Reading Response 2

The paper I read and reviewed, titled Learning Styles of Students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Who Are They and How Can We Teach Them? By Susan Brand, Rita Dunn, and Fran Greb. The article addresses exactly what it refers to: how to teach students who are diagnosed with ADHD. The article discusses several tests done with students with this condition. The research was done with students in all grade levels and makes comparisons between them as well as between two genders. The research done by Brand and her colleagues makes some interesting points that contradicts some of the standpoints of the government funded groups. I chose to review and respond to this article because it addresses ADHD, something that I have no formal knowledge on yet I will indefinitely be working with in the future. I found the information in this article to be a useful jumping off point. Although there was information that seems to be disputed by the U.S. government, it also seems to have some basis in fact.

The biggest issue, as seen by Brand and her colleagues, is that many agencies have misconceptions “...that all students with this disorder [have] similar learning styles” (Brand 269).  As with all other students, this is simply not true. We all have different learning styles and needs and leaning is made difficult when we are considered to be the same. I can only imagine this is even worse when learning and concentrating is difficult in the first place. We must consider studies like this one to begin to understand how to teach our students of all abilities.

The test says that generally pre-high school students learn differently than high school students. Original studies that were reviewed said that students reacted to bright lights and environmental aspects, personal emotions, structure vs. choice, and changes to accommodate learning preference. However, further studies and investigations done by Brand showed that many students worked better in low lighting and when intermittent breaks were given. These students also functioned better in the afternoon. The findings of Brands research indicates that there are some similarities in learning style. These similarities, however, were primarily environmental and supportive. They are not direct teaching approaches or learning styles. Also, students having success when diagnosed with ADHD include having involved and encouraging parents. It is important to consider that these specific needs of students with ADHD are not isolated. Average students also require environments such as these and most students will succeed if their parents are involved and encouraging.

I found the article to be of some use, but not much. I chose to read it because I did honestly think it would be useful. It seems as though some of the articles and literature referenced would be more useful and factual. This article was based off of their individual research. It didn’t really provide any concrete evidence of new information. Anything that was relevant is already known to this community. However, in saying this I must admit that these things are mostly news to me. I have never worked with anyone diagnosed with ADHD and I don’t believe I had any classmates with this disorder either. This information, although shown in the article that it wasn’t new or ground breaking, was helpful to me. I do believe that I will need to do some tests of my own when I am a teacher. As the article says several times, not all students are alike. I cannot assume that my elementary, junior high and high school students will have the same needs as the students in the study. But the article does provide a good jumping off point. High school students wanting dim light and to work in the later part of the day makes sense because they are in adolescence. I remember being that way as well, and I was/am not diagnosed with ADHD.

Reading this article has related to many other things in class on one key point: not all students learn in the same way. This is something we’ve been discussing in this class and in others throughout my degree. It is something that I now know to not only be a generally understood truth, but something I must think about every day as a teacher. I need to develop my lesson plans with this in mind, as well as my unit plans. I must consider every single one of my students. The most intimidating thing about this is that I won’t know my students, or my students needs until they are in my class. I can’t really plan ahead. Even if we were to make student profiles, the student will inevitably change over time. These files would require constant upkeep, something that is a good idea, but there is simply no time for. Reading articles such as this make me think that a special education class should be mandatory for our degree. There have been classes that I’ve taken in the past that have been fairly useless or repetitive. A special education class would be helpful for real life situations.

From writing this response I learned to be more critical. It is easy to accept everything in a scholarly article as truth, fact and genuinely good information. These articles have been published, so I used to assume they were all good information. Not that this article was particularly bad, it’s just that it wasn’t very useful. It seemed to just regurgitate information that is already known. The information was helpful to me, but the way it was written it was obvious that it was old news and that someone more informed on the matter would have tossed this paper aside.