided my daughter won’t be doing her homework anymore. Now that I take my deadlines seriously, I started taking organization seriously as well. Personal Nerd said that having a schedule is one of the simplest, yet the most effective ways to improve homework. I set reminders in my phone saying ‘write essay outline’ or ‘proofread the research paper’ and never forget about my tasks anymore. This advice was also very valuable because I reduced the stress because of the fear to forget about something and get issues with late submission. These tips helped me save time for literature research whenever I do my homework. I also considerably reduced the amount of articles I purchase â€" an in-depth Google Scholar search now can result in sufficient sources every time. I need a lot less time to find relevant sources now. As you might expect, students who were the most distracted generally had the most windows open on their computers. Students who were less distracted had higher GPAs than students who switched back and forth fairly often and those who regularly check Facebook or text messages. Students who had strategies for studying also had higher GPAs according to Rosen’s findings. A world filled with distractions every where you turn. How is it even possible to get homework done at all, let alone focus on doing homework without being distracted by a wide variety of electronic gadgets. My Homework Reminder provides a simple means by which students and teachers can create simple reminders and to-do lists from within the Google Chrome browser. Users can add items, create due-dates, and view completed assignments without having to disrupt what they are currently working on. This extension helps students keep track of assignments and due dates.