Strategies for Class Room Instruction:
Teachers should use concise and clear instructions to teach a lesson. By giving children with ADHD an idea about the day’s lessons and what he is supposed to learn from those lessons, the engagement of true learning can begin. Revising the previous lessons before commencing a new one will help the ADHD child to memorize the concepts related to that topic and apply to the new lesson if warranted.
In the case of assignments both home work and class room, give more importance to the quality than to the quantity. Don’t stick to the timeframe as it will lead to more stress and hence poor performance by students. Divide lengthy assignments into smaller parts which can help them to identify the similarities and differences between two works. Through this, complex problems can be analysed and solved accurately.
Teachers can use audio visual aids while teaching abstract concepts as it help students retain the concept in relation with the concrete images. The non-linguistic methods like visuals, pictures and graphs can be used as aids to improve the memory as it creates a concrete mental image.
In order to provide the necessary motivation, teachers should give regular constructive feedback on the children’s works. Poor spelling can be tackled by instructing the child to spell the word that relates an every day event. As most ADHD children struggle with poor handwriting, provide sufficient space to write down a matter and instruct him to use lined paper. Mathematics and Science classes should be conducted using daily life experiences as the medium of instruction. Additionally teachers can use computer games, read along books and board games to retain the attention of students with ADHD.
Strategies for Classroom Management:
Inform the child, the ways he is to behave in the classroom and seat him in a place where there is little scope for distractions. Check the performance of the students regularly and help him to correct his own mistakes. Give him a clear idea about classroom rules and make him aware of the consequences of the misbehavior.Teachers should fix a timetable for silent reading and Instruct the child to read along with the teacher silently while the teacher reads it aloud.
Active participation is also possible in the cooperative learning method where students are divided into small groups in which each can speak out his own ideas. This will help to retain the concentration of an ADHD child. While encouraging him to participate in discussion, give him clear Instruction to wait for his turn. A powerful motivation is possible by permitting the students to set their own goals and inspire them to achieve them. In addition, let them monitor by themselves and make the necessary amendments.
