Opinions of primary school teachers on homework assignments in life sciences course: The case of Pendik district

In the present research, the opinions and preferences of primary school teachers on homework applications in life science course were determined. The phenomenology method, which is one of qualitative research methods was used in this research. This research was conducted with 30 classroom teachers who worked at different primary schools in Pendik, Istanbul, in 2018-2019 academic year. The maximum diversity sampling, which is one of the purposeful sampling methods, was used in the selection of the participants of the study group. The interview technique was used in determining and interpreting the opinions and preferences of the primary school teachers about homework assignments given in the life sciences course. The descriptive analysis and content analysis were performed to the qualitative data that were obtained in the interviews made with the teachers who were included in the research. As a result of the research; 73% of teachers prefer to give homework in life science lesson; homeworks are generally used for consolidation (21.25%), preparation students for life (20%) and contributing them to make research (17,5%); homework assignments such as research (31.5%), material preparation (13%) and presentation (11%) were preferred more frequently; teachers who give homework once or twice a week (38.8%) are in majority and the frequency of assignments may vary according to the need and the subjects; the process of consummation for homeworks is usually one week (30.8%) and not longer that thirty minutes (30.8%); most of the teachers check the homeworks regulary (93%) and in the checking process the presentation model is frequently used (33,3); it was found that the families don't contribute sufficiently to the homework process (32.7%) and there are problems at the suppling of material needs (13.5%).