Homework: Helpful or Harmful?

There is always question and conversation among math teachers on the subject of homework. Do you assign homework daily? Practice makes perfect, right? How many homework questions should I assign? Again, practice makes perfect, right? Do you grade homework by completion or correct answers? As an educator, you desire your students to get the correct answer, right? But what about the learning process? How do I handle the issue of students cheating on homework?  

Recently in my Math 371 Technology for STEM Educators course, we discussed platforms on which students often cheat on homework, such as Photomath, Symbolab, Mathway, and several other AI math solvers. We noticed after doing some research that there are tons of math solver apps or websites that are available to use, and that those platforms are being used by students in the classroom. Math solver software is especially used on assigned homework. This poses the question, if students are cheating on their homework, then how helpful is the homework? Knowing that there are math solver applications available for use, is there still a purpose for assigning homework?  

As a class, we discussed that some educators and researchers suggest that math solver applications aren’t harmful to students and are almost helpful because students are shown the steps on how to solve a problem when they are stuck on their homework. Sounds legit right? Because all of us who have used math solver programs felt like we understood the concept of the homework better after allowing the software to do the problem for us, right? I’m guessing most would disagree. Although some math solver programs can be helpful in showing steps or processes on how to solve a particular problem, sometimes the software isn’t as accurate as it appears, but more importantly, you learn best by doing, and using AI or math solver software hinders the learning process.  

Even if we are aware that it is more beneficial for our students to work problems out on their own and assess their mistakes to learn from them, how do we avoid students cheating or using AI or other math solver applications to complete homework? Do we forget about homework altogether? I’d like to suggest what is, in my eyes, a better solution to the situation many teachers (not just in math classes) find themselves in when pondering assigning homework in class.  

As Madyson Stricherz mentioned in her blog about “The Flipped Classroom” on January 30, a flipped classroom model is one where students complete projects, activities, or homework in the classroom instead of at home or outside of the classroom. This could be one solution to avoiding AI or math solver applications being used to complete homework; this way, the teacher is allowed to monitor how the students complete the homework and can be there to answer students' questions while they work through the problems. Secondly, as we did in Math 361 Geometry for Teachers, assigning “discussion” and “turn-in” problems could be a good way to keep students from using AI or other applications to do their homework for them. This strategy of assigning homework could look like assigning some key problems for students to try on their own, knowing that they can bring any questions to class the following day and the class would discuss the problems as a group. Additionally, turn-in problems may be only a few problems that demonstrate the particular skill or concept that is being learned at the time and could be due to “turn-in” at the next class period. Also, you could allow the class to discuss how to start the turn-in problems but still complete them on their own, but having the material and the knowledge from working on and discussing the “discussion” problems could help the students be able to better apply what is talked about in class to completing problems on their own.  

Ignoring the technology that is out there is not going to solve the problems of cheating on homework or less understanding of classroom content. Finding creative ways for students to still learn by doing, but taking the temptation or even the option of using technology in an unhelpful way to do their homework for them can help solve the question of homework: is it helpful or harmful?  

By Katelyn Wittnebel

Boredom in the Classroom: What it Means & How to Respond

Many teachers are inspired to become educators because of experiences they had in the classroom as a student. This is not the case for all teachers or prospective teachers, and it is not the case for me. To be clear, throughout my education, I have had many wonderful teachers who have both inspired and supported me. However, my high school chemistry teacher did not inspire me to become a chemistry teacher. During my first trimester of high school chemistry, at the end of 2019, I distinctly remember a class period in which the entire class was asleep, except me and a few other students, who likely wished they were asleep. Even the teacher seemed bored. He was lecturing on something I don’t remember, but I do remember the response from the class: boredom.

Even with innovative instructional techniques and high pressure for improvement in every facet of education, teachers can contribute to this problem without realizing it. It can be easy to have the same structure for each class, and some teachers might feel that there is no other way to teach their subject. But with too much repetition, even a more engaging approach, like a flipped classroom, can get boring. Boredom is often an overlooked emotion in classrooms because it is easy to blame the student; It is easy to think that they should just pay more attention, or put more effort in, or that they have such a short attention span because they watch too much TikTok.

Many scientific studies say that boredom decreases intrinsic motivation and interest, which is something I have experienced as a student. In general, researchers tend to think that boredom in the classroom contributes to overall negative emotions experienced by students in school. They aren’t interested in what they’re learning, so they don’t see the value of putting forth any effort or paying attention. And if they don’t put forth any effort or pay any attention, they don’t learn.

Boredom can, however, be a useful feedback tool for teachers. Boredom shows teachers that the students aren’t learning anymore. If a teacher notices this signal and responds accordingly, they can often reengage their students and regain the classroom’s overall focus. The problems arise when teachers ignore the boredom signal, and when they continue the same instruction, which further disengages the students.

One way to fight boredom and to respond to the students’ signals is to provide variation in instruction. For example, using the previously-mentioned innovative and research-based techniques is a great way to accomplish variation. Similarly, providing activities and opportunities for collaboration can also help. Additionally, varying classroom instruction also allows students to learn in a variety of ways. Rather than focusing on one method of learning, providing varied instruction engages students in a multitude of ways, including vocal, visual, and kinesthetic. This more holistic approach is more likely to be effective in engaging all students and solidifying the knowledge you’re trying to learn.

Another way to fight boredom is to shift to a student-led approach and incorporating choice into the classroom. Choice can be an important tool because it gives students autonomy and ownership over their education. Teachers can incorporate choice in many ways, including “choice boards,” in which different options are available for learning, or assignments, or practice, or whatever the teacher wants. For example, a student could have the option to learn content by listening to a podcast, reading articles, or watching videos. This gives students the opportunity to learn how they want to, tailoring their education to their specific strengths or feelings. In their book The Shift to Student Led, educators Catlin R. Tucker and Katie Novak compare student-led learning to a coffee shop. At Starbucks, there are so many options of drinks to choose from that the customer can order what fits their needs at that time. The same is true in a student-led classroom. Students can choose what path will benefit them most. If students are in charge of their learning, so they are no longer observers, but active learners.

Boredom is a normal part of life -- and can sometimes even be beneficial -- but it is important that teachers recognize and respond to boredom in the classroom to reengage students. By doing so, educators have the power to make education more interesting, which puts the responsibility of learning on the student and makes each student’s education more impactful.

 Sources:

https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/189494588.pdf

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10648-015-9301-y

https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3318396.3318409

https://onlineteaching.umich.edu/articles/the-myth-of-learning-styles/

https://www.gse.harvard.edu/ideas/ed-magazine/17/01/bored-out-their-minds

Tucker, Caitlin R, and Katie Novak. The Shift to Student-Led. Impress, LP, 1 June 2022.

Emily Nikolaus

 

The Flipped Classroom

What is a flipped classroom?

Many people may ask themselves this question if they are unfamiliar with this term. It’s definitely not a classroom with all the furniture flipped around and turned upside down. This week in my Math 371 class, Technology for STEM Educators, we discussed the idea of a flipped classroom and its benefits and drawbacks.

A flipped classroom is a teaching method that reverses the typical classroom mold. In a flipped classroom, students watch lecture videos and take notes at home, and during class time students work together to apply the material, ask questions, and get immediate feedback from the teacher. Some overall benefits are students can learn at their own pace, students can pause and rewatch the lecture, and it’s a great alternative for when students are absent. Another big advantage, especially in the math classroom, is that parents have access to lecture videos to help their children based on that. Some drawbacks are that students have to be independent and find time outside of class, it promotes extra screen time, and some students may not have access to the internet at home.

In high school, I had experience with a flipped classroom in the math setting. My high school geometry class was the flipped classroom method. In my opinion, I found it very beneficial. Every day before class we would have a video to watch on Edpuzzle. The teacher also provided us with guided notes so that we could follow along. During the video, we would have to answer questions to make sure we were paying attention. Then during class, we would have worksheets or group activities that applied the content from the video. The teacher was able to walk around and help everyone. She was able to provide direct feedback right away to students who were struggling. I enjoyed the flipped classroom method because I could work at my own pace. In math, in high school, I was always working ahead so this allowed me to do this without getting into trouble.

As a future math teacher, this method of teaching is something I will take into consideration. It has its clear advantages and disadvantages. One of my main goals that I have as a “teacher in training” is that I want my future students to not only understand the material I am teaching them but to be able to apply it as well. The flipped classroom method is a great teaching method to help students apply the information. I believe this is something I would like to try in my future classroom after a few years of teaching. I would love to use it some days and have the traditional method the other days of the week. The flipped method can be used as a good switch-up then a traditional lecture every day. When implementing the flipped classroom method in my future classroom, I understand that most students will try to skip the video and come unprepared to class. To prevent this, I will assign the videos for points, and along with what I did in high school, students will have guided notes and will have to answer questions within the video.

While the flipped classroom has many benefits, it also has disadvantages, and it’s important to be mindful of that if you want to implement it in your classroom. The flipped classroom can be one way for students to foster a deeper understanding of the material and get help from the teacher right away.

Madyson Stricherz

What Is So Scary About Math?

Are you scared to continue being a math major?

This is a question I was recently asked by one of my professors as an end-of-semester reflection. On the one hand, absolutely. I knew the material after that point was only going to exponentially get harder. On the other hand, I was (and am) so excited to continue learning more about math, despite the challenges that I know are ahead of me. Why should I be scared?

There is this perception that math is this difficult subject that only the smartest students are going to succeed in. It’s nothing more than a subject schools force them to learn to progress in school and graduate. It’s something to be feared.

There is some truth to this. Math is an increasingly difficult subject that some students are going to excel in more easily than others, just like every other subject taught in school. And schools do require students to take it, but for many beneficial reasons such as the real-world applications of math and the problem-solving skills that math helps develop.

But why is math so dreaded? Where is this fear of math coming from? What is so scary about math?

In her article, “Math Phobia? Or School-Math Phobia?”, Angela Chan Turrou proposes the idea that it’s not math itself that people are afraid of, but rather the “drill-and-kill” form of math they were taught in school. From a young age, kids are shown that math is nothing but timed tests and memorized steps. The problem is that’s not math; that’s school-math. By putting so much importance on these school-math practices, it’s created widespread fear of the only math these kids know, and thus long-term math phobias are born.

So, the question is, what can we do to change this? Well, for starters, we can rethink this “drill-and-kill” mentality. That’s not how children think. Children are imaginative and curious; their brains aren’t at the place where they should be overly focused on the memorization of mathematical processes. We should focus on prioritizing children and the way they think, building their learning on their “curiosities and ideas”.

Math doesn’t need to be something we are afraid of, but we first need to stop making it something to be feared.

Maegan Questad

References

Turrou, A. C. (2025, January). Math phobia? Or school-math phobia? Mathematics Teacher: Learning and Teaching PK-12, 118(1), 80-81.

https://www.prodigygame.com/main-en/blog/why-is-math-important/#:~:text=A%20strong%20foundation%20in%20math%20can%20translate%20into,school.%20Its%20applications%20to%20real-life%20scenarios%20are%20vast. 

How Can Technology Improve Mathematics Instruction?

Last week, our Math 371 class, Technology for STEM Educators, examined the appropriate use of technology in teaching.  But what does that mean?

• Don’t use technology just for the sake of using technology. An example that I gave of that is using an iPad to roll a pair of dice when you could just have students roll physical dice. There are definitely advantages to using technology for this, as have 30 students rolling dice in your classroom would be noisy. But does the technology enhance the experience, and I would say that it doesn’t.
• Technology should help students with their understanding of the material. Now when we say technology, do we mean it has to be electronic? I would argue that manipulatives could be considered technology. In this case, something like algebra tiles can help students understand factoring better so that would be an example of an appropriate use of technology.  If you don’t have a set of algebra tiles for your classroom, you can use them online at https://polypad.amplify.com/p#algebra-tiles.
• Technology should help both the student and teacher work more efficiently and effectively.  An example of this would be using Desmos or Geogebra to graph a parent function and translations of that parent function.  Typically, in algebra we often graph y = x^2 and then we ask students to graph y = (x - 3)^2 or y = x^2 + 3 Using online graphing tools allows us to graph these functions more quickly and easily see the changes that occur.
• Technology shouldn’t have a steep learning curve. Some technologies are hard to learn to use. One that comes to mind immediately is the TI-Nspire calculator. This calculator is very powerful, but it isn’t user-friendly, making it more challenging for both students and teachers to use. This is why I prefer Desmos when it comes to graphing in mathematics.
• Technology should provide feedback to students and teachers. One technology that I have been using in my geometry course is FullProof. It is an online software for writing two-column proofs in geometry. I have used it for the past four years and it is wonderful. Students can ask for hints if they are stuck, and they can also check their solution immediately and get feedback. The teacher can get a report on how many times a student asked for hints on a problem and how many times they submitted it.

While technology can be wonderful, we need to be thoughtful about using it in our classrooms. We want technology to enhance learning, not hinder it, and we don’t want it to be a distraction.