ADHD and School Relevance and Learning by Problem Solving

Many educators now agree that Thomas Edison, the great inventor, probably had A.D.H.D. Thomas Edison was a disaster in school and his teachers considered him to be slow or retarded. This assessment infuriated Thomas Edison's mother, Nancy Elliott Edison, and she set out to provide him with the resources and encouragement that he need to learn on his own. Thomas Edison's mother played a crucial role in the young inventors education. Edison was quoted as an adult as saying that his mother was the "making of me". Thomas Edison's mother set about to teach the 'wizard of Menlo Park' in a way that, she felt, he would best learn. She allowed him to solve mechanical and chemistry problems at home in a laboratory she helped him design and she made certain that what he was learning was relevant and interesting to him.

The learning style of children with ADHD is different but not necessarily inferior to the learning style of other children in the classroom. Many children with ADHD could benefit from a curriculum that they find relevant and interesting and from a problem solving approach to learning.

As we well know now, Thomas Edison was amazingly curious. He did poorly in school but his mother provided him with books about things that he found interesting such as mechanics and chemistry and the young Thomas devoured this reading material. School was difficult for Thomas because what his school was teaching was largely not relevant to him and when he was curious about something at school, his teachers reprimanded him for speaking out of turn or spending to much time thinking about something that was not in the lesson plan.

At home his mother Edison's mother allowed him to experiment and to create. Edison's mother could see her son's intellect and creativity and she expected great things from him. She gave the young inventor the permission to explore and the confidence to fail and try again.

The permission to explore and fail is essential to the education and growth of individuals like Thomas Edison who learn by problem solving. Many people with A.D.H.D. are tangential rather than linear thinkers. Tangential thinkers hold many possibilites to a problem in their head and approach problem solving in a divergent rather than convergent fashion. Most schools teach and expect children to learn in a linear and convergent manner. This was Thomas Edison's undoing at school and it is the undoing of many children with the diagnosis of A.D.H.D.

Tangential thinkers tend to be more creative when it comes to problem solving. Schools that encourage tangential thinking are, essentially, encouraging creativity. Newsweek, this summer, published an article devoted to the importance of teaching creativity in our schools. They cited reports of studies that indicated that overall life success depended far more on creativity than it did on IQ or school success. In other words, the most creative children were the children who turned out to be leaders in their fields.

The Newsweek report reported on a school in Ohio called The National Inventors Hall of Fame School that had recently achieved incredibly high test scores with a population of kids that might be considered 'at risk' by using a problem based learning approach. Problem based learning aims to teach by having the students solve a problem that is relevant to them. Tangential thinking and creativity is encouraged and the children learn by trial and error, by experimenting, by collaborating, and by doing. It is a more active way of learning and it is ideally suited for people who learn better when what they are learning is a problem that is relevant to their lives.

All schools should be striving to make the subject matter that they teach relevant but for children with A.D.H.D., a relevant curriculum is essential if they are to achieve success in school. If your child's school cannot or will not make your child's curriculum relevant, than you as a parent must do what Thomas Edison's mother did and that is to provide them with the tools and encouragement that they need to learn by solving problems at home.

For more information on ADHD please visit Tess Messer at http://www.primarilyinattentiveadd.com/2010/02/why-blog.html. There you will find information on ADHD symptoms, ADHD treatment and much more. Looking forward to meeting you there!!

Teach to a Diverse Classroom of Students

Each year teachers are faced with the daunting task of teaching
to a classroom of 20-30 individual students, each with their own
learning styles, interests, and abilities. Providing optimal
learning for such a diverse group can seem overwhelming. But,
there is a simple approach that can be used which will enable
all students to succeed, and that approach is simply using
variety and choice. Not only does this approach address the
multiple learning styles of students, but it also aides in making
them independent learners.

While the classroom still needs to have structure (routines,
rules, procedures), providing variety within that structured
environment can aide in providing optimal learning for all
students. Using a variety of instructional approaches such as
lectures, PowerPoint presentations, inquiry-based instruction,
hands-on experiments, project/problem-based learning, or
computer aided instruction, not only addresses the various
learning styles of the students in the classroom, but it can help
learners become more flexible in their learning. Most learners
do have a preferred learning style, however this does not mean
they are strictly dependent on that style to learn. They are
also comfortable with and able to learn from several other styles
as well. Exposing students to a wide variety of learning styles
will enable them to become more flexible learners.

It is also beneficial to vary the input devices used and the
resources made available in the classroom. Children have a wide
variety of preferred learning devices, therefore making as many
available as possible provides for this diversity. For example,
when presenting information use audio (songs, speeches,
interviews, etc.), video, books, posters, hands-on
manipulatives, food, and smells. Technology has made available
a wide range of resources, such as PowerPoint presentations,
live video feeds, chats, and communication. PowerPoint
presentations are a great way to present information using a
mixture of audio, video, animations (movement), and text. These
presentations can also be made available to the students via the
computer for them to review at their own pace. The internet/
computers also offer interactive learning activities that combine
movement, visuals, and sounds, such as virtual science
experiments. These allow students to conduct experiments
never before thought possible due to danger or lack of equipment.
Virtual experiments can be found at http://www.explorelearning.com .

Pre-exposure to material also aides in learning. The more
familiar students are with a subject the easier it is for new
learning to occur. Therefore, providing students with a
variety of pre-exposure materials can better prepare them for
new learning units. For example, monthly calendars that list
the upcoming themes, a classroom website with links to various
websites related to upcoming themes, books, magazines, maps,
posters, computer software, and manipulatives can be provided
for students to browse at their leisure. Providing a variety of
materials takes into consideration the learning preferences of
all students.

Novelty can be used to gain and keep students' attention.
People usually only pay attention to things that are of value or
things that are personally meaningful. Therefore, relating
learning to your students' real life experiences or interests
can catch and keep their attention. "Shock" them with an unusual
noise, experiment, video, song, etc. You can also present them
with a problem or project that relates to their real world in
order to gain their attention and interest at the beginning of
a unit. Issues such as environmental problems, problems with
long lines in the cafeteria, designing the perfect playground,
planning a field trip within the budget, local traffic issues,
etc. can all be considered. Making learning meaningful,
relevant, and interesting to your students not only gains their
initial attention, but keeps it throughout the lesson.

When planning your lessons it is beneficial to try to include as
many of the senses and/or Gardner's multiple intelligences
(verbal-linguistic, logical-mathematical, kinesthetic, visual-
spatial, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalist)
as possible. You can do this by using a variety of activities
in your plans such as songs, games, experiments, field trips,
real world experiences, interviews, guest speakers, physical
movement/exercise, small group activities, individual activities,
partner activities, cooking/food/snacks, hands-on experiences,
etc. Providing a variety of activities will enable students of
all ability levels to succeed.

Not only do students have diverse learning styles but varying
bio-cognitive cycles as well. Some students learn best in the
morning, some in the afternoon. Therefore, having a flexible
classroom schedule can provide for these differences. Also,
varying the times and types of assessments can give all students
a fair chance of showing their true abilities.

When applicable, it is beneficial to give students choice in
activities and assessments. This provides students
opportunities to showcase their individual talents and can aide
in classroom management as well. If students are constantly
dictated to and not given a voice or choice they can grow
resentful and "act out". Provide a variety of classroom
activities for students to choose from during structured and
unstructured times, give them several projects such as posters,
PowerPoint presentations, reports, interviews, videos, brochures,
etc. to choose from when assessing their knowledge. Giving
students choice provides them with a sense of empowerment over
their learning and can aide them in deciding what learning styles
and assessments work best for them, thus helping them become
more responsible for their own learning.

It would be a pretty boring world if all learners were the same.
Diversity makes the classroom more interesting and exciting.
Teachers should honor and respect the uniqueness of each
student by offering variety and choice in their classrooms. Not
only will this address the diverse needs of the students, but it
will also help them to become independent learners as well.
After all, is that not the goal of education?

Tina O'Block holds a Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction and a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. She has been teaching for 13 years.

She is the author of Now I Know My ABCs and a Whole Lot More: Alphabet Activities for Preschoolers and Kindergarteners which is available at http://www.oblockbooks.com and the article, How to Help Your Child be Successful in Kindergarten.

Learning Methodologies

Learning is the process of acquiring any information that modifies a person's behavior, values and knowledge base. An ongoing process that starts as early as the fetal stages in humans, it occurs in many forms including instinctive, experiential, conscious, and purposed learning. Personal experiences, formal education, and controlled training are some of the general scenarios within which learning can be administered. Some types of learning--such as native language skills--occur over time as part of the learner's daily social interactions. Some--like martial arts training--are consciously undertaken by learners who are motivated by various reasons to learn a particular subject, discipline, or skill. Others such as primary education, are mandated by governments and as such, are compulsory activities.

In formal learning, different methodologies are used to effectively impart knowledge to students within different learning scenarios. The most common learning methodologies are the following:

1. Collaborative

2. Cooperative

3. Discovery-based

4. Engaged

5. Problem-based

6. Whole Language Approach

Understanding the nature of each of these instructional methods as well as the learning scenarios for which they have the greatest impact is critical for teachers who intend to optimize learning outcomes. Expectedly, some methods work effectively in certain classroom environments while others don't. When there is a clash between instructional methods and conditions, frustrations may occur and communication channels may be bogged down. This is something educators should avoid at all costs and best way to do that is not only to know the terrain but also to know the tools that are best adapted for it. By deeply understanding different learning methodologies, teachers can easily align their teaching styles depending on the needs of their students.

Collaborative. Collaborative Learning refers to a learning process wherein the social connections among learners are heavily leveraged to generate a desired learning outcome. Collaborative learning entails beneficial interdependence among learners and develops individual accountability, social skills, leadership, teamwork, and amicable conflict resolution. In collaborative learning, each student is responsible for his or her own development as well as those of other members of the group.

The concept that collaboration promotes learning has been around for decades and is the subject of numerous research and advocacies. Studies suggest that students learn remarkably well when their involvement in the learning process is very pronounced. In fact, students that are formed in small learning groups have been found to learn and retain the subject matter better than students who are guided to learn the same subject individually. The most plausible explanation for this phenomenon is that collaborative learning requires a deeper involvement about the subject matter, thereby encouraging interest and promoting critical thinking.

By streamlining the working parameters, collaborative learning may be applied in all subject areas. However, it is best used in the humanities wherein concept exploration can be limitless and will provide avenues for highly involved participation. It is also well-suited in language training because controlled socialization provides a good platform for linguistic articulation.

Cooperative. Cooperative learning is a type of collaborative learning that is more structured, targeted and organized. In cooperative learning, students are formed into small groups that are tasked to achieve a certain set of goals or objectives. Each student assumes responsibility for his or her learning while being simultaneously involved in the group work. For cooperative learning to work, the groupings must be small enough in order to encourage strong participation of all members. In addition, the objectives must be clearly established and the working parameters well-defined.

When orchestrated properly, cooperative learning delivers many positive benefits such as active learner participation, mutual respect, appreciation for diversity, and teamwork. Like collaborative learning, cooperative learning may be applied to just about any learning objective provided that the teacher establishes the right atmosphere for group dynamics. It is also very appropriate for language learning since extensive mutual practice is possible.

Discovery-based. Discovery-based learning is a student-centered instructional approach that is rooted in the constructivist theories of education. The underlying philosophy of this learning method is that the best way to learn is to "learn by doing." In this method, the experiential and empirical approach to learning is given more premium than the teacher-centered model wherein all concepts and learning opportunities emanate from the actions initiated by the teacher.

Discovery-based learning may be implemented for tasks that involve the detection of patterns, simulations, compliance with a set of instructions, problem-solving and experiments. As discovery-based learning requires students to interact, manipulate, or experiment with objects, systems, and people in their surroundings, it is a very valuable instructional method in the teaching of technical subjects such as the natural sciences, engineering, and IT.

Engaged. Engaged learning is an instructional method wherein students are active participants in the design and management of their own learning. Like discovery-based learning, engaged learning is a student-centric approach, but in a more fundamental sense.

Numerous research agree on the critical importance of engaged learning in classrooms. In engaged learning students are the most active stakeholders in the learning process. Within this learning parameters, students do extensive research, participate in discussions, and deliver various types of outputs based on their learning decisions. Teachers on the other hand, are mere coaches or facilitators to the star players.

In engaged learning, students should be self-disciplined because they assume responsibility for their own learning. They also become explorers and get involved in different aspects of their learning environment just like students under a discovery-based learning approach. Hence, engaged learning is a perfect instructional technique for sharing the concepts of science and other technical subjects. This does not mean that it cannot be used in other subjects, however. Proponents of engaged learning believe that any subject can be taught using the principles of engaged learning.

Problem-based. Problem-based learning is a radical alternative to conventional teaching approaches. Similar to discover-based and engaged learning, problem-based learning is highly student-centric. In problem-based learning, teachers present real or theoretical problems instead of one-sided lectures. Students are given a complex and interesting set of problems that they need to solve collaboratively as small teams. There is minimal content shared by the teacher and students are left to their own devices to find a viable resolution for the problem. In the problem-based learning model, students are motivated to learn the subject matter because they are highly involved in finding a solution to engaging problems.

Problem-based learning delivers many positive outcomes and benefits including self-discovery, discipline, socialization and communication skills, and logic. Problem-based learning is a perfect instructional approach in the teaching of the sciences, economics, and business.

Whole Language Approach. Whole language approach refers to an instructional philosophy that gives more premium on derived meaning than on the decoded aspects of a system (such as a language) as is implemented in a phonics-based language teaching approach. The whole langu`ge approach follows a constructivist philosophy and was developed based on findings in many disciplines that include linguistics, education, anthropology and sociology.

In classroom situations where whole language approach is used, students learn reading by being aware that singular words are part of a complete language system. This holistic approach establishes learning as an experiential process and encourages students to derive "meaning" from read text and to express "meaning" in what they write.

Obviously, the whole language approach is an excellent instructional technique in ESL/EFL education where communicative considerations are more important than syntactical correctness. However, the benefits of its philosophical antithesis--phonics--should still be deployed in order to improve the quality of language learning.

Michael G. Hines is an educator living in Thailand and the Founder of Icon Group (IconGroupThailand) - Educating the Future:
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Why Project-Based Learning Can Improve Motivation And Relevance In Your Classroom

Project-based learning has been defined as a comprehensive approach to teaching and learning in the classroom designed to engage students by investigating interesting problems. Projects have a lot of potential to help people learn of all ages. There are a number of factors in the design of curriculum that can affect motivation and thinking processes. Project-based learning is not without its difficulties for both students and teachers. Technology can be employed to support the learning efforts of both students and teachers as they work on their projects. This article briefly describes these topics in greater detail.

Teachers are concerned about motivation as well as technical issues of thinking and learning. Unlike psychologists, teachers have a requirement to integrate both dimensions in classroom. If the teacher wants to go beyond rote memorization and engage students in sophisticated challenges that require deep understanding the teacher must be concerned with motivation, because this motivational energy will help students processed in the face of challenging lesson material.

Researchers have found substantial evidence that focusing on relatively long term problems that require meaningful engagement with challenging subjects that integrate ideas from a number of diverse disciplines in which is supported by practical and useful technology can help overcome many classroom challenges and prepare students for practical and relevant skills for the future.

There is considerable evidence that there is a strong link between student motivation and mental engagement in the classroom. In all of these studies it was crucial to define the difference between learning and performance, with the primary distinction being that learning is engaged with education for its own sake as a valued and state, rather than as a means to achieve an external goal like approval, grace or a score on a test. Motivation is easier to generate and sustain when aligned with education as a legitimate and valued goal.

Problem-based learning at once allows groups of students to collaborate, to apply themselves in real-world challenges that demonstrate the relevance of the material, explore and integrate information from across multiple domains and allow the teacher to adopt the role of facilitator and co-learner rather than as the single point of expertise in the classroom.

It is generally considered easier to develop contextual knowledge when working on complex problems than it is when considering concepts in the abstract. This adds to the motivation of project-based learning. In this framework, teachers are well employed as a master craftsman who provide just enough scaffolding in order to ensure students can remain on task and productive rather than floundering without guidance. Judicious application of scaffolding allows the teacher to maintain an appropriate level of complexity without sacrificing student motivation or focus attention.

Project-based learning, therefore, can be an appropriate way for teachers to generate collaborative motivating an interesting learning environments inside their classroom that will contribute to raising and maintaining student motivation with interesting and relevant material.