This week’s recommendation include a narrative on ADHD that includes book recommendations and some helpful websites and a humorous, musical podcast about the human dimensions of students’ questions.
Carol Chestnut
Content Developer
Carol says: “Students don’t all think about and express their ideas the same way. This diversity of mind can be a challenge for their families and educators. It is even more complicated when the student has been categorized as “different” or “difficult,” and when the student struggles to understand themselves and why they don’t fit in, they can’t tell others how to appreciate them because they haven’t learned to appreciate themselves.
My son, Patric, has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which was not diagnosed until he was 35 years old. His test results showed he had 16 out of 18 indicators, but he didn’t exhibit the one trait that may have signaled his condition sooner: hyperactivity. And he was intelligent enough to succeed academically. But finally getting the diagnosis allowed both of us to understand his struggles as his mind rushes from one idea to another.
The Institute for Learning encourages teachers to allow their students to represent their thinking in ways that make sense to them. But a mind that struggles to focus can be hard to comprehend. ADHD students are often impulsive and have difficulty concentrating on what people are saying and trouble paying attention. They can be fidgety and take unnecessary risks. According to studies, 11 percent of children and 4 percent of adults have ADHD.
From the time we are schoolchildren, we are ranked and sorted based on how smart we are. But what if our assumptions about intelligence limit our potential? In this podcast, psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman proposes a more expansive notion of what it means to be “smart.”
The ADHD mind may have its advantages. It can have a proclivity to explore, which may be an asset when problem solving. A research study by The Royal Society posits that the ADHD mind may have been an advantage when foraging, because these individuals would wonder off to find new locations of food. Attention deficits linked with proclivity to explore while foraging | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (royalsocietypublishing.org) So, how can we appreciate these students in our classrooms and homes?
I have found some thought-provoking books that I believe can help students with ADHD see and appreciate themselves. They can also be helpful to peers, teachers, and families to understand their unique thinking processes. These picture books for students aged 6-10 were written by Jeanne Gehret, who also has a son with ADHD.
The author also provides helpful resources and practical ideas for tackling the challenges of raising and educating ADHD children.
Additionally, the author has written a novel for students aged 9 and up that explores what it is like to be a sibling of someone with ADHD.
As educators, I hope that you will give these books (and others like them) a try and bring a clearer understanding of ADHD to classrooms.
Here is a website with more information, recommended by Joe Dostilio, IFL Math Fellow.
Chris Schunn
Research Liaison
Chris says, “At the IFL, we talk a lot about questions—questions students should be asking, questions teachers or leaders should be asking, and how we might best respond. Part four of this fun podcast reveals very human dimensions of student questions. Most compelling to me was the scenario about helping a student prepare for a high stakes essay. This podcast made me rethink how we respond to help them achieve and to help them make sense of their world, which are not always the same thing. (The other three podcast parts are worth a listen as well).”
The Question Trap, Act Four:
Can I Help You
This American Life Podcast
Ira Glass, host
“I tell her, intelligence is unmeasurable and different in every individual.”
– Milo Cramer, playwright, performer, and former tutor
Listen Here (start at 44:10)
