Why homework and revision is important

Now we have entered into the exam season I thought I would share a few words which explored why homework and revision is important!

A poll last conducted year of over 27,000 parents in 29 different countries found that just over one in 10 UK mothers and fathers spend the equivalent of at least an hour a day assisting their children with their school work. 

Sarah Mintey who runs a Norwich based EdTech platform called Developing Experts a science curriculum platform which pupils can access from home explains that while researching the approach to use to maximise learning outcomes for children, it soon became clear that the learner needed a way to revisit content covered in lessons to combat the effects of the ‘forgetting curve’. 70% of what has been covered in the classroom will be forgotten if the child does not encourage to revisit content explored within 6 days period. She also found that parents often feel embarrassed if they are not able to support their child with their homework. Sarah is not surprised parents often feel this way, given there is no national calculations policy in mathematics, making it highly probably that how a parent was taught long division at school is quite different to how their child is now being taught the same concept; techniques even vary from school to school!

Developing Experts’ child login zone gives children and parents complete access to the content their child has covered in the lesson with the teacher, empowering their parent and child to join in on the learning experience together. The parent can see what has been taught in the way it has been taught and learn alongside each other.

In addition to this middle-class parents might hire private tutors to guide their children through the homework, 40,000 homes in London now hire a tutor to support their child’s learning but this is not something all families can afford or access. We’ve even been speaking to tutoring companies about providing them with access to our resources, but we want them to be affordable and accessible for all which is why we are committed to an affordable pricing model.

Sarah believes it is tragic some children are not able to access the right support.

Children who often suffer the most are ones whose parents can’t help them which is why the Developing Expert's platform places a focus on working with parents as much as the child. Many parents need support understanding the concepts taught in the lesson as well as the support needed to develop their numeracy and literacy skills needed to unlock the learning.

Meanwhile, the report found that parents from India, Vietnam, Colombia and Malaysia were the most likely to spend seven hours a week helping their children with homework. Interestingly the poll carried out by the Varkey Foundation; a global charity found that on average, British parents spend 3.6 hours a week helping their child learn.

So over the next few weeks when all is said and done there are no short cuts to making a subject stick. You need to practise, practise, practise to keep the content of what you need to learn fresh and committed to your long term memory! Everyone in the Developing Experts team wish all year 11s, 12s and 13s the very best in their forthcoming examinations.