Marking homework

[brianp0803]

It is a commonly accepted practice copying homework and everyone agrees it is bad.

No need for comments on that. We probably all agree.

How do people deal with marking/grading homework when likely many students just copied the work?

If I don't collect it and mark it then even good students might loose the incentive. For math, homework is practice for the test. Probably the same for all topics.

I told the students their homework looked like they copied from each other. Some said- no, but we worked on it together. If true, this can be good.

Students generally see homework as a task to turn in, not a learning exercise.

How much effort do teachers put into grading homework?

What percentage of the grade is homework?

I am showing my students how closely my exams are from the homework. This has helped a little.

Any teachers found good techniques about how to get more students doing more of their homework?

[Scott]

The schools where I work, if any work is given to the students it must be checked and checked carefully. We seldom give them homework, instead we have them do most of the work in class. Homework is given to students who don't complete the work in class and that's usually because they have been playing around.

My experience has been that they get so much Thai homework and that takes precedence over Foreign work. Also, some of the work is a duplication. In the bilingual programs, they are often learning the same thing in Thai and English, so for math if they are learning multiplication, they already have plenty of problems from the Thai teacher.

We are being encouraged to start giving homework, but I don't know how well that is going to work out.

[SlyAnimal]

for maths it's more difficult to spot people who have copied homework, as if they copy from a good student then they get the answers correct and so they should all legitimately look look the same.

For this I usually just put an emphasis on the fact they need to show their working, and figure even if they copy it, if they're also copying the working then hopefully they're learning.

I also check that they've done their homework, but don't give them criticism if they've made mistakes, so long as they did it.

I also mark maths homework in class, calling students up to the whiteboard to show how to answer the questions (Sometimes I let them bring their books, sometimes not, depending on the student & question etc). With no book, someone who copied is in a bit of a bind lol. Although usually their friends will try and give advice if they look unsure etc, I think it helps the entire class when I do this. Only problem is it can be time consuming if they had a lot of homework, so sometimes can only mark a few questions to show examples to the class. Most of the smarter students are usually competing to get "e" which is usually the most difficult question, and I try to also give some of the easier questions to the less talented students.

For English I try to not set too much homework and when I do, I try to make it semi interesting with room for creativity, in the hope the students will enjoy doing it.

e.g. Take 3 pictures from a magazine or the internet of animals and glue them into your books with 5 sentences describing each.

Again I mainly check that it's done, and will often get them to present them to the class in one way or another. E.g. I mix up the books, and get a student to read the description, with ppl having to then guess the animal.

If they have copied on a creative project then it's usually pretty obvious and I'll tell them so (and not give homework completion marks to any of the students involved lol).

If I see students copying when I enter the class, even for other subjects, I rip the page out of both books and screw it up. With workbooks etc I instead write "copying" in big letters with my whiteboard marker across the page.

Hehe sometimes I've made kids cry doing this, but I figure that serves my purpose even better, as the story will spread about why it's not worth getting caught copying in my class.

I also sometimes give lines, but that's not ideal with some students as they just don't do it, and so I double it each week that it's not done. But eventually 100 turns into 2000+, and I end up failing students because of it. Failing a kid for what was just 100 lines kinda sucks.

I did once rip up a kids Thai notes which she was copying from a class she was absent for. She was crying & really angry, I felt bad about that, but oh well.... everyone makes mistakes lol. I started to give a little more time for the students to give an explanation before I rip out the page after that.

After a year, word had gotten out, and then students usually made a really good effort to never let me catch them in the act of copying. Ruined all my fun lol.

[culicine]

Usually, I allocate a score just for handing it in. I just tell them to do what they can do, and hand that in. If you give points for it this just encourages them to copy. I give a score just for handing it in on time. I generally expect more students to have a go at most questions, so I expect more of them to be completed. If it looks like they may no effort at all then that can affect their score.

I also tell them to do what they can, as if they all copy each other's work, I am led to believe they understand the work. This could mean their next exam will be harder and I will start to teach faster also. That should be the whole point of homework anyway - it's a diagnostic tool.

[masuk]

Maybe something for the near future, as school are being issued with tablets. (fact or fiction?)

I also experienced almost total copying of homework in Indonesia and it seemed to be the done thing to cheat/copy before handing it in. I just hoped that they learned something from their copying. Other teachers felt that it made them unpopular and did not hand out work.

However, I once worked at a rather POSH school (not in Asia) where all students had laptops. Homework was downloaded at school, and students emailed results back direct to the teacher from home. Yes, they could collude after school, but that might have been a good thing.

At university level, English assignments were emailed directly back to me, and I could mark these and send back corrections without having to go onto the campus and check my 'in box'.

[brianp0803]

If we see someone copying other classes material, then difficult to know if they are copying notes or homework but unlikely its notes(we know our diligent students).

A told a student doing their English assignment in math class. They were told 3 times to put it away when I ripped the assignment. The student said extremely rude Thai words.

I am waiting for my letter of apology.

I have tried grading effort on homework. Making a reasonable attempt is good - at least setup the math problem.

I told my students if everyone turns in the completed homework done correctly I will assume everyone understands and is ready for the test.

Turning in homework with ? next to a problem tells me I need to re- teach that concept.

If I can convince students that copying homework misleads the teacher to believe everyone understands.

I like the idea of marking homework in class while its being done.

I have played games where equally matched students race to solve a homework problem based on their ability. It takes time to set it up but good results.

[SlyAnimal]

I think as well, that it's important to let the students know, that it's not just the person who copied the work who will get in trouble, but also the person who allowed them to copy it.

As usually the kids who are copying don't care about getting in trouble, but their friends, who do the homework, are often terrified of getting caught.

[brianp0803]

I think it is cooperative cheating but the other person claims the notebook was taken from their desk.

Lol. But he was copying during class time.

Do you rip the homework? For math, the benefit is doing the work the first time.

But it would send a message to not let people copy.

But the person fails with 20% when the mean is 63%.

15% for homework makes it necessary for good students but not enough to change failing students to pass.

[aarontendo]

I just don't put a lot of weight on the homework. Homework is a pass/fail assignment for me, we go over answers in class and students are responsible for making corrections as needed. At the end of the unit I collect the books and leave comments. If they fail to make corrections even after we've done it in class then it gets noted and a slight ding to their homework grade.

I'm not sure on the magic formula at my school for it, but I'm told that most of the grade comes from their midterm and end of term exams anyways.

As to students copying...yeah if I see it in class I chastise the student for it but that's about as far as it goes. It's baked into the culture and I'm going to make some pretty big waves if I go chasing down everyone for it. They do it in every other class so I'm sort of at the point where I figure if it's how they operate here then meh, just go with it I guess.

[SOTIRIOS]

...come on now...you know the answer already....

[recom273]

I try to make it a creative exercise, try to get the same level of care as a TT's homework would receive - I get my kids to work in groups to provide something on futureboard with glitter and borders ( this is for vocational college ) and I give them time in class to start, then make a presentation in front of class after.

I have to give 4 graded specific assignments per term, I use these assignments / presentations for that purpose. Maybe start something like this then maybe it gets around that these homework marks make a difference.

Sorry, it's not maths but it works well for science or English.

[brianp0803]

I have my own thoughts but I never assume I know everything.

I think Thai teachers give a lot of points for homework so everyone can pass.

I like the comment of more work done in class and checking progress in class.

I think need to teach less concepts and more classwork and less homework.

Math needs practice.

I think good to collect classwork at the end of class. Mark and return quickly. Encourage efficient use of classwork time.

Graded largely on effort. Slower students can still get full marks

[Searat7]

A few years ago I had a Thai friend who made his living writing homework assignments (term papers) for students of all ages. In many cases the parents were paying him to do this. I eventually convinced him this was wrong and he found a regular job.

[pacovl46]

I always told them I know they copied it because they made the exact same spelling mistakes. Usually they admitted it after I showed it to them black on white because I sorted their homework according to their mistakes. In the end it doesn't matter, though, because in Thailand they can't fail. If they do fail, they'll be given minimum grades by their teachers, so they can advance to the next grade. Since they know that, a lot of students tend to do nothing at all. The best option in my opinion is to give them little homework and have them do it during the last 10 minutes in class. It all depends on the quality of your students, though. The schools I used to teach at seperate the good students from the mediocre ones. In the good classes they were already waiting in line to hand in their homework when I entered the classroom, in the mediocre ones it took them 10 minutes to realize I'm even there. In those classes it was a good day when out of the 50 students two had their homework done.

[johninbkk71]

...come on now...you know the answer already....

They all pass in the end

[mike324]

Either you give two sets of problems for homework so it makes it harder to copy or just give mini quizzes weekly. I find it back in school, mini quizzes makes students study and actually know what they did on their homework, unless they plan on failing or truly are not catching up in class.

[nithisa78]

A told a student doing their English assignment in math class. They were told 3 times to put it away when I ripped the assignment. The student said extremely rude Thai words.
I am waiting for my letter of apology.

My concern would be for more than an apology. I don't know what ripped the assignment means but sounds like more than what is being addressed.

The students are children. All of them children. . .being formed.

Summerhill is book that is very helpful. Peaceful.

I would have helped them (with a smile) complete their English assignment.

Edited November 7, 2014 by nithisa78

[makecoldplayhistory]

At the International school I work at, homework is posted on line for older children. Usually completed on their laptops and submitted online. At higher levels, plagiarism software is automatically used. If teachers submit plagiarised work on behalf of the students (knowingly or not) the school can lose it's accreditation with the examination bodies.

Children who don't submit homework or obviously copy can and do get detentions, letters to parents, meetings with senior teachers... it's taken very seriously.

For maths, I can see how answers can be similar. However, by knowing your students, seeing a discrepancy between their performance in class and small quizzes compared to their homework is obvious, surely?

Avoiding setting homework at my school would be seen as a lazy teacher = not getting your contract renewed. Not marking it correctly is the same.

Homework is important, not only because it extends learning time but teaches children about deadlines, time management, responsibility. However, unless it is an IB, iGCSE or other important assignment, it is zero percent of their 'grade'. Our children don't get a term grade per subject. They get written reports which are rigorously justified and not simply. "John Smith: Maths - B, Spanish C..."

As usually the kids who are copying don't care about getting in trouble, but their friends, who do the homework, are often terrified of getting caught.

Very true.

[kingstonkid]

Heck copying work has been around since schools started. The down side is that kids do not get the method as easily. the upside is that they do learn by copying.

Mark the papers if they copy from a best friend and get it wrong then ask who did the work and who copied and tell them they need to be more creful who they copy from.

[socksy01]

TIT. Perhaps the teachers just accept the fact that it is copied and in turn get better results/recognition for themselves with pass rates. I doubt in my lifetime it will ever change as will the education system here.

[smotherb]

Heck copying work has been around since schools started. The down side is that kids do not get the method as easily. the upside is that they do learn by copying.

Mark the papers if they copy from a best friend and get it wrong then ask who did the work and who copied and tell them they need to be more creful who they copy from.

Don't bother to collect homework, simply give a quiz each day on a part of the homework. If they answer satisfactorily, homework completed.

[roasty]

When I taught at a university in the UK, and I found evidence of copying, I would divide the score for the work by the number of copies, and then allocate each person that score. The brighter students quickly learned not to allow others to copy their work.

[NoshowJones]

The schools where I work, if any work is given to the students it must be checked and checked carefully. We seldom give them homework, instead we have them do most of the work in class. Homework is given to students who don't complete the work in class and that's usually because they have been playing around.

My experience has been that they get so much Thai homework and that takes precedence over Foreign work. Also, some of the work is a duplication. In the bilingual programs, they are often learning the same thing in Thai and English, so for math if they are learning multiplication, they already have plenty of problems from the Thai teacher.

We are being encouraged to start giving homework, but I don't know how well that is going to work out.

Good post. I never ever gave any of my students homework, I did not even ask the Head of the English Dept if I should, mostly for the reasons you mention. In your first paragraph you mention 'playing around'. I know you are giving naughty children homework to complete what they never did in the classroom.

If the children won't do the work in the classroom, there is no way they are going to do the work at home. I removed any disruptive children to another part of the classroom to sit by themselves, failing that, or if there were no spare desks, I made them stand outside the classroom, how they hated that, as it was only a matter of time before a Thai teacher would pass by and stop and ask them for an explanation.

[NoshowJones]

for maths it's more difficult to spot people who have copied homework, as if they copy from a good student then they get the answers correct and so they should all legitimately look look the same.

For this I usually just put an emphasis on the fact they need to show their working, and figure even if they copy it, if they're also copying the working then hopefully they're learning.

I also check that they've done their homework, but don't give them criticism if they've made mistakes, so long as they did it.

I also mark maths homework in class, calling students up to the whiteboard to show how to answer the questions (Sometimes I let them bring their books, sometimes not, depending on the student & question etc). With no book, someone who copied is in a bit of a bind lol. Although usually their friends will try and give advice if they look unsure etc, I think it helps the entire class when I do this. Only problem is it can be time consuming if they had a lot of homework, so sometimes can only mark a few questions to show examples to the class. Most of the smarter students are usually competing to get "e" which is usually the most difficult question, and I try to also give some of the easier questions to the less talented students.

For English I try to not set too much homework and when I do, I try to make it semi interesting with room for creativity, in the hope the students will enjoy doing it.

e.g. Take 3 pictures from a magazine or the internet of animals and glue them into your books with 5 sentences describing each.

Again I mainly check that it's done, and will often get them to present them to the class in one way or another. E.g. I mix up the books, and get a student to read the description, with ppl having to then guess the animal.

If they have copied on a creative project then it's usually pretty obvious and I'll tell them so (and not give homework completion marks to any of the students involved lol).

If I see students copying when I enter the class, even for other subjects, I rip the page out of both books and screw it up. With workbooks etc I instead write "copying" in big letters with my whiteboard marker across the page.

Hehe sometimes I've made kids cry doing this, but I figure that serves my purpose even better, as the story will spread about why it's not worth getting caught copying in my class.

I also sometimes give lines, but that's not ideal with some students as they just don't do it, and so I double it each week that it's not done. But eventually 100 turns into 2000+, and I end up failing students because of it. Failing a kid for what was just 100 lines kinda sucks.

I did once rip up a kids Thai notes which she was copying from a class she was absent for. She was crying & really angry, I felt bad about that, but oh well.... everyone makes mistakes lol. I started to give a little more time for the students to give an explanation before I rip out the page after that.

After a year, word had gotten out, and then students usually made a really good effort to never let me catch them in the act of copying. Ruined all my fun lol.

One time when I was marking an exam paper, there was a student who I knew was very good and always gave her best, I noticed one of the answers in the paper were wrong which would stop her getting full marks.

I called her to my desk and pointed it out to her, she was almost in tears, so I then wrote the correct answer down and pointed at the paper, she adjusted it then I gave her full marks.

[NoshowJones]

I think as well, that it's important to let the students know, that it's not just the person who copied the work who will get in trouble, but also the person who allowed them to copy it.

As usually the kids who are copying don't care about getting in trouble, but their friends, who do the homework, are often terrified of getting caught.

You are between a rock and a hard place here, you will know that you also have to make sure you are popular with the students as the school takes into account what the students think of you. You will know about the paper your students fill in about you at the end of the semester. That's one reason why you may have to overlook the bright student who let their not so bright friend copy them.

[NoshowJones]

I have my own thoughts but I never assume I know everything.

I think Thai teachers give a lot of points for homework so everyone can pass.

I like the comment of more work done in class and checking progress in class.

I think need to teach less concepts and more classwork and less homework.

Math needs practice.

I think good to collect classwork at the end of class. Mark and return quickly. Encourage efficient use of classwork time.

Graded largely on effort. Slower students can still get full marks

I always left the last fifteen minutes of class for educational games, especially when teaching Prathom 5 and 6. I never taught below that.

[NoshowJones]

...come on now...you know the answer already....

They all pass in the end

I believe they eventually do, but I have to say that no one ever told me I must not fail anybody, some of the boys (not the girls) even handed me blank exam papers, this was Mattayoms 3 and 4, though I do suspect that the Thai teachers did adjust their papers to pass them with the minimum grades.

[iamariva1957]

Okay... I have to ask... how long have you been teaching? I have been doing it for so many years now, that I have forgotten just how long... God help me... LOL!

Issues about homework and copying have been around since schools first started. This we all know. We also know that we did the same things when we were students (come on... you know it is true) and here in LOS a student is just a student with all the traits and all of the human characteristics that every student has around the world. To think that the students here are in some way different or are guided by a different set of rules or parameters is silly.

For all students hate homework. Yes, you can see this as being just a "general statement", but it isn't. However, homework should not be issued simply or exclusively to extend 'class times' but rather to also teach the student about "deadlines" and to get them to work on their own to solve issues, questions, and/or reinforce what was covered in class and to even, perhaps, go beyond that it.That is what homework is for. Should it be seen as part of the student's grade? Yes, but only from the standpoints of their ability to get things done within a set time frame and their ability to work on their own.

However saying that, the fact that students might very well work together and/or copy from one another is more than a possibility. It is even more so given the Internet and the communication capabilities that not so long ago where not on hand. But is this a bad thing? No it does not have to be. For homework should not bee seen as a teaching tool in and of itself. It is just a small part of the bigger picture. For when I give my students homework I know that they will either not get around to doing it (I will get the usual excuses, and sometimes even get ones that I have never heard before which I sort of kind intriguing) or that they will simply copy each other's work in an attempt to get it over with. All of this I know, as I remember what it was like being a student in my day. My answer to this? I give followup work in class or even a mini quiz and I see "what is what". It takes but a few minutes but not only 'levels the playing field' a bit, but gives me (the teacher) a better understanding of not only my ability to teach the material but also in the students' ability to consume and process it as they should have done...if you get my drift. Of course it will depend upon a number of factors, such as the importance of the material itself and whether or not I will be covering said material again either in the future or even the next day.

Listen, copying is a fact of life within schools and it is not going to go away. We have all done it and our students will continue to do it when the mood, opportunity, or even necessity requires them to. But it is the latter that we, as teachers, need to focus upon. For that is the issue that has to be addressed.

However with regards to plagiarism... though it should not be allowed, it should be tolerated in so far as its use is concerned. Copying something word for word is wrong ... yes and I do not accept that. But to do it within an assignment by incorporating it within the construct of the student's work (without any footnotes or credits given) does show thought. If they have taken the time to find the material that they copy indicates that they spent time working on the topic and in "copying" what they added to their work shows an ability to understand the material and see that what they are copying fits. So, in my mind following this line if thought ia not really such a bad thing. But I let them know that I know what they did and then take the thought and the information that they used and use their actions to get them to understand it.

Teaching is an art. It is part stage performance, part audience capture, yet at the same time (as with any good script) part instruction. All have to work together and both teacher and student must be on the same page. We as teachers, have to be vigilant yet at the same time be understanding as to the student's out of classroom life. We must work together and be ready to apply whatever teaching technique/s we can either create or draw upon (from our own education or 'manuals') when required. We also have to understand that we have to wear a number of different "hats" from time to time and in so doing be ready to answer the 'call' fro a student or students when we see that there is just too much copying going on. For this would indicate that we are not getting through to them and in so doing allowing the material to fall on deaf ears.

[NoshowJones]

At the International school I work at, homework is posted on line for older children. Usually completed on their laptops and submitted online. At higher levels, plagiarism software is automatically used. If teachers submit plagiarised work on behalf of the students (knowingly or not) the school can lose it's accreditation with the examination bodies.

Children who don't submit homework or obviously copy can and do get detentions, letters to parents, meetings with senior teachers... it's taken very seriously.

For maths, I can see how answers can be similar. However, by knowing your students, seeing a discrepancy between their performance in class and small quizzes compared to their homework is obvious, surely?

Avoiding setting homework at my school would be seen as a lazy teacher = not getting your contract renewed. Not marking it correctly is the same.

Homework is important, not only because it extends learning time but teaches children about deadlines, time management, responsibility. However, unless it is an IB, iGCSE or other important assignment, it is zero percent of their 'grade'. Our children don't get a term grade per subject. They get written reports which are rigorously justified and not simply. "John Smith: Maths - B, Spanish C..."

As usually the kids who are copying don't care about getting in trouble, but their friends, who do the homework, are often terrified of getting caught.

Very true.

I agree with everything you are saying, but as you will know, there is a big difference teaching at an International school than teaching in a Government school.

[oztaurus]

Long ago in the days when I was teaching I caught a group of M4 students who had all copied a prepared essay for an exam. There were clues in the text as to which student had prepared the original. On returning the papers I called the original writer up and praised her for her work and publicly awarded her full marks; Then I called out the 16 friends, who had copied, to all come to the front of the room (the looks on their faces as they realised the emerging common thread was gratifying) .... and divided the top girl's score by 17 and awarded that score equally to all plagiarists - including the originator, explaining that as only 1 brain was involved they all had to share the one score...... I don't recall having that same problem again.