Thread: The Homework Quiz

Let's face it – students everywhere love to copy. Why do the work, when the other kid can do it for you? While copying homework takes place in all subjects, I believe that it takes place the most in math. After all, who needs math to get through life? Personally, I don't care if my students copy. They can copy until the cows come home as I don't grade homework. Instead, I use a method taught to me by one of my university math professors called “THE HOMEWORK QUIZ.”

Every other day, the professor would hand out the homework quiz sheet (Link below). Then she would take four problems from the assigned homework and place them on the board. She would sometimes change the values of the problems. Our job: solve the problems and show all work. If you completed the homework, you did well. If you had no clue, it showed.

I use this in my math classes, but I am sure it can be adapted to other subjects as well. Give it a try, and tell me what you think.

The Homework Quiz

Originally Posted by wangsuda

Our job: solve the problems and show all work. If you completed the homework, you did well. If you had no clue, it showed. I use this in my math classes, but I am sure it can be adapted to other subjects as well. Give it a try, and tell me what you think.

I think its the greatest thing I have heard of. Show your work, be it math or what. So often I have seen my students erasing notes they took during a listening. I finally said I will penalize you if you erase your notes and turn in a clean paper. They were shocked. The next exam they all got higher points. They had the answer in their notes they just could not get it in the right place. This is a skill that has to be taught as its not here, be it math, science, I dont give a shit you have to note take. That one skill has kept my kids leaps and bounds ahead of most in their class.

More power to you Wang.

If you don't show your working in your maths GCSE exam you don't get the marks, if you show your working and it is done correctly but you somehow get the wrong answer you will still get some marks.

I also do the quiz thing, after I have taught something I will give a quiz to random people who I think weren't listening . I then get the ones who are talking to come and stand up front and explain what I had just taught

I don't do homework quizzes but instead will have a quiz for every section of the text. This amounts to a math quiz every 3 or 4 days on average. Once in a while students will have three quizzes in the same week. It makes for a lot of marking, but I find the process to be effective, so it's worth it. I only check the homework for completion and also don't really mind that much if copying occurs as it all comes out in the wash at quiz time.

Originally Posted by bet

Why give them homework if you don't grade it?

Obviously students need to practice problems in mathematics if they are to understand and retain the knowledge and skills. Unfortunately copying is so rampant that a complementary system is necessary to help ensure students learn the material. It is also difficult to detect copying on math homework.

Originally Posted by bet

Why give them homework if you don't grade it?

We do classwork to understand new concepts. Homework is for those who want to practice. the homework quiz is to see if the students can actually do the work. My method is no secret - the students know how I grade. Those who want to do well will perform. Those who don't - don't.

Originally Posted by bet

individual homework worksheets.

Unless one specialized homework sheet is done for each student, it won't take the students long to figure out who has the same sheets. Copying will continue.

Originally Posted by bet

Not if they show their working.

work can also be copied. the value of a homework quiz is that the students who want to just memorize will end up doing more work memorizing and practicing the 20 problems I assign than actually doing the work.