A Study On Purpose Of Mathematics Homework For Grade 8 Students

It is advocated by the second turn of curriculum reform in Shanghai that we should change the way of students' learning, including try to reform homework to meet their different learning needs. Therefore, it is necessary for us to know how students think the purpose of doing mathematics homework and investigate the differences of their thinking.This is a study focused on the purpose of mathematics homework for 8th grade students in a junior high school in Shanghai. This author gave a framework for the studies of the purpose. The students took a questionnaire and were asked to list their purposes of doing homework. Four school teachers of the students were interviewed. They were asked to list their purposes of assigning homework and to guess their students' purposes of doing homework. A comparison between the opinions of students and their teachers on homework was done. Cluster analysis and qualitative analysis of the questionnaire found that the 8th grade students took practice methods, understanding of mathematical thinking, and affirmed by their teachers as three most important purposes. However, the students took consolidate knowledge, practice methods, and improve test scores as three most important purposes in their list. Male and female students had different opinions on two purposes. More girls than boys tend to consolidate knowledge, while more boys than girls tend to peer exchange. Slow students and gifted students also had different opinions. Slow students are more likely to do homework to avoid punishment from their teachers, while gifted students tend to self study, peer exchange, and improve their understanding. It was found that neither the students nor the teachers had a complete understanding of purposes of doing homework. The teachers did not know the real purposes of their students and the students also did not know their teachers' attentions.Finally, this author suggested that both teacher and students should have a complete understand to the purposes of doing homework. Teachers should try to know there are differences between opinions of boys and girls, and between slower students and gifted students. They should try to reform students homework to meet their different learning needs. Besides of the answers to the exercises, teachers should also let their students know their attentions of assigning the homework. They should help their students to recognize the learning aims and improve the efficiency of the learning.