Helping the ones with ADD
I have noticed being in a tech scool we seem to have a lot of students with ADD and they will admit to it. Most of them seem to be the ones who want to learn by doing it right away. So how do I keep these ones interested in what I am lecturing and while doing a demo. They seem to be the ones running around in the class because they can not stay still. It can be distracting to the class. I do not want to embarrass them and I do not want to let them do what they want either.
They admit to it or claim to have it as a crutch & excuse that is currently acceptable.This allows them to skip note taking,lecture,etc.The same sort used to always say they can't recall anything or only learn by doing it.I find if I involve them in demos and point out how much easier it is to do if they have info from the lecture they start listening more.I don't think embarrassing them is what your are doing-they do that to themselves.You have to set the tone 1st & 2nd day of what is acceptable-be fair and consistant-or your whole class developts ADD.If it seems you lost them change things suddenly-loud noise,walk all the way around the room,volume up or down,go to a hands on activity as part of your lecture(I keep examples of real items to pass around etc.for that purpose.Just some thoughts that might help.) TK
ADD Students function well within a stuctured multi-tasking enviornment. Try giving them a task or two that can be completed while school and class are in session. This may help the running around.
The other answer is to increase the structure and formality within the classroom setting and force them into that framework.
Lastly there are not only a lot of ADD students ina technical sdchool setting, there are a lot of instructors as well. having one of these instructors talk personally might priovide a mentor for these students to follow.
I used to teach at a school that had special needs students and a lot of them had ADD. My solution to keep them focused was to use them to help perform the Demo's and to have them pass items around the classroom. I would also have them research items in their book or on the computer to resolve questions that arose. I would have extra task sheets available for these students to work on individually if I saw that they were straying off course. As long as you can keep their mind on a related subject(s), they would not revert back to their condition. Just don't let them sit idle!
