Don't Overload Students - Assigning Too Much Work Discourages Learning - InformED PDF

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as your to-do list ever been so long that you felt To Encourage It
physically drained at the thought of everything that (https://www.opencolleges.edu.au/info
needed to be done? teaching/)
New research
Archives
(https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00220973.2012.745469#.U0VJhPmSySo) has
shed some light on the reason behind this feeling and
https://www.opencolleges.edu.au/informed/features/dont-overload-students-assigning-too-much-work-discourages-learning/ 1/5
shows that overloading students causes not only academic March 2020
stress, but also takes a toll on students’ mental and physical (https://www.opencolleges.edu.au/inf
health, which, unsurprisingly, hinders learning.
February 2020
The study, led by Mollie Galloway from Lewis and Clark (https://www.opencolleges.edu.au/inf
College, shows that although students who spend more January 2020
time doing homework are sometimes more behaviourally (https://www.opencolleges.edu.au/inf
engaged in school, they also tend to be more anxious, and
report more physical symptoms due to stress. December 2019
(https://www.opencolleges.edu.au/inf
“Although the students in our study were averaging more
than three hours of homework per night, most did not nd November 2019
this homework engaging, nor did they feel it enhanced their Show more
learning,” says Galloway.
“Because homework tends to acts as a stressor in students’ Latest tweets

lives, their bodies must nd a way to respond or react to
this stressor, and although research has shown that some
level of stress can be healthy, chronic stress can induce
Vocational Education vs Short
negative physical, mental, and behaviour outcomes,” she Courses: Which Path Should You
explains. Take? https://t.co/HKAKLdIfHz
(https://t.co/HKAKLdIfHz)
The researchers surveyed over 4,000 students to determine https://t.co/mu3D57f1qg
the role that this additional work played as a stressor in (https://t.co/mu3D57f1qg)
their lives. 288 days ago
By asking questions like “How often do you try as hard as Women In Leadership: What's the
you can in school?” and “How often do you complete your Status? https://t.co/5Stl4ZwNxd
school assignments?” they were able to paint a picture of (https://t.co/5Stl4ZwNxd)
students’ level of behavioural engagement. https://t.co/GligOG0G1a
(https://t.co/GligOG0G1a)
The mental and physical well-being assessment consisted of 288 days ago
questions like “How often do you feel stressed about your
academic experience?” as well as enquiries about stress- Goal Setting: How to Set Yourself Up
related health problems such as headaches, weight gain For Success: https://t.co/aJitaLNYpm
and sleep di culties. (https://t.co/aJitaLNYpm)
https://t.co/K5WFrlA74W
Only 6% of students said they found their homework “very (https://t.co/K5WFrlA74W)
useful” in preparing them for learning, tests, papers or
326 days ago
projects, and many experienced stress, compromised health
and a lack of balance. How to Educate Future Leaders:
https://t.co/S7QbmKSeo3
Students also voiced their frustration with their workload, (https://t.co/S7QbmKSeo3) #leadership
saying things like; “There’s never a time to rest, there’s (http://twitter.com/search?q=leadership)
always something more you should be doing;” “It can feel
#education (http://twitter.com/search?
like you are drowning;” and “My body crashes when I’ve
q=education) https://t.co/WSIYw9QYyv
done maybe half of my homework.”
(https://t.co/WSIYw9QYyv)
327 days ago
Based on such student feedback, the researchers speculate
that homework overload can actually limit a person’s
capacity to learn.
“Our study suggests that [students who are overloaded]

experience higher levels of stress and more physical
problems like sweating, headaches, exhaustion, stomach
problems, and/or sleeping di culties,” notes Galloway.
“In addition, these students report a general lack of balance

in their lives, feeling like they need to choose completing
their homework over engaging in social, physical, and
restorative activities that could support their well-being.”
Previous research has also shown that assigning too much

work can diminish its e ectiveness and even make it
counter-productive. Clearly, just because students are doing
more work, doesn’t mean they are actually learning more.
But what can teachers do make sure that they assign

enough work without frustrating and overloading students?
Dr. Galloway notes that any work assigned to students

should have a clear purpose and bene t, and should be
designed to cultivate learning and development.
She also suggests the following tips for nding the right
balance:
Students and teachers should generally align in their
description of the purpose of homework (that is, students
should be able to identify the purpose)
Teachers should not simply check-o homework as “complete”

or “incomplete.” Homework should be incorporated or utilized
in the lesson to facilitate the learning experience.
Students and teachers should engage together in co-

constructing homework assignments. In such co-construction,
students can identify various ways to build upon and expand
their learning of a topic or concept. This also provides
opportunities for students to bring their strengths; creativity;
cultural ways of learning; and community assets to the
learning process.
About Marianne Stenger
(https://www.opencolleges.edu.au/informed/author/marianne/)
Marianne Stenger is a London-based freelance writer and
journalist with extensive experience covering all things
learning and development. She’s particularly interested in
the psychology of learning and how technology is changing
the way we learn. Her articles have been featured by the
likes of ABC Education, The Hu ngton Post, Lifehacker, and
Psych Central. Follow her on Twitter @MarianneStenger.
4 Responses
Dennis Juma says:

December 9 2018 at 1:51 pm
(https://www.opencolleges.edu.au/informed/features/dont-
learning/#comment-112207)
Hello where can I get the research on this?, Scholarly
Reply
learning/?replytocom=112207#respond)
Marc Castle says:

February 18 2019 at 9:07 pm
I agree, and to take it a step further, giving to much

homework can take away from the learning
experience itself. Trying to make a deadline but no
coping to the information is a killer. From personal
experience as a adult learner going back after 17 years
o and using my G.I. Bill, it’s hard to maintain a life
and working a 40+ hour job. If only teachers gave a
certain amount to make it through a week or 2 and
not everyday reading assignments that are 30+ pages
you have to annotate and take a quiz on. Homework
should be for middle school and high school kids to
show them how to time manage. College should be
focused on the lecture and notes and go from there.
Reply
LearnPick (https://www.learnpick.com/australia)
says:
March 26 2019 at 9:49 pm
Hi Marianne,
This is a great blog for a tutor like me. It helps me to
learn new thing regarding my profession, hence in the
future, I will follow every step is provided here. You
can also visit LearnPick to get more tuition jobs in
Australia.
Regards.
Reply
DINGRA BAGH says:

November 24 2019 at 12:24 am
Much helpful to both students and teachers.
Reply
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14/04/2020 Don't Overload Students: Assigning Too Much Work Discourages Learning | InformED

Teacher Resources (https://www.opencolleges.edu.au/informed/teacher-resources/)

How Peer Teaching Improves

“Because homework tends to acts as a stressor in students’ Latest tweets

“Our study suggests that [students who are overloaded]

“In addition, these students report a general lack of balance

Previous research has also shown that assigning too much

But what can teachers do make sure that they assign

Dr. Galloway notes that any work assigned to students

Teachers should not simply check-o homework as “complete”

Students and teachers should engage together in co-

Dennis Juma says:

Hello where can I get the research on this?, Scholarly

Marc Castle says:

I agree, and to take it a step further, giving to much

DINGRA BAGH says:

Much helpful to both students and teachers.

Follow @inform_ed 4,846 followers

Copyright © 2016 · All Rights Reserved · InformED

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