Complete Homework Assignments Research Articles

The Obstacle is the Path: Overcoming Blocks to Homework Assignments in a Complex Presentation of Depression

There is increasing evidence to demonstrate that clients who complete homework assignments have a better outcome in cognitive therapy ( Kazantzis, Deane, & Ronan, 2000). Most clinicians recognize that enabling clients to effectively utilize homework can be a major task in itself, particularly with disorders such as depression, where individuals find even the simplest daily tasks daunting. This article begins by highlighting the problem of changing any pattern of activity, and then explores the difficulties of engaging clients in homework when they present with persistent depression with secondary anxiety features.

The influence of childhood maltreatment on adolescents’ academic performance

Evidence that childhood maltreatment is associated with emotional and behavioral problems throughout childhood suggests that maltreatment could lead to impaired academic performance in middle and high school. This article explores these effects using data on siblings. An index measure of the intensity of childhood maltreatment was included as a covariate in multivariate analyses of adolescents’ risk for school performance impairments. Family fixed effects were used to control for unobservables linked to family background and neighborhood effects. More intense childhood maltreatment was associated with greater probability of having a low grade point average ( P = 0.001 ) and problems completing homework assignments ( P = 0.007 ) . Associations between maltreatment intensity and adolescent school performance were not sensitive to model specification. Additional analyses suggested that maltreatment effects are moderated by cognitive deficits related to attention problems. The implications of these findings for educators and schools are discussed.

Automated assessments and student learning

This study examines the effects of using a course website to give automated assessments. The purposes of the assessments were to provide students with sufficient incentive to complete homework assignments prior to class, encourage mastery of basic homework concepts prior to class, save class time reviewing their homework assignments, and facilitate assessment of student learning by automating grading. Effects on motivation and performance were found.

Requiring Certain Physical Enhancements For Internet Courses: A Survey

Use of the Internet continues to increase and new technology provides more and better communication options. A questionnaire was distributed to chairpersons of accounting departments to obtain their views on requiring some of these newer physical enhancements on a student’s computers when they register for an E course. Respondents strongly favored requiring students to provide a digital photo ID and audio capabilities when registering for an E course but rejected the idea of requiring them to provide a web cam that might be used for verifying their identity. They also tended to believe, even though they did not endorse requiring one, students should use a web cam when completing examinations on-line and that faculty should compare the photo ID with the web cam image. However, they do not believe that students should be required to use a web cam when completing homework assignments or that faculty should compare the photo ID with the web cam image. Overall accounting chairs endorse requiring the student who enrolls in an E course to obtain some existing technology and they expect the student to be prepared to spend more than $100 to obtain the technology

Practice Makes Progress? Homework Assignments and Outcome in Treatment of Cocaine Dependence.

The relationship between treatment outcome and the extent to which participants completed homework assignments was evaluated among 60 cocaine-dependent individuals assigned to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). Homework was assigned in 72% of all sessions and initiated by participants in 48% of the sessions in which it was assigned. Completion of homework was unrelated to participants' baseline characteristics and several indicators of treatment compliance. Participants who completed more homework assignments demonstrated significantly greater increases in the quantity and quality of their coping skills and used significantly less cocaine during treatment and through a 1-year follow-up. These data suggest that the extent to which participants are willing to complete extrasession assignments may be an important mediator of response to CBT.

Brief report: Application of proposed model of decreasing reinforcement intensity.

LaBlanc, Hagopian, Malieri, and Poling (2002) proposed a model for decreasing reinforcement intensity in clinical practice. This paper applies that model to the fading of a point system for a nine-year-old boy who displayed escape behavior around nightly homework assignments. Using a hanging criterion design, the author was able to track the changes in reinforcement density. This fading model produced rapid gains in the child's progress and the child moved quickly to a less restrictive form of intervention. Keywords: Token economies, fading, intermittent reinforcement, changing criterion designs. ********** The combination of token reinforcement (Wolery, Bailey, & Sugai, 1988) and response cost (Witt & Elliot, 1982) combined with soft reprimands (O'Leary, Kaufman, Kass, & Drabman, 1970; Pfiffner & O'Leary, 1987; Van Houten, Makenzie-Keating, Sameoto, & Coleavecchia, 1982) is highly effective in reducing behavior problems. In spite of the effectiveness of contingency management procedures, little research exists on methods to fade out such systems (see LaBlanc, Hagopian, Maglieri, & Poling, 2002). LaBlanc and colleagues (2002) proposed a model for fading out the intensity of reinforcement procedures. They state that (1) begin intensive; (2) increasing amount of behavior needed for reinforcers; (3) determine a reasonable terminal goal based on the age and functioning level of the participant; (4) establish a series of values or steps between the initial level and the proposed terminal level (33% to 50% a good range); (5) allow sufficient exposure to the current level of reinforcement before inflating the system; and (6) progress as quickly as possible to the final intervention level by using period probes to determine how quickly the intensity of the fading procedure can advance. One method that would meet the above characteristics would be if the program has variability in the behavior rates calculating the mean behavior rate and setting earning of the reinforcer at the mean level + 33% of the mean level. The author attempted to test this with a child who was on a complex token system involving the earning of points and both the loss of points for misbehavior and soft reprimands. Method Participant Participant was a nine-year-old boy, who attended a suburban school. Through his entire school career, the parent reported the participant was generally an A and B student in school. He appeared to have no classroom difficulty, with the exception of occasional report card comments about participant not following directions in class and incomplete work assignments. Setting The settings where the intervention took place in the child's home at the kitchen table where the child was to complete homework assignments. The participant was to start promptly on coming home from school approximately 3:30 p.m. and would continue until 5:30 p.m. No other children were in the home. Behavior/ Function The participant pouted, whined, became defiant, or tantrum (throw self on floor and crying and kicking) from 14x/week at home around homework context. The author assessed the function of these behaviors through a descriptive analysis, which involved the following steps: (1) interview of the parent (2) direct observation in both the home using an ABC-event recording procedure. The antecedent was always the parent telling the child to begin homework. Interviews suggested that the function was either escape or attention based. The observations revealed that the participant had a high probability of all four behaviors just after receiving the start command for homework (100%) of the time as opposed to low probability (0%) when the parent gave no commands. In addition, whether the parent at with the child to do the homework or went to the stove to cook did not appear to matter with respects to pleading to not start homework. …

Using an innovative approach to shorten coaching and assessment time when applying the Baldrige Health Care Criteria for Performance Excellence in a substance abuse treatment setting

This study reports on an innovative pilot project that implemented the Baldrige Health Care Criteria for Performance Excellence in a substance abuse treatment programme, with the immediate goal of producing a Baldrige Feedback Report, and identifying 10 specific high-priority Opportunities For Improvement (OFI) action items from among the criteria categories. We have been unable to discover any other literature citations in the application of Performance Excellence to substance abuse treatment services, even though a great body of literature exists for health care services. This experimental project used an innovative approach to shorten significantly the normal coaching and assessment time used by organizations when applying the Baldridge criteria. The Substance Abuse Foundation (SAF) of Long Beach, California, participated in a 10-week intervention to determine the suitability of the Baldrige criteria to substance abuse treatment programmes. A current national Baldrige examiner and a state Baldrige examiner facilitated the sessions. All sessions were tape-recorded, notes were transcribed during each session, and the content analysed using Nvivo qualitative software (Nvivo Qualitative Data Analysis Software, 2000). Participation was voluntary, and was attended by programme managers and staff from SAF. Participants completed homework assignments between sessions, answering the Baldrige self-assessment questions for each of the seven criteria. The number of participants at each session was (M=18.6, range 14-23). Overall, participants were able to answer the Baldrige self-study questions and rate their programme with respect to conformance to the criteria. The resulting Baldrige feedback report shows strengths, OFI action items, scoring range, item score and points for each category. In the final session, participants use a process of voting to identify the top 10 OFI action items. This study demonstrates the potential of using an innovative approach to shorten the coaching and assessment time when applying the Health Care Baldrige criteria within a substance abuse treatment setting.

Using an innovative approach to shorten coaching and assessment time when applying the Baldrige Health Care Criteria for Performance Excellence in a substance abuse treatment setting

This study reports on an innovative pilot project that implemented the Baldrige Health Care Criteria for Performance Excellence in a substance abuse treatment programme, with the immediate goal of producing a Baldrige Feedback Report, and identifying ten specific high-priority Opportunities For Improvement (OFI) action items from among the criteria categories. We have been unable to discover any other literature citations in the application of Performance Excellence to substance abuse treatment services, even though a great body of literature exists for health care services. This experimental project used an innovative approach to shorten significantly the normal coaching and assessment time used by organizations when applying the Baldridge criteria. The Substance Abuse Foundation (SAF) of Long Beach, California, participated in a 10-week intervention to determine the suitability of the Baldrige criteria to substance abuse treatment programmes. A current national Baldrige examiner and a state Baldrige examiner facilitated the sessions. All sessions were tape-recorded, notes were transcribed during each session, and the content analysed used Nvivo qualitative software. Participation was voluntary, and was attended by programme managers and staff from SAF. Participants completed homework assignments between sessions, answering the Baldrige self-assessment questions for each of the seven criteria. The number of participants at each session was (M=18.6, range 14-23). Overall, participants were able to answer the Baldrige self-study questions and rate their programme with respect to conformance to the criteria. The resulting Baldrige feedback report shows strengths, OFI action items, scoring range, item score and points for each category. In the final session, participants use a process of voting to identify the top ten OFI action items. This study demonstrates the potential of using an innovative approach to shorten the coaching and assessment time when applying the Health Care Baldrige criteria within a substance abuse treatment setting.

The Impact Of Raising And Exhibiting Selected 4-H Livestock Projects On The Development Of Life And Project Skills

The purpose of the study was to identify perceptions of Indiana 4-H livestock members enrolled in beef, sheep and swine projects regarding their ability to perform project skills and develop life skills. A questionnaire was mailed to a sample of 420 4-H beef, sheep, and swine members, with a response rate of 41.9%. Members were able to accomplish project skills in the areas of sportsmanship, safety, animal grooming, and animal selection. Respondents are not as confident in their abilities related to animal health care. Members who exhibited at the state fair have higher skill levels in the areas of animal health care, animal grooming and animal selection, than 4-H members who exhibited only at the county fair. Members use the responsibility skills they developed from raising 4-H animal projects to complete homework assignments, be on time at work, and care for younger siblings. These skills are benefiting youth in school, at home, and on the job to be more dependable, confident, and qualified individuals.

The Impact of Background Radio and Television on High School Students' Homework Performance

This study examined the impact of background media on students' performance and time spent on two types of homework assignments: paper-and-pencil and memorization assignments. Eighth-grade students (N = 160) did the assignments with either (a) a soap opera, (b) music videos, (c) radio music, or (d) no medium in the background. Results indicated that doing homework combined with watching a soap opera interfered with students' performance on both types of assignments. However, irrespective of the medium employed, music in the background left homework performance unaffected. There was no indication that background media influenced the amount of time spent to complete homework assignments.

Patients' experiences of homework tasks in cognitive behavioural therapy for psychosis: a qualitative analysis

AbstractThis paper examines the experiences of individuals who agreed to undertake homework as part of cognitive behavioural therapy for psychosis. It attempts to identify factors that individuals believe influence homework compliance and thereby alert therapists to their possible impact, and, using grounded theory, dispel the myth that individuals with psychosis cannot meaningfully express their experiences and views. Ten participants, who either did (six) or did not (four) comply with homework were interviewed and a grounded theory approach was used to understand and generate theories relating to their completion of homework assignments. The factors cited as affecting homework compliance were motivation, recall of the assignment, difficulty, putting off, understanding of the rationale, perceived benefits, insight, effort and relevance. The most cited theme was insight, with four of the high compliance group accounting for 21 references and three of the low compliance group accounting for nine references. However, the high compliance group gained insight into problem development, maintenance and the use of effective strategies to realize goals whereas the low compliance group gained only an identification of their problems and an understanding of their development. Three participants in the low compliance group believed that their assignments were sometimes irrelevant to their needs but this was true of only one out of the six in the high compliance group. Further research into assessing and addressing non‐acceptance of treatment rationale may be indicated. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Using homework in therapy for depression.

There is a growing body of research evidence that demonstrates that completion of homework assignments is significantly correlated with outcome in cognitive therapy. The cognitive model of depression sees homework as an intrinsic aspect of the therapy process. Homework serves a number of purposes, including generalizing learning from the session into everyday life and fostering the independent practice of skills acquired during treatment. We review a number of commonly occurring problems that arise when seeking to engage the client in homework. The negotiation and implementation of homework assignments is a core clinical skill, and we present a range of strategies the clinician can use to optimize its effectiveness. It is vital that practitioners have an awareness of their own role and expectations in developing homework assignments.

The use of homework in psychotherapy: an introduction.

Homework assignments have evolved into a highly important feature of psychotherapy research and practice. In essence, homework allows the practitioner to make use of the time between sessions by engaging the client in activities that are targeted toward therapy goals. While originating in behavioral and cognitive therapies (e.g., Herzberg, 1941; Kelly, 1955), the broader implications of acquiring new knowledge and skills through the completion of homework are becoming progressively more apparent. In fact, learning through the completion of homework assignments has recently been described as “a common process” to both cognitive and dynamic therapies (Badgio, Halperin, & Barber, 1999). Two decades of research have supported the assertion that psychotherapy involving homework yields a greater treatment effect size than psychotherapy without homework (Kazantzis, Deane, & Ronan, 2000). It is also clear that compliance with homework assignments, as rated by different sources, and as measured in different ways, is a consistently significant predictor of treatment outcome. Furthermore, a recent practitioner survey demonstrated that 98% of practicing psychologists use homework in their clinical practice (Kazantzis & Deane, 1999). There is also increasing evidence to suggest that psychotherapy outcomes are predicted by practitioner competency in the administration of homework (e.g., Shaw et al., 1999). Despite the increasing attention directed toward homework in psychotherapy, surprisingly little has been published about the process by which homework is integrated into therapy. This is the focus of the current issue of In Session: Psychotherapy in Practice. The way in which the homework is designed with the client is as important as the

The Disturbing Educational Discipline of "Peasants"

Educational discipline-pushing to complete homework assignments, to study hard and to succeed by scoring highly on entrance exams-is often seen as both a hallmark of an urban middle class and the means by which members of that class distinguish themselves both occupationally and morally from those they take to be below them. Sociological and anthropological studies of education have reached this conclusion in Europe, the United States, the developing world, Japan and China, even as they diverge over the causes for and implications of this finding.' In the course of research in Zouping county, Shandong province, over the past dozen years, I often felt that this view elided the dedication to education shown by many rural families. I have met numerous former rural students who studied hard to succeed on university entrance exams and left their villages, eventually moving on to urban jobs. As I focused my attention on the

Teaching Chemistry in the Block Schedule

Block scheduling, which refers to an arrangement of class time into fewer, longer periods that make up a school day, has been adopted by many high schools across America. Taking fewer classes per day reduces the instructional time lost to transitions. Students like having an extra day to complete homework assignments, and teachers gain an 85-minute planning period every day. With the extended periods of class time available, teachers can build toward higher-order thinking skills and explore connections between disciplines. Collaborative learning and other forms of group learning are ideal for block scheduling. For instance, when studying kinetic theory and phase changes, students are divided into groups and each group becomes an expert on a state of matter. The extended class period allows students within the group to cover the necessary material during two class meetings. With the block schedule it is possible to accomplish prelab questioning, the activity, and postlab analysis in the same day. Successful implementation was made possible through ongoing professional development, creation of an in-house block scheduling expert, and orientation for students and parents on time management and block scheduling.

Evaluation of a Tobacco and Alcohol Use Prevention Program for Hispanic Migrant Adolescents: Promoting the Protective Factor of Parent-Child Communication

Background. Interventions designed to prevent tobacco and alcohol use targeting high-risk adolescents are limited. In addition, few studies have attempted to improve parent–child communication skills as a way of improving and maintaining healthy youth decision-making.Methods. A total of 660 Hispanic migrant families participated in a randomized pre–post control group study that was utilized to determine the impact of the intervention on parent–child communication. Both treatment and attention-control groups of youth were exposed to an eight-session culturally sensitive program presented by bilingual/bicultural college students. Parents jointly attended three of the eight sessions and participated in helping their child complete homework assignments supporting the content of each session. The content of the treatment intervention included (1) information about tobacco and alcohol effects, (2) social skills training (i.e., refusal skills), and (3) the specific development of parent–child communication skills to support healthy youth decisions.Results. Significant intervention by household size interactions for both parent and youth perceptions of communication were found indicating that the treatment was effective in increasing communication in families with fewer children. Based on the effect size and the previously established relationship between communication and susceptibility to tobacco and alcohol use, it was determined that the intervention effect could be translated into a future 5 to 10% decrease in susceptibility for these smaller families.Conclusions. A culturally sensitive family-based intervention for migrant Hispanic youth was found to be effective in increasing perceived parent–child communication in families with fewer children. It is expected that increases in this important protective factor will lead to later observed decreases in tobacco and alcohol use.

Cognitive-behaviour therapy as a treatment for irritable bowel syndrome: a pilot study

Objective: The irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a chronic and often disabling functional bowel disorder. Psychological treatments, in particular cognitive and behavioural interventions, have been shown to be effective for this disorder. The aim of this study was to test the efficacy of a cognitive-behaviour program. Method: Eight participants (seven female, one male) aged between 24 and 71 years, with a diagnosis of IBS according to the Rome criteria, were recruited from among the gastroenterology outpatients at Nepean Hospital, in Sydney, Australia. Participants were administered pretreatment on measures of psychological function and bowel symptom severity. Following a 2-week baseline period, participants began a structured psychological treatment comprising eight sessions of cognitive-behaviour therapy. Throughout treatment, participants maintained daily records of symptom severity and completed homework assignments to ensure treatment compliance. The pretreatment assessment measures were repeated 1 week post-treatment. Results: After treatment, five of the eight patients no longer met the Rome diagnostic criteria for IBS. There was no significant reduction in bowel symptom frequency. There were, however, significant improvements in the distress and disability associated with bowel symptoms. Anxiety and depression were also significantly reduced. Conclusions: Cognitive-behaviour therapy reduced the distress and disability associated with IBS, but not the frequency of bowel symptoms. This supports the proposed cognitive model for IBS, and cognitive-behaviour therapy appears to have its effect by altering the cognitive response to visceral hypersensitivity.

Cognitive-Behaviour Therapy as a Treatment for Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Pilot Study

The irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a chronic and often disabling functional bowel disorder. Psychological treatments, in particular cognitive and behavioural interventions, have been shown to be effective for this disorder. The aim of this study was to test the efficacy of a cognitive-behaviour program. Eight participants (seven female, one male) aged between 24 and 71 years, with a diagnosis of IBS according to the Rome criteria, were recruited from among the gastroenterology outpatients at Nepean Hospital, in Sydney, Australia. Participants were administered pretreatment on measures of psychological function and bowel symptom severity. Following a 2-week baseline period, participants began a structured psychological treatment comprising eight sessions of cognitive-behaviour therapy. Throughout treatment, participants maintained daily records of symptom severity and completed homework assignments to ensure treatment compliance. The pretreatment assessment measures were repeated 1 week post-treatment. After treatment, five of the eight patients no longer met the Rome diagnostic criteria for IBS. There was no significant reduction in bowel symptom frequency. There were, however, significant improvements in the distress and disability associated with bowel symptoms. Anxiety and depression were also significantly reduced. Cognitive-behaviour therapy reduced the distress and disability associated with IBS, but not the frequency of bowel symptoms. This supports the proposed cognitive model for IBS, and cognitive-behaviour therapy appears to have its effect by altering the cognitive response to visceral hypersensitivity.

Homework and achievement: Explaining the different strengths of relation at the elementary and secondary school levels

Four explanations were tested for why the correlation between homework and achievement is weaker in elementary school than secondary school. Eighty-two teachers answered questions about their homework practices, and their responses were related to their students' achievement test scores. No evidence was found to suggest the weaker correlation in elementary school associated with a restricted variation in amounts of homework in early grades nor that teachers assigned more homework to poor-performing classes. Evidence did suggest that teachers in early grades assigned homework more often to develop young students' management of time, a skill rarely measured on standardized achievement tests. Also consistent with this hypothesis, elementary school teachers were more likely to use homework to review class material and to go over homework in class, while secondary school teachers more often used homework to prepare for and enrich class lessons. Finally, there was weak evidence that young students who were struggling in school took more time to complete homework assignments.

Substance abuse risk reduction: Verbal mediational training for children by parental and nonparental models

Little is known regarding the etiology and maintenance of substance abuse, especially factors which place children at higher risk for later drug use. The present study evaluated the impact of a 12‐week verbal mediational program (Think Aloud), which teaches children and parents cognitive and social problem‐solving skills and addresses early childhood risk factors related to the onset of drug use in adolescence. Fifty children and parents were included in the present study and were randomly divided into four groups: two groups received either a verbal mediation condition comprising the Think Aloud training or time to complete homework assignments. Each of the topic groups was subdivided into two groups, one in which the parents served as models and one in which the experimenter served as the model. Measures of family cohesion, expressiveness, and conflict, family organization and control, social skills, level of disruptiveness of the child's peer choice, academic competence, and the child's problem behaviors were administered to the parents and the teachers pre‐ and postinterventivefy. Children in the verbal mediation condition with parental models were expected to show the greatest reduction in risk factor scores, and children in the verbal mediation condition with the experimenter model were predicted to show the second greatest reduction in risk factor scores at posttest. Results of the study demonstrated partial support for experimental hypotheses in that the children involved in the Think Aloud program showed improvement on four of the six factors on posttest measures. The superiority of the parental model was not found.