Simple changes to homework improved student learning

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-03/ru-rss031814.php

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 18-Mar-2014

Contact: David Ruth
Rice University

Rice study: Simple changes to homework improved student learning

Modifying homework procedures improved outcomes without altering curriculum

A new study offers evidence that simple and inexpensive changes to existing courses can help students learn more effectively.

The study from Rice University and Duke University found that making a few changes to homework assignments in an upper-level undergraduate engineering course at Rice led to improved scores on exams. The study appears this week in the journal Educational Psychology Review.

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"The results exceeded everyone's expectations," said Rice co-author Richard Baraniuk, the instructor of the upper-level "signals and systems" engineering course where the experiment took place. "These simple changes produced a larger effect than the average improvement for classroom interventions that require a complete overhaul of curricula and/or teaching methods."

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