Computing homework that works: less setting, less chasing, more learning
Homework in Computing often costs more teacher time than it gives in learning: tasks to design, work to chase and books to mark. It doesn't have to. Short, regular homework that makes students recall what they've learnt can do more good with less work for everyone. Here's how to set it up for a Computer Science or IT department.
What makes homework worth setting
The Education Endowment Foundation's Teaching and Learning Toolkit finds that homework in secondary schools has a positive effect on attainment on average, and that quality matters more than quantity. Homework works best when it's clearly linked to classwork, students know what it's for, and they get feedback on it. Long projects and "make a poster" tasks rarely meet those tests.
Retrieval practice gives a clear answer to what good homework looks like: get students to recall what they've been taught, then tell them straight away whether they were right. See Retrieval practice in Computing for the research.
Five principles for Computing homework
1. Short and regular beats long and rare
Fifteen to twenty minutes a week, every week, is better than an hour every three weeks. Regular homework builds a habit, and spreading the practice out helps students remember more.
2. Mix new and old topics
If homework only covers this week's lesson, earlier topics fade before the exam. Set one quiz on the current topic and one on something from weeks or months ago.
3. Make it self-marking
Quizzes that mark themselves give students instant feedback and give you results without a pile of books. Your time goes on responding to what the results show, not on ticking.
4. Keep the routine predictable
Set homework on the same day each week, with the same due day. Students and parents know what to expect, and you're not reminding the class every lesson.
5. Act on the results
Homework data is only useful if it changes something. Look for the two or three questions most of the class got wrong and use them in your next Do Now. See How to run a Do Now in Computer Science.
Less chasing
Chasing missing homework can take longer than setting it. A few habits help:
- See who's done it at a glance rather than collecting books.
- Send one reminder the day before it's due, to the students who haven't started, not the whole class.
- Follow up consistently using your school's policy, so missing homework has a predictable consequence.
- Make it easy to start. One link that opens the right quiz removes the "I couldn't find it" excuse.
Feedback without marking every book
Whole-class feedback is quicker and often more useful than individual comments. Look at the results, pick the most common mistakes, and spend five minutes of the next lesson on them. Then give students a chance to try again on those questions. Corrected mistakes stick better than written comments students skim.
What to avoid
- Copying up notes or "research this topic". These feel productive but involve little recall.
- Posters and presentations as regular homework. They take hours and much of that time goes on design, not Computing.
- Long programming projects at home for students without a suitable computer or software. Keep big programming tasks in lessons, and use homework for recall and short tracing or algorithm questions.
- Homework nobody looks at. If the results never change what happens in class, students notice quickly.
A simple weekly routine
| When | Teacher | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Set two short quizzes: this week's topic and an older one | See the homework and the due date |
| During the week | Nothing to do | Do both quizzes, about 15–20 minutes in total |
| Day before due | One reminder to students who haven't started | Finish off |
| Next lesson | Do Now from the most-missed questions; follow up on missing work | Retry the questions they got wrong |
How RADevo helps
RADevo is built for this routine. You set homework for a class in a couple of clicks from quizzes for every topic of your course. Students' answers mark themselves, and you see who's done it and who's missing on one screen, with a one-click nudge for those who haven't started. The questions your class found hardest feed straight into a Do Now for the next lesson, and every question a student gets wrong comes back in their Revise today. Have a look at the free revision quizzes to see the questions students get.