Let me share an experience one of my friends had with homework.

He had a myriad of homework piled

up on his desk. In order to finish them, he had to miss out on his friend's birthday party. He was stuck at
home doing homework, thinking about all the fun his friends were having without him. In the evening he
couldn't go outside and play, because he had to get his homework done. It’s suffice to say his day went
pretty miserably because of this. Now this might not seem too significant at first, but in the grand
scheme of things. When this kept on happening, he eventually became unmotivated and lost interest in
his studies.

Respected adjudicators, friends of opposition and audience .There are several reasons why more
homework doesn’t lead to more learning.

First of all, the benefits of homework only work when students are engaged and ready to learn. But the
more homework the get the less they want to learn.

Secondly, students who spend way too much time on homework are unable to meet others and are less
physically and socially active. This leads to poor mental health, and can hamper the amount of
information a student can absorb.

Thirdly, excessive homework can also lead students to feel overwhelmed and unmotivated. As a result,
they resort to external assistance for their homework. Therefore the benefits of homework are lost and
the students end up learning nothing.

Too much homework can also result in less active learning, a type of learning that occurs in context and
encourages participation. Active learning promotes the analysis and application of class content in real
world settings. Homework does not provide these opportunities leading to boredom and a lack of
problem solving skills.

Burnout is a negative effect of homework. After spending the entire day learning, having to spend more
hours doing too much homework can lead to burnout. When it occurs students intend to finish their
homework as quickly as possible; paying little to no attention to what they learn.

Furthermore, excess homework can create anxiety and stress within students, and students are often
sleep deprived. All of this leads to poor mental health. This is further supported by a study carried out by
National Institute of Mental Health which showed that 13.3% of all teenagers struggle with depression.
Another study done by Stanford University showed that 56% of students considered homework a source
of stress. This poor psychological condition that homework leaves students with ultimately hampers
their learning.

There are even better methods of learning other than homework.

One of which is active learning. As discussed active learning is a form of learning in which teaching
strives to involve students in the learning process, unlike traditional homework. It actively engages
students with the course material through discussions, problem solving, case studies, role plays, and
other methods. This ensures that students learn properly, which isn’t possible with homework.

Additionally, there’s something called “retrieval practice” which means trying to recall information
you’ve already learned. Note that this information recall has to be done voluntarily whereas homework
in enforced by schools or teachers. The optimal time to engage in retrieval practice is when you’re
beginning to forget the information a little bit. Research has found that retrieval practice and similar
learning methods are far more powerful than simply reading or reviewing material.

Furthermore there’s project based learning in which students gain knowledge by working for an
extended period of time to investigate and respond to engaging and complex problem. Studies show
that students who participate in project based learning are more engaged in learning and remember
what they learn, more than students who don’t participate.

*refutation

So with all these better, more efficient and engaging methods of learning, isn’t it obvious that more
homework doesn’t lead to better learning?