Homework is an everyday part of school life. Studies show that middle and high school students who spend more time on homework and complete their assignments tend to earn higher grades. Despite this fact, all parties involved express concerns. Students complain that they are assigned too much homework. Parents report that they want to help their children with homework, but feel unprepared to do so and need more guidance from the school. Teachers say that many students do not complete homework assignments.
Science teachers at Pikesville Middle School in Baltimore County, Maryland, developed weekly science TIPS (Teachers Involve Parents in Schoolwork) assignments to address these concerns. TIPS differs from traditional homework because assignments require students to conduct interactions with a family partner. TIPS activities are assigned weekly or twice monthly, and students have several days to complete the assignments. Students are guided in how to involve family partners in conversations, experiments, or discussions that take students about 30 minutes to complete. Parents provide feedback to teachers in a section for home-to-school communications.
To assess the effectiveness of TIPS science, a study of 253 sixth and eighth grade students in 10 classrooms was conducted during the first two marking periods of the 1999-2000 school year. Six classes received weekly TIPS activities with specific guidelines for students to interact with family partners. The remaining classes received the same weekly homework, but without guidelines for family involvement (ATIPS).
TIPS students reported higher family involvement in science homework than students in ATIPS classes. Specifically, 80% of TIPS students reported that families were sometimes, frequently, or always involved in science homework, while about 80% of ATIPS students reported that families were never, rarely, or sometimes involved. TIPS students also earned higher science report card grades, even after taking into account students’ prior science abilities, family background, and the amount of homework completed.
Over 85% of TIPS students and families reported on surveys that TIPS homework helped parents see what students were learning in science, and that students were able to talk about their work in science with a family partner. One TIPS parent commented, "They are a great way for us to work together and stay informed about what is going on in science class."
Visit the NNPS website, www.partnershipschools.org, for more information and materials on the TIPS interactive homework process. (Or, Click for more information about the TIPS process.)
Pikesville Middle School is featured on a 15-minute video about the TIPS process, produced by ASCD. To order, go to www.ascd.org. Click on the "Online Store," choose “Videos,” and look for "How to Make Homework More Meaningful by Involving Parents."
From: Van Voorhis, F. L. (2000). The effects of TIPS interactive and non-interactive homework on science achievement and family involvement of middle grade students. Dissertation in Developmental Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville.