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website, 2021, nexus education, busywork or busy at work

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website, 2021, nexus education, busywork or busy at work

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“Busywork doesn’t challenge or stretch the learner; it simply fills time.”
i chose this because it shows how busy work doesn’t help students actually learn or think, it just keeps them occupied.

“Teachers often feel pressured to set work for the sake of showing evidence of learning rather than focusing on actual understanding.”
i picked this because it explains why there’s so much pointless work, showing that teachers sometimes have to assign it just to prove students are doing something.

“Meaningful tasks should have a purpose, be linked to learning objectives, and allow students to apply what they’ve learned.”
i chose this because it shows what real learning should look like and how it’s different from busy work.

“We need to shift from keeping students busy to keeping them engaged.”
i included this because it perfectly sums up the main idea that students should be learning deeply instead of just staying busy.

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I have not given, received, or used any unauthorized assistance. This work is mine.

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website, 2019, medium, busy work is ruining education

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website, 2019, medium, busy work is ruining education

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“ I have also seen students pass classes because they completed all of the assigned busy work, but the actual skills demonstrated in their essays and their finals indicated that they were not ready to move forward. In other words, the busy work padded their grades”

I chose this because it shows how busy work can make  grades better without actually improving learning. Showing how workload might hurt a students curiosity and actual skill development.

“The system in place rejects project-based learning. Rules like “teachers must enter at least 3 assignments in the gradebook per week” plague teacher inboxes and upset the value of learning.”

I chose this because it shows how schools policies encourage quantity over quality, thid reduces meaningful engagement and curiosity.

“They aren’t going to be taking multiple-choice tests for a living, but they are going to need work-life balance, which is something public schools keep forgetting.”

I chose this because it connects unrealistic academic needs to a lack of work-life balance, showing how a big workload can negatively affect students beyond school.

“We need to encourage the love of learning in our students from childhood to adulthood. “

I chose this because it puts emphasison the core goal of education, increasing curiosity and a love of learning which busy work and heavy workloads often take away from these aspects.

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It’s harmful to students, teachers, and our future workforce.

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journal article · published in 2020 · in the journal Higher Education Research & Development · titled “Beyond Busy Work: Rethinking the Measurement of Online Student Engagement.”

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journal article · published in 2020 · in the journal Higher Education Research & Development · titled “Beyond Busy Work: Rethinking the Measurement of Online Student Engagement.”

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“They invite critique of the superficial, descriptive, tick-the-box exercises that are usually designed to monitor engagement by computer rather than through human interaction.”

I chose this because it questions surface-level assignments, showing how they fail to engage students meaningfully, which goes along with my concern about workload making students less curiose.

“According to students in this study, traditional measures of online engagement were not perceived as valuable to their learning. “

I chose this because it shows that students themselves do not view many assigned tasks as helpful, supporting the idea that workload can not help genuine learning.

“The students complained about the ‘busy work’ – tasks that kept them busy or that monitored their engagement through a metrics-based tool.”

I highlighted this because it mentions student frustration with busy work, reinforcing the negative impact of excessive lowvalue assignments.

“The students reported a number of other activities that prompted their engagement in learning; many of these would not be picked up by the usual ways of measuring engagement.”

I  included this because it shows that curiosity and deep engagement usually come from activities beyond standard workloads, showing the need for more meaningful approaches.

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Beyond busy work: rethinking the measurement of online student engagement

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To combat high failure and student drop-out rates, universities have developed strategies to monitor online student engagement through measurable activities. In this study, we explore if and how th…

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research report (non-journal) · published in May 2011 · on the site ERIC (Education Resources Information Center) · titled “Thoughtful Homework or Busy Work: Impact on Student Academic Success.”

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research report (non-journal) · published in May 2011 · on the site ERIC (Education Resources Information Center) · titled “Thoughtful Homework or Busy Work: Impact on Student Academic Success.”

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“They invite critique of the superficial, descriptive, tick-the-box exercises that are usually designed to monitor engagement by computer rather than through human interaction.”
I chose this because it questions surface-level assignments and shows how they fail to engage students meaningfully, which connects to my concern about heavy workloads making students less curious.

“According to students in this study, traditional measures of online engagement were not perceived as valuable to their learning.”
I chose this because it shows that students themselves do not view many assigned tasks as helpful, supporting the idea that workload alone does not lead to genuine learning.

“The students complained about the ‘busy work’—tasks that kept them busy or that monitored their engagement through a metrics-based tool.”
I highlighted this because it mentions student frustration with busy work, reinforcing the negative impact of excessive low-value assignments.

“The students reported a number of other activities that prompted their engagement in learning; many of these would not be picked up by the usual ways of measuring engagement.”
I included this because it shows that curiosity and deep engagement often come from activities beyond standard workloads, pointing to the need for more meaningful learning approaches

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ERIC - ED519213 - Thoughtful Homework or Busy Work: Impact on Student Academic Success, Online Submission, 2011-May

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Over the years the amount of homework and what kind of homework students are completing on a nightly basis has changed dramatically. From the early 1900s when homework was abolished because it was considered a violation of child labor laws to today when after No Child Left Behind was enacted in 2002, the focus has moved to evaluating academic success from a standardized test. Teachers are expected to fit so much learning into a day of school, that homework is used to fit in what they could not get into the day at school. Being one day behind can set teachers behind for the whole year and cause them even more stress about how their students will perform on the standardized test at the end of the school year. Teachers are given little or no training in the subject of homework. Some school districts dictate how much time students must spend on homework each night. However, teachers are on their own in regards to what they assign for homework each night. This qualitative research using

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Website, 2020, Mycenaean, Busywork: An Unnecessary Burden

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Website, 2020, Mycenaean, Busywork: An Unnecessary Burden

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Quote 1

“I have also seen students pass classes because they completed all of the assigned busy work, but the actual skills demonstrated in their essays and their finals indicated that they were not ready to move forward. In other words, the busy work padded their grades.”

why-
This shows how busy work can make grades look better without actually improving learning. It highlights how too much meaningless work can hurt students’ curiosity and skill development.

Quote 2:

“The system in place rejects project-based learning. Rules like ‘teachers must enter at least 3 assignments in the gradebook per week’ plague teacher inboxes and upset the value of learning.”

Why -
This quote shows how school policies often encourage quantity over quality. These kinds of rules reduce meaningful engagement and discourage curiosity.

Quote 3:

“They aren’t going to be taking multiple-choice tests for a living, but they are going to need work-life balance, which is something public schools keep forgetting.”

Why -
This connects unrealistic academic demands to a lack of work-life balance. It shows how excessive workloads can negatively affect students beyond just their school life.

Quote 4:

“We need to encourage the love of learning in our students from childhood to adulthood.”

Why-
This emphasizes the true goal of education—building curiosity and a love of learning. Busy work and heavy workloads often take away from these important values.

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Busywork, an Unnecessary Burden - The Mycenaean

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Frustrated student with her head in hands. (Photo courtesy of Andrea Piacquadio, pexels.com) There is nothing more frustrating than finishing an assignment and realizing how useless it really was, knowing I’ll never get those thirty, forty, sixty minutes of my life back. Students spend nearly seven hours a day sitting in classrooms (or more recently,

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website, 2024, the hub,Does homework still have value?

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website, 2024, the hub,Does homework still have value?

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“Our data show that with ‘good’ assignments, more kids finish their work, more kids interact with a family partner, and more parents say, ‘I learned what’s happening in the curriculum.’”

This emphasizes that homework can still be valuable  when designed well. It shows that meaningful assignments can lead to higher completion rates and family engagement.

“If homework assignments are always the same—10 math problems, six sentences with spelling words—homework can get boring and some kids just stop doing their assignments, especially in the middle and high school years.”

This points out how monotonous, repetitive assignments reduce motivation and engagement. It reinforces that quantity without quality undermines learning.

“’No homework’ does not guarantee that all students will spend their free time in productive and imaginative play.”

It connects workload and free-time balance, suggesting the need for thoughtful assignment design rather than removal.

“Teachers need to design homework that even struggling students want to do because it is interesting.”

Assignments should be, accessible to all learners, and meaningful. It links back to how good homework supports curiosity and skill development.

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Does homework still have value? A Johns Hopkins education expert weighs in

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After decades of research, School of Education Professor Joyce L. Epstein remains certain that homework is essential—but the quality of homework matters