ONLINE HOMEWORK HELPER

We used the definition of homework performance to develop a questionnaire that assesses learners’ homework motivation and preference, to define categories, subcategories, and components of the questionnaire, and to generate and refine test items. As indicated earlier, the items were initially derived from the LSI, an instrument that is used to assess in-school learning styles. Accordingly, it was necessary to conduct a multistep process of adding, deleting, and modifying items in order to establish an initial item pool that was representative of and relevant to our domain of interest, that is, home learning preferences (live homework help).

Method

Four steps were employed to identify the components and categories of home learning preferences and to construct items for a homework preference questionnaire (live homework help).

1. The purposes of the questionnaire development were thoroughly considered to determine whether an adoption and modification of existing instruments would be feasible.
2. The literatures on learning styles and homework were reviewed and analyzed.
3. Previously published learning style scales were examined.
4. A decision was made on whether to develop an entirely new questionnaire or to adopt and modify existing ones.

It was decided that the models that support the goal of the current questionnaire development were the learning style models. These multidimensional models share certain conceptual similarities with those that we aim to assess, and have been widely accepted and used in elementary and secondary schools. Thus, it was decided that we adopt and modify these models and inventories  for the development of a homework preference questionnaire. Next, some of the items were selected from the existing inventories and some new items were constructed. The initial pool of items was then reviewed (live homework help). We eliminated and modified redundant and overly simple or confusing items, ensured proper grammatical structure and readability level for school-aged children, varied directionality by providing positive and negative statements where applicable, and ensured that each category had adequate coverage and that each item reflected only one homework preference component. In the process of item development, we considered the length of the questionnaire, thus, trying to limit each component to as small number of items as possible without compromising the psychometric quality of the inventory (live homework help).

Biology homework help:  Homework performance may be defined as the process that occurs when a learner begins, makes continued effort to work on, and completes at home or in another out-of-school setting, the learning tasks assigned at school. Each learner has a distinct, personal homework performance pattern that consists of a unique profile of motivation and preferences that influence compliance with and completion of the requirements of homework tasks. This definition clearly reflects our emphasis on the characteristics of the student doing the homework and not those of the homework itself. Homework assignments may be performed well or poorly. The concept of homework performance does not refer to good performance only, but rather to the full range of performance from well done to poorly done.

Biology homework help:  Homework by definition takes place without concomitant teacher direction. In school, the learner is part of a class group and learns in a certain way usually determined by the teacher, occasionally by a group of students and only rarely by the individual student. By contrast, when it comes to homework, learners have choices. First of all, they can decide whether to do the homework at all and how much time and effort to invest in doing the assigned tasks. Once they have made these decisions, they can choose to do homework in a variety of ways and presumably do it the way they like. There are a wide variety of individual differences in homework performance among learners both in the source and strength of motivation to do homework, and in preferences about what, when, where, how, and with whom they like to do it. We developed a conceptual model designed to comprehend, explain, and improve the homework process for the benefit of learners, teachers, and parents.

Biology homework help:  Until now, our research on homework has used a bottom–up or inductive approach. Our studies that focus on the personal–social characteristics of the child doing the homework are described in detail in the chapters that follow. We first established that in-school learning style and out-of-school homework style are empirically distinguishable. We examined homework preferences in children of three age groups and in four different cultures. We investigated whether children’s preferred home learning styles differ from their actual homework learning styles. We also examined the homework preferences of children who were intellectually gifted or highly creative in their thinking. In each study, we investigated the validity and reliability of the measure used to assess individual homework motivation and preferences and improved its psychometric characteristics. As you read these chapters, please bear in mind that later studies reflect changes in the instruments used over the course of this programmatic research.

Algebra homework helper:  It is important to distinguish between cognitive style, school learning style, and home learning style. Unfortunately, these concepts have been confounded both theoretically and empirically. With the development of cognitive psychology and its emphasis on the cognitive processes of perceiving, remembering, and problem solving, a number of investigators conceptualized different aspects of individual cognitive style in information processing and learning. Examples of this approach may be found in the Study Process Questionnaire, Learning Style Inventory, Inventory of Learning Process and in Field Dependence–Independence measures. Investigators of cognitive style did not clearly distinguish between cognitive style and learning style. Moreover, they did not investigate cognitive style as a function of the setting in which learning takes place, in or out of school. It is reasonable to assume that cognitive style characteristics would not differ as a function of setting, but this assumption remains to be empirically demonstrated. Indepth investigations of individual differences in cognitive processing are indeed warranted, but these topics fall beyond the limits of the subject matter in this volume.

Algebra homework helper:  There is a major difference in research on learning style as compared to cognitive style. Research on cognitive style has not focused on the effect of individual interpersonal and intrapersonal characteristics on learning. By contrast, research on learning style has focused on the profile of children’s personal–social and situational preferences for learning in the formal school setting. The Learning Style Inventory (LSI) that operationally defines and assesses 23 of the conceptualized components of learning style. According to this approach, each person’s learning style consists of a unique combination of strengths and weaknesses on elements that reflect various aspects of the environmental, emotional, sociological, and physical conditions under which a person acquires new knowledge and skills. The Dunn and Dunn learning style model and the LSI are described in detail elsewhere, but a few examples of the approach are in order.

Algebra homework helper:  The environmental elements include high versus low preference for sound or light while learning; the emotional elements, extent of motivation and persistence; the sociological elements, the preference to learn alone or with others; the physical elements, the time of day when one likes to learn and one’s preferred perceptual channel, such as auditory or visual. Dunn summarized the findings of a large number of research studies that demonstrated that when children were allowed to learn in school under conditions that matched their learning style preferences, their academic achievement and their attitudes toward school improved.

Strength, the second subcategory of science homework Performance Motivation, has two components, promptness and persistence. These relatively stable personality characteristics reflect the strength of the learner’s motivation to perform science homework. They influence when the effort is initiated and to what degree it is maintained.

(1) Promptness refers to the tendency of a learner to do science homework immediately when assigned and procrastination to the inclination to delay starting the process. The time that elapses between receiving assignments and starting to do them is viewed as an indicator of strength of motivation. Strong science homework performance motivation is evidenced by immediate attention to the assignments. Weak motivation is reflected in procrastination, that is, in delays that vary from starting the assignment late in the time available to complete it to doing it at the last minute or not at all. Research on promptness versus procrastination has focused on the causes of the phenomenon and to a lesser extent on its relationship to school achievement, with little attention to science homework achievement.

 (2) Persistence refers to the degree of sustained effort maintained in the process of doing science homework. Learners differ as to the amount of continuous time that they spend on science homework. Some begin and proceed with the science homework, without interruption, until they finish. Others cannot tolerate concentrated effort and are inclined to do their science homework in a large number of short time periods. Such sporadic starts and stops are likely to be less efficient.

Homework helper:  However, the major difference between learning at school and at home is that the learner has choices not only about whether to do the homework at all, but also about the circumstances and surroundings in which to do it. As is seen here, there are important individual differences between learners both in motivation to do homework in general, and in specific preferences about when, where, how, and with whom they prefer to do it.

Homework helper:  To the best of our knowledge, this blog is the first to report on a new direction in research on homework, one that distinguishes between learning at school and at home, and focuses not on the homework itself but on the child doing the homework. This topic has received very little attention in the educational research literature so far. This chapter presents a conceptualization of the complex pattern of motivational, perceptual, and personal–social characteristics, associated with homework behavior and explains the need for an instrument to assess these characteristics. The chapter is divided into four sections:
The first section summarizes previous empirical research on homework, most of which focuses on the homework –academic achievement relationship, and explains the need for a new approach to the topic.

Homework helper: The second section presents the conceptual framework for our approach to the study of homework. It provides the background for understanding the chapters that follow in which we present the research studies we conducted that led to the crystallization of the current conceptualization of homework.

Homework helper: The third section deals with the operational definition and assessment of the motives and the preferences that activate and direct homework behavior. When these motives and preferences are recognized and respected, they increase the probability that an individual will continue to work on and finish homework.

Homework helper: The fourth section presents the implications of the conceptualization and assessment of homework motivation and preferences for students, parents, teachers, and counselors.