If the main point of assigning nightly work for students to do is to help reinforce their learning, then what they do with this work should be guided by us, but up to them on how far they get and when. If it is for them to advance the work (such as completing a reading prior to a class discussion), then students should be given the information in advance to be able to plan their time accordingly. Provide students with enough time, plus a little buffer, to get the assignment completed, but thread the needle so that procrastination can't really be an option.
Taking the concept first that the homework is there to reinforce the learning, as suggested start the next day with a few directed questions that make each student answer. I prefer to have students in small groups, standing by a vertical surface to answer. Other key strategies that can be used are ideas such as individual journaling, small group discussions, or a technological tool such as PearDeck or PollEverywhere. The key for the learning facilitator (I actually prefer this term to teacher) is to watch and listen for key moments to interject corrective feedback, praise growth, and point out possible areas for students to reconsider WITHOUT doing the thinking for the students.
If you are providing time for students to complete pre-work, giving students some thought questions for while they are doing the work to give them context as to the key information is important. Over time, providing students checkpoints for progress, or simply asking students to write down how far they have gotten as a means of self-accountability are great. No judgement should be given to students as we have no idea what is really happening that could have kept them from doing the work to date. But offering support to those who want it, and even providing that support to those you know need it but will not ask, will reap bigger supports.
Finally I would advocate for frequent small in class graded assignments. Short focused discussions, quizzes with a few problems on them, or quick writes explaining their understanding are all excellent ways to build in the accountability that we are seeking by grading the nightly homework. There should not be a time when over 5 days go by, and preferably 3, when we are not assessing students in this manner to force them to think, process, and produce information to help us and them guide their learning. I would go so far as allowing students to use any of their self-generated resources on these formative assessments. This reinforces the concept that their check your understanding questions and class notes are valuable learning experiences, and by doing them the effort you put in will produce value in learning and ultimately in a grade.
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