What kinds of social problems might a teen have if he/she has ADHD or ADD in school? Think about how the disability might affect a teen's ability to make and maintain friendships. What strategies can you implement as their teacher to help them deal with their disorder?

During my Human Development Learning class, the topic of the day was students with ADHD. Before the start of class, my professor gave a quick write with a few questions to get the discussion rolling. I have heard of this disorder before but did not understand fully what it was. After looking it up, symptoms of ADHD include: difficulty staying focused and paying attention, difficulty controlling behavior, and hyperactivity (National Institute of Mental Health).

Students with ADHD/ADD feel the effects in their everyday lives. A crucial area is their social interactions at school. “Children with ADHD often have trouble with simple social interactions and struggle to follow social cues,” (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Center for Substance Abuse Prevention/Family Guide, 2006) therefore subjecting to possibly being loners in the classroom because they believe themselves to be misfits.

Establishing and maintaining friendships is crucial especially when a student is going through puberty. Knowing who you are and how you fit into society is a rite of passage we go through in establishing our self-image. Without the establishment of ones self, they are likely to see role confusion where the student is unsure about their function in life, which Erik Erikson reiterates when he says “Without rites of passage, were likely to see role confusion, meaning an uncertainty about one’s place in society” (Boeree, 1997).

. With this said, students will look at their peers who have ADHD/ADD and think they are bizarre because they have not been educated on the illness and consequently begin to distance himself or herself away from that student. Because of the student’s ignorance, they will not interact with their classmate who has ADHD/ADD because they may think they are “uncool” and “weird”. At times, a child with ADHD will do things that will bring on negative attention, which may come off as silly or abnormal according to the teacher and fellow students. Surprisingly enough, some who are against the idea of this order feel that “ADHD diagnostic criteria’s’ are sufficiently general or vague to allow most children with persistent unwanted behaviors to be classified as having ADHD of one type or another” (Green, 1994)

After reading about different strategies used to teach children with ADHD, I lean favorably towards the basic evaluation of the child's needs and strengths. I need to know what my student is good at. I need to encourage him/her in that area so that they do not feel as if they cannot accomplish anything. Also, helping my student to set goals for their own personal growth helps them feel as they have control over their disability, and that they are actively doing something to combat it.

For more information on ADD/ADHD

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References

Boeree, C.G. (1997). Erik erikson 1902-1994. Personality Theories, Retrieved from http://www.social-psychology.de/do/pt_erikson.pdf

Green, C. (1994). Understanding add: attention deficit disorder. Sydney: Doubleday Australia.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Center for Substance Abuse Prevention/Family Guide, Initials. (2006, September 26). Social problems, children with adhd. Retrieved from http://family.samhsa.gov/talk/helpadhd.aspx

National Institute of Mental Health, Initials. (n.d.). Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (adhd). Retrieved from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder/complete-index.shtml

Direct Instruction= Droid-like Teachers in the Classroom Teaching

When I read the chapter that gave insight to Direct Instruction I did not truly grasp the concept the author was trying to relay. So, as every great scholar before me has done, I googled the terms.

According to the National Institution for Direct Instruction, “Direct Instruction (DI) is a model for teaching that emphasizes well-developed and carefully planned lessons designed around small learning increments and clearly defined and prescribed teaching tasks. It is based on the theory that clear instruction eliminating misinterpretations can greatly improve and accelerate learning.” Below are two YouTube videos that provide an example of Direct Instruction.

1. Teaching Spelling Skills with Direct Instruction

2. Teaching Reading using Word Modeling

Just by the video, anyone can see how the classroom is turned into mindless practice. The teacher reads from this script that is handed to him/her and conducts the class verbatim. On the NIFDI website, they said: “All details of instruction must be controlled to minimize the chance of students' misinterpreting the information being taught and to maximize the reinforcing effect of instruction” (NIFDI, 2010). Exactly whose information are they referring to? Subjecting a teacher to follow a script in the classroom prevents them from teaching.

If Direct Instruction is suppose to minimize the chance of students misinterpreting information, then why do we need teachers in the classroom? Principals should just have pre-recorded machines that instruct the students to repeat after them. I knew with my mindset about Direct Teacher, there had to be someone in the virtual world that felt that same way. An educator of ten years, Mayflor Markusic is a user on The Hub for Bright Minds, who writes, “Direct teaching, if utilized by unprepared teachers, can be disastrous. For direct teaching or direct instruction to be effective, the teacher must have a mastery of the subject matter, must prepare a well-organized content, and must have excellent communication skills…without these traits, direct teaching could not develop higher order thinking skills in the students” (Markusic, 2010).

I am left to wonder, why are there mandates for teachers to be highly qualified in their subject areas, if once they graduate, they are told to read from a lesson book. Are the opinions of teachers even taken into account? Or, are we simply left to succumb to the pressures of administration and spend the rest of are days as droid-like teachers, giving our students mindless instruction?

References

Markusic, Mayflor (2010). Classroom Instruction: Pros and Cons of Direct Teaching. Retrieved from http://www.brighthub.com/education/special/articles/5487.aspx

NIFDI (2010). About Direct Instruction (DI). Retrieved from http://www.nifdi.org/15/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=52&Itemid=27