One of the biggest issues in education today is how to work with students who have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Over the years, the amount of research going into this disorder has increased and now provides a lot of ideas that teachers can use to get their students with ADHD to succeed. One of the hardest things for people with ADHD to do is to focus for an extended period of time (Green, 2024). One technology that I am considering using in my classroom to help is Focus Keeper. The idea is that the program breaks up the work time with small breaks to help people stay focused on their tasks. In the video linked below you can hear a little bit more about the potential applications of Focus Keeper.
I believe that this technology will be helpful for my students because it provides an opportunity to manipulate stimulus conditions and increase the likelihood that the student performs as desired (Staff, et al, 2021). I want to focus on having the students break up the class period into more manageable chunks. This in turn will give those students with ADHD the brain break needed. This strategy, if implemented correctly can take some of the weight off of the teacher as well because a better structured classroom allows for more student relationship building opportunities. The biggest thing that can be done to help students struggling with ADHD though is having teachers try to form strategies to answer these issues (Pfiffner, Barkley & DuPaul, 2006).
Once this is implemented in my classroom, I believe that there will be an easier transfer of knowledge between myself and my students. I also believe that this will allow us to get more done with less disruptions ideally.
References
Eichstaedt, M. (2024, July 8). Focus Keeper Screencast. [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/tZQ9SdGwHpE
Green, R. (2024, February 19). ADHD symptom spotlight: Lack of focus. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/understanding-and-managing-lack-of-focus-in-adhd-5216984#:~:text=Someone%20with%20ADHD%20can%20struggle,the%20exclusion%20of%20everything%20else.
Pfiffner, L. J., Barkley, R. A., & DuPaul, G. J. (2006). Treatment of ADHD in school settings. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: A handbook for diagnosis and treatment, 3, 547-589.
Staff, A. I., van den Hoofdakker, B. J., van der Oord, S., Hornstra, R., Hoekstra, P. J., Twisk, J. W. R., … Luman, M. (2021). Effectiveness of Specific Techniques in Behavioral Teacher Training for Childhood ADHD: A Randomized Controlled Microtrial. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 50(6), 763–779. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2020.1846542
Comments