Student focus
I have found several veterans who have a difficult time focusing. Additional attention if required for them to have a smooth learning enviorment.
Hi June,
Thank you for your comments about working with students with disabilities. A major portion of my career has been spent helping persons with disabilities prepare for employment. This is why I work very hard to help the students identify realistic employment goals and then make progress toward those goals. We also work on what adaptations will enable them to be successful in the work place such enlarged font or sequenced work tasks. The personal pride that comes from them being employable and seeing they have a future in the career of their choice is worth all the effort.
Gary
Gary, this seems reasonable. I think it's when we don't allow for variations in disabilities that we don't really help students. I have a form of macular degeneration, so I need to sit close to boards and to enlarge the font on a screen. I do not need extra time to do work, even though sometimes my eyes feel the strain! Thanks for the reply.
Hi June,
I have been working with and researching learning methods of ADD and ADHD students for a number of years. There are many theories floating out there as to causes and solutions as you mentioned. This is why we spend some time working with students with ADD or ADHD to identify what really helps them verses just throwing some strategies at them. For example the time extension can be a good thing for such a student when it comes to quizzes and tests. The challenge though is that when such a student sits for state certification there is no extension of time nor modification in the tests. So we focus on helping the student increase his/her test taking speed and accuracy so they can pass state boards.
This is where it gets complicated because we can adapt our instruction to meet many of their learning needs but in the end we are educating them to be successful in their chosen career area so we have to assist them in the development of the required competencies or we are not doing our jobs as instructors.
Gary
I did have a veteran at one school who used his ADD to get attention that even the school special needs specialist thought was out of line. He was actually granted concessions that he probably did not need. The latest theory is that ADD students are doing so much better than others with the extra time, that maybe they don't need to be given that much leeway. It's hard to find a happy medium.
I have found that understanding the background of your students will give you an accurate description of how much energy it will take for them to focus, and whether or not they will have enough energy to do so on any given day. By knowing your students you will bea able to indiviualize items to help that person over the hump that day. You may also need to help them problem solve so they can refocus on the school tasks at hand.
