Surroundings (homework hotline)
Doing homework requires continued effort. The surroundings under which the homework is done influences the degree to which the learner sustains the effort required to successfully complete the homework tasks. In school, the learner has little choice about the surroundings in which learning takes place. At home, the learner has more choice about the general surroundings in which to do homework and can often adjust sound, light, temperature, and/or design to his or her liking. Preferences for homework surroundings also vary greatly among individuals. Some prefer a setting that is as quiet as possible, whereas others find background sound relaxing and helpful (homework hotline). Very bright versus dim lighting and warm versus cool temperature are additional surrounding characteristics that make a lot of difference to some learners when doing their homework. The design of the room in which homework is being done can also make a difference. Some learners like formal furniture, a desk and straight chair, whereas others prefer an easy chair or even a thick rug on which they can relax and work. For practical reasons, it is unlikely that individual preferences of sound, light, temperature, and design will be matched by the circumstances of any school classroom, and much more so in the crowded classrooms in most schools today. It is much more possible for parents to adjust the surroundings in which their children do homework, if they are aware of their children’s preferences and able and willing to match them (homework hotline).
It is a difficult but worthwhile challenge for creative teachers to individualize homework in terms of the perceptual-physical preferences of the learners. It is less difficult but equally valuable for parents to make arrangements for doing homework that meet the student’s physical needs (homework hotline).
(1) Auditory. Some children prefer homework assignments that require them to listen to tapes or CDs that contain material to be used in doing the homework, and also prefer to hear homework instructions (homework hotline).
(2) Visual. Other learners prefer assignments that involve reading or watching films, and prefer to see written homework instructions (homework hotline).
(3) Tactile. Some children prefer the “hands-on” type of homework. They enjoy preparing exhibits to display for their classmates, building things and similar homework activities that require them to actually touch and manipulate materials (homework hotline).
(4) Kinesthetic. Some learners like homework that involves firsthand experience and active participation in events or activities that lead to the accumulation of knowledge: observing a phenomenon, interviewing an interesting person, or conducting an experiment. A learner, for example, could be assigned to use a computer to go on a virtual trip to a certain country studied in school, and the homework could be to report on a specific aspect of life there (homework hotline).