Over the past few weeks you would have noticed our Homestudy books and supporting documentation coming home.  We are committed to working with you to support your child with opportunities to consolidate skills and understandings and further develop effective study habits and time management skills.

Value of Home Study – What does the research say?

The current evidence and research shows that the quality of Home Study assigned is likely to be more important than the quantity.  Home Study effectiveness has been challenged by educators, parents and students (Kohn, 2006) however, continues to be an important educational supplement used by most teachers to enhance the learning experience of their students (Patall, Cooper & Wynn, 2010).  According to Hattie (2009, 2012) the effectiveness of Home Study on student learning varies considerably depending on the student’s year level, the subject area and learning task.  Although Hattie (2009, 2012) suggests consideration must be given to the nature of the Home Study task, the amount of time a student spends on Home Study with short frequent Home Study tasks monitored by teachers as a preference.  It is important to be mindful that inappropriate Home Study tasks can reinforce what students don’t know and cannot learn by themselves.

In our Homestudy Policy it clearly outlines the role of the parent, student and teacher. This is discussed with students before they take their homestudy book home.The implementation of home study relies on the student, the parent and the teacher working together to ultimately create learning experiences that are meaningful, rewarding and enjoyable. 

Effective Home Study tasks help students by:

• Consolidating and reinforcing classroom learning.
• Fostering good lifelong learning and study habits.
• Providing an opportunity for students to become responsible for their own learning.
• Developing self-regulation processes such as goal setting, self-efficacy, self-reflection and time management.

Families are embracing this and the evidence is witnessed in the work students are bringing back to school, the signatures of parents showing support and the student voice and agency in the choices students make in completing their work and recording this. The following images provide a snapshot of the great work we are doing together to promote and support the learning of the students in our care and the work that is happening at home - Thank You!