Overview | What skills and strategies can help students become more efficient managers of their time and coursework? In this lesson, students learn how to act as their own homework coaches by becoming familiar with various organization and time management tools. They then select a tool that appeals to them and track the impact that usage has on its effectiveness.
Materials | Student journals, computers with Internet access, copies of theTime Tracker handout (PDF)
Warm-Up | Several days before you teach this lesson, have students keep a daily homework log that tracks their use of time, using the Time Trackerhandout (PDF).
On the day of the lesson, students share their homework logs and compare their behavioral habits. Ask: How much total time did you spend on homework and studying? Did you do everything at once, or did you work in blocks of time, with breaks in between? What did you do during your breaks? If time permits, you might create a simple pie chart that shows the breakdown of students’ use of time.
Continue: Did you shut out all distractions while you worked, or did you multitask? Did you listen to music, have the TV on or connect with friends while working? When did you do your work? How alert or tired were you? Were you in a rush at any point? How did you keep yourself motivated and focused? Did leisure activities like socializing or playing games eat up a lot of your study time?
Next, ask: What evidence do you have of the efficacy of how you spent your time? Have you had any quizzes or other assessments this week? Where do you think might be some room for improvement in your study and homework habits? If someone were to observe you studying, what do you think he or she would notice? What suggestions for improvement might your observer have for you? Students might answer these questions in their journals.
You might also invite students to answer our Student Opinion question “Do You Have a Tutor?”
Related | In the article “Like a Monitor More than a Tutor,” Sarah Maslin Nir describes a new brand of student support service — “homework coaches” or “homework helpers”:
If a student finds French grammar or algebra incomprehensible, a tutor in those subjects can help. But if the problem is a child who will not budge from the Xbox, or pens doodles instead of topic sentences, some harried parents with cash to spare have been turning to homework helpers, who teach organizational skills and time management, or who sometimes just sit there until the work is finished.
As schools have piled on expectations and as career paths have sucked in both mothers and fathers, this niche industry is catering to “students who are capable of doing the work” but need someone “who can just be there with them to consistently do the work in a regular manner,” said Mike Wallach, who along with Ms. Kraglievich runs the service Central Park Tutors.
But it has also led some educators to question whether this trend might simply be a subcontracted form of “helicopter parenting,” depriving children of the self-reliance they will need later in life.
Read the entire article with your class, using the questions below.
Questions | For discussion and reading comprehension:
- What is the difference between a tutor and a homework coach?
- What are some of the criticisms of homework coaching?
- What are the benefits?
- What point of view do you agree with more, and why?
- Why is the word “help” problematic and controversial?
