So basically I’m a college teacher and I’ve been doing it for less than a year, our new set of learners has multiple people with ADHD and honestly they are fantastic people and they have great input for the lessons but they’re also very disruptive at times.
I just want advice from people in the same boat on what I can do to be better for them. I never expected for a single day in my life that I would become a teacher so I don’t really know what I’m doing in this situation and I don’t want to be a dick about it cos it’s not their fault.
Thanks in advance.
This is a general teaching tip but it works especially well for ADHD brains. Try to use an interactive format even when it is you delivering necessary content. Rather than just delivering information, use leading questions to get them to work out the answer (or the broad outline of an answer) themselves. Then when you put up the slide with the answer confirming that they worked it out correctly all by themselves, they get a confidence boost and it makes the subject seem much less scary (and/or boring). It can help get the less confident members of the class contributing too, when they get into the swing of it.
Keep slides simple and interesting (pictures with short headers or questions are good) and back them up with a more technical/detailed handout (or worksheet if you have time for a practical) with links to further reading/resources. That way you can use the time to establish the understanding they need without trying to cover everything in too short a time, and they have resources to put the understanding to good use.
Don’t be afraid of silences. Ask the question and wait until someone offers an answer. Make encouraging noises, coax them to the solution, but give them time to respond rather than panicking and moving on. Thinking time is good and they’ll get into it.
That is essentially how I’m looking to do my lessons. I’m spending my downtime planning a prepping lesson to use this format so at least I’m heading in the right direction. The silences do get to me cos I feel like I’ve done something wrong, but you’re right, they are just thinking and if I jump in and take the satisfaction away from them by not leaving it longer then it’s not as enticing.
It can be quite nerve-wracking at first! But as long as they trust you to take their thoughts as a positive bouncing off point for more thoughts (rather than being told they’re wrong), they’ll relax and help each other with the process of thinking it through.
Good luck!