Beacon Press. “Alfie Kohn on Feel-Bad Education” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aviOJ9DVcyo

• Here I have selected on, of many videos, by Alfie Kohn that I watched throughout my inquiry process because it is short and to the point. It will give you a good sense of my inspiration for my inquiry. In this video, Kohn is explaining some of the ideas found in his book “Feel Bad Education.” If I am ever feeling down, about my progress in this program at UBC or if I feel stressed about what I am doing, Kohn’s voice has a way of grounding me. When I listen to him speak on what teaching is and where learning comes from, my mind is put at ease and I know I am doing in the right field. (I really think this guy is great!)

Cooper, Harris M. The Battle Over Homework: Common Ground for Administrators, Teachers, and Parents. 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, 2007. Web.

• This resource goes into detail about the friction that can occur between schools and home life. This article is a researched-based approach to trying to understand the value of homework. It asserts that at the elementary ages homework has little or not value at all. Here is where I disagree. I think that traditional ideas of what homework is, is probably not very beneficial for students. If we can encourage a community / home connection model of homework that is less rigorous and more engaging I think that, at the elementary age, we can create valuable educational experiences for students. Cooper’s argument, however, lends itself well to my position that we should be serious when weighing whether or not and what we should assign our students for homework.

Dubner, Stephen J.  “Freakanomics Radio Podcast: Is America’s Education Problem Really Just a Teacher Problem” November 27th 2014 http://freakonomics.com/podcast/is-americas-education-problem-really-just-a-teacher-problem-a-new-freakonomics-radio-podcast/.

• In one of my blog posts I go through this resource in a very deep way. Ultimately, I have a personal love for the Freakanomics podcast series. Stephen Dubner and his team of producers never fail to produce episodes which are simultaneously entertaining and in incredibly thoughtful/engaging. From the perspective of lifelong learning, this is a great resource to keep you sharp and entertained as time goes on! Freakanomics, however, is not a traditional “educational” resource in the sense that the topics it normally covers are not generally about teachers or the educational system.

Farrell, Ann, and Susan Danby. “How does Homework ‘Work’ for Young Children? Children’s Accounts of Homework in their Everyday Lives.” British Journal of Sociology of Education 36.2 (2015): 250. Web.

• Farrell, Ann and Danby explore accounts of homework by asking young students questions about how they feel about homework. This account is interesting in the sense that it examines how students work through their homework. It is examined more in terms of what “roles and responsibilities” do individual students take on during homework instead of (what appears to me more common in academic literature) the “negative emotional consequences” of homework. Although the article failed to compel me to believe that homework is necessary for students (indeed they were not making that argument) it did make me consider the that homework can actually be a tool to support individuality and student agency.

Goldstein, Dana. “Don’t Help Your Kids With Their Homework: and other insights into how parents impact their children’s academic achievement.” The Atlantic, April 2014 Issue. http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/04/and-dont-help-your-kids-with-their-homework/358636/

• This article reviews some academic research which was done at Duke University. The research makes some rather stark claims. According to this new research, parental involvement in students academic lives yields little, or no, or actually negatively impacts student success in their academics. This research makes this claim at the middle school level, and may not directly apply to my inquiry but its claim that involvement / interest in a child’s education can be counter-productive is a rather jarring assertion. Ultimately, as the article continues, the reader discovers that Goldstein is gunrunning that allowing for student exploration and discovery on their own is an important part of learning. A parent who pushes good grades and is overly involved in the learning process might not be allowing enough space for students to explore their understanding on their own terms.

Hall, Randall W., et al. “Combining Feedback and Assessment Via Web-Based Homework.” Campus-Wide Information Systems 16.1 (1999): 24-6. Web.

• This article examines some technological systems which can be employed to create valuable homework; whereby the teacher has the ability to provide feedback on incorrect answers via the internet. As access to computer is increasing towards the point of ubiquity these sorts of programs are creating more possibilities for teachers to engage with student homework in a more thoughtful way.

Homework Club. “Britannia Homework Club” October 7th 2013 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_g3pycrx20

• Here is a local example of a Vancouver school which is making a large impact on student and community success through the use of a blended working space. This space invites high school students into an an after school program to work on their studies. Community tutors are brought in from UBC and other schools to assist students with their work. Teachers are in the room to facilitate the process and make sure everything goes smoothly. Snacks are served to students. Through watching the video one can observe the incredible community building opportunities that are created through this process.

Kennedy, Chris. “The Culture of Yes”. http://www.cultureofyes.ca

• Chris Kennedy’s blog is a rich resource for teachers, parents, students and other community members. It covers a wide variety of topics, some of which discuss homework. As a resource overall, however, Kennedy’s take on education is inspired and introspective. “The Culture of Yes” blog is an emblem of what teacher blogging can look like and is a good resource for other teachers to aspire towards.

Kohn, Alfie. “Articles by Alfie Kohn” http://www.alfiekohn.org/articles/

• This man was perhaps the inspiration of my inquiry project. He is a somewhat of a radical thinker, with a flair for the humorous. Ultimately I just love his approach. He has a negative view of homework and is concerned with how conservative / traditional education that is based on tests and memorization is often superficial. He is in favour of encouraging critical thinking and bringing children in on their own learning allowing them some agency in choosing the direction of their learning. Students, he claims, should be encouraged to think not to memorize. This web page is a link to his blog and is a fantastic resource if you have an interest in intrinsic motivation or just want to have a good and entertaining read.

Parker, Clifton B.  “Stanford Researcher Shows Pitfalls of Homework” Stanford Report. March 10, 2o14 http://news.stanford.edu/news/2014/march/too-much-homework-031014.html

• Examines homework from the perspective of students who come from affluent communities. Students with more resources tend to do more homework. Parker’s research suggests that in these communities students are often doing too much homework. The consequences of too much homework are stress, health concerns and more. Recognizing that homework, at the secondary level, has benefits it is equally critical to realize that a balancing act is necessary for the best learning experiences.

Shumaker, Heather. “Homework is wrecking our kids: The research is clear, let’s ban elementary homework: Homework does have an impact on young students– but it’s not a good one” Salon.com March 5th http://www.salon.com/2016/03/05/homework_is_wrecking_our_kids_the_research_is_clear_lets_ban_elementary_homework/

• In this online article Shumaker links research done by Duke University professor Harris Coopers to real world issues facing children. Salon.com reports from an activist editorial perspective. This article makes an emotional plea to stop teachers from assigning homework. The article clearly argues that, at the elementary level, homework does affect student performance but it negatively! Again, I have found another source which is very skeptical of homework! I on the other hand think there is some place for it. It just can’t be the old boring homework that we have been accustomed to.

• This is an interesting article which speaks to the community building potential that a homework club can offer. This story follows an underprivileged area that has built a club where students aged kindergarten to grade 12 can go do get help with their homework from certified teachers. This physical space has created a blended zone of community, academics, and exploration which, in my opinion, is likely to have wonderful results in the community. Although, I may not be on board with assigning students under age grade 7 any homework at all, the idea of going to this community space to work with others in the community has lots of up side. This site allows for students to socialize, explore, and learn on their own terms while establishing and solidifying community connections. An interesting read.

Spencer, John T. “From Homework to Home Learning: Stop Assigning Homework, and Watch the Learning Grow.” Phi Delta Kappan 95.5 (2014): 74. Web.

• Children are naturally motivated to learn. Assigning creative, or skill-homework, encroaches on student free time. Assuming that students, in their free time, do not actively participate in learning is short sighted and narrow minded. Assigning creative homework (posters, art, etc) often results in heavy parental involvement for some students; some of the projects are majority done by parents while some that do not look as nice have been slaved over by students. Many parents want their children to have “traditional homework” : this teacher sets up “opt-in” where meaningful homework is designed.

• This journal article looks into the creating blended spaces for middle school girls urban areas in the hopes of assisting to figure out whether or not to pursue science trajectories. This article lends itself to my inquiry in the sense that its focus is on finding meaningful strategies of engagement which is something that I desperately want to do . Ultimately the article asserts that combining science practices with an understanding and engagement with the community around where these students take their education has many benefits for educational purposes.