ADHD Students and Classroom Considerations

ADHD and School interventions

As a result of the behaviors listed above, students with ADHD are at greater risk of academic difficulties, social/emotional issues, and limited educational outcomes. The degree to which attention impacts a student’s academic and social performance is related to the interactions between the student’s academic and behavioral needs and the environmental demands. Therefore, it is not unusual for the student to perform differently across settings. For example, a student with ADHD may experience academic success in elementary school; however, when he enters middle school, the increased academic and organizational demands may increase his need for additional academic and behavioral supports.

Educational success, also referred to as student and academic achievement, pertains to the extent to which educational objectives are met, such as the acquisition of knowledge and skills by students. For practical purposes, it is often primarily measured in terms of official exam scores, but numerous additional indicators exist, including attendance rates, graduation rates, dropout rates, student attitudes, and post-school indicators such as later income and incarceration rates.[100] Several factors influence educational achievement, such as psychological factors related to the individual student, and sociological factors associated with the student's social environment. Additional factors encompass access to educational technology, teacher quality, and parental involvement. Many of these factors overlap and mutually influence each other.

In most countries school education is predominantly financed and provided by governments. Public funding and provision also plays a major role in higher education. Although there is wide agreement on the principle that education, at least at school level, should be financed mainly by governments, there is considerable debate over the desirable extent of public provision of education. Supporters of public education argue that universal public provision promotes equality of opportunity and social cohesion. Opponents of public provision advocate alternatives such as vouchers.

Compared to other areas of basic education, globally comparable data on pre-primary education financing remain scarce. While much of existing non-formal and private programmes may not be fully accounted for, it can be deduced from the level of provision that pre-primary financing remains inadequate, especially when considered against expected benefits. Globally, pre-primary education accounts for the lowest proportion of the total public expenditure on education, in spite of the much-documented positive impact of quality early childhood care and education on later learning and other social outcomes

Vocational education is education that prepares people for a skilled craft as an artisan, trade as a tradesperson, or work as a technician. Vocational education can also be seen as that type of education given to an individual to prepare that individual to be gainfully employed or self employed with requisite skill.[1] Vocational education is known by a variety of names, depending on the country concerned, including career and technical education,[2] or acronyms such as TVET (technical and vocational education and training) and TAFE (technical and further education).

A vocational school is a type of educational institution specifically designed to provide vocational education.

Vocational education can take place at the post-secondary, further education, or higher education level and can interact with the apprenticeship system. At the post-secondary level, vocational education is often provided by highly specialized trade schools, technical schools, community colleges, colleges of further education (UK), vocational universities, and institutes of technology

To frame the discussion we introduce three key factors that underscore the importance of treating equality of educational opportunity as an independent concern, apart from theories of equality of opportunity more generally. These factors are: the central place of education in modern societies and the myriad opportunities it affords; the scarcity of high-quality educational opportunities for many children; and the critical role of the state in providing educational opportunities. These factors differentiate education from many other social goods. We follow this with a brief history of how equality of educational opportunity has been interpreted in the United States since the 1950s and the evolving legal understandings of equality of opportunity. Our subsequent analysis has implications for issues that are at the center of current litigation in the United States. But our philosophical discussion is intended to have wider reach, attempting to clarify the most attractive competing conceptions of the concept.

Education has both instrumental and intrinsic value for individuals and for societies as a whole. As the U.S. Supreme Court stated in its unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education (1954), “In these days, it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education”. The instrumental goals of K–12 education for individuals include access to higher education and a constellation of private benefits that follow college education such as access to interesting jobs with more vacation time and better health care; greater personal and professional mobility, better decision-making skills (Institute for Higher Education Policy 1998) and more autonomy at work. Research further shows that education levels are correlated with health and wealth: the more education a person has, the healthier and wealthier she is likely to be. At the same time, education is also considered intrinsically valuable. Developing one’s skills and talents can be enjoyable or good in itself and a central component of a flourishing life, regardless of the consequences this has for wealth or health.

Early in my teaching career, I participated in a series of retreats led by the Center for Courage and Renewal, inspired by Palmer’s book The Courage to Teach. Palmer reminds us that our sense of self plays out in our work every day—and living with courage and integrity means finding balance and alignment between our inner and outer selves. In other words, our identities, values, and beliefs inform the selves we bring to others.


But how do we find the courage to stand up for our coworkers, students, neighbors, family and friends, and ourselves amid exhausting and unprecedented challenges? The truth is, I’m not particularly thrilled with the person I’ve been bringing to work lately. On some mornings, I’m simply looking for the courage to get out of bed.

ADHD Students and Classroom Considerations
The culture of the classroom can either support or create barriers to student success (Piffner,
2011).

Factors that foster attention, positive behavior, and academic and social success include
establishing positive relationships with students, adopting classroom management techniques,
and creating a physical arrangement that facilitates learning.

It is often a positive relationship with one teacher that facilitates school success for a student
with ADHD (Piffner, 2011).

When teachers connect with students and appreciate their unique skills and interests, students are more likely to strive for achievement and positively respond to classroom rules and procedures.


In creating peer-mediated activities, the teacher may need to choose students whose
skill levels complement each other. Students with and without attention difficulties and
impulsivity should be considered for peer partnerships.

Tom Vander Ark notes that playlists create “opportunities to expand the roles of student and teacher in diverse, exciting ways that better meet individual student needs.” Indeed, playlist-based instruction can provide students with greater choice and motivation while giving teachers more time to provide individualized support to students who need it most.

The following resources provide additional information about personalized learning and playlists:

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ video, which reviews different options for creating playlists
McGraw-Hill Education’s article, “The Six Hallmarks of Personalized Learning”
Innovation: Education’s blog post about self-directed learning and playlists
Edutopia's blog post on “Using Playlists With Kindergarten Students”

Primer text from the College of William & Mary.
https://education.wm.edu/centers/ttac/documents/packets/adhd.pdf


Many students with ADHD have significant difficulties with organization.

They are more likely to respond positively when teachers establish class routines and set procedures and maintain a well-organized learning environment.

Clear rules and advanced planning are keys to success for teachers of students with ADHD.


The following organizational supports are particularly useful. Students should be taught to use these tools through teacher modeling and guided practice with feedback before being expected to use them more independently.