Is homework beneficial in today’s education landscape?

The K12 education landscape is transforming before our eyes, though some schools and countries have been slower to catch on.Traditional educational practices are slowly being replaced with teaching 21st century skills like creativity, critical thinking and collaboration. Classroom designs are becoming more flexible and there is a shift towards self-directed and student-centered learning.In this new era of education, is homework beneficial for students or has it become an outdated education requirement? According to an article by Youki Terada, Research and Standards Editor for Edutopia, homework is beneficial but only to a certain degree, depending on the age group. For younger students, assigning too much homework has a minimal impact on learning overall. Terada wrote, “As young children begin school, the focus should be on cultivating a love of learning, and assigning too much homework can undermine that goal. And young students often don’t have the study skills to benefit fully from homework, so it may be a poor use of time.”