Rethinking homework

Using the golden circle method to understand why we do things before the how and what 

In early 2015 I worked for 10 year olds. They are creative, critical thinkers. We were talking about homework the other day and we decided we could make it better. So we started with the why – why do we do homework. Once we worked out the why (by the ways it’s to Improve thinking, improve creativity & to extend learning at home) we moved into the how and the what. Applying the Golden Circle has meant the team has buy in, ownership and are empowered to change their own learning. Check out the Ted talk on the Golden Circle model below. It was a great way to empower, energise and engage the team in revisiting an outdated model of home work. By reframing homework to be a positive, engaging activity I feel my enthusiasm and sense of fun has made a difference in the students world. I really love education, it is hard not to be excited about technologies role in the future of our world and it’s learners.

And this is what the team came up with after a 20 minute why-storm and then through thinking and collaborative planning using Padlet to suggest the how and what! The best thing about using Padlet, students could add to it whenever they got an idea and wherever they were! They could also add things if they were hesitant to do so out loud in circle time.