In education, tutoring plays an important role in allowing students to live up to their learning potential. With proper guidance and tutoring in Westport CT, your child can succeed in their educational pursuits and overcome any learning challenges they may be encountering. However, ADHD can present challenges in tutoring, but tutoring for ADHD students can be quite successful and achieve the same results as other types of tutoring. The following tips and methods can help ADHD students succeed in tutoring and in wider education.
Eight Tips For Tutoring ADHD Students
To teach any student requires careful lesson planning and consideration of the student’s needs. ADHD can add extra needs and considerations for your lesson planning but does not completely change the entire process. Existing techniques can still be used as long as the specific needs ADHD can cause are kept in mind and accounted for.
- Avoid Assumptions: every student is different and those with ADHD differ from each other as well. When teaching, be prepared to try out various methods to see what works best, as there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Keep a positive attitude and build on success.
- Customize The Learning Plan: every child responds differently to learning and has favored learning styles. An effective tutoring plan will adapt to how the student learns and take advantage of their strengths. Being adaptive is key to effective learning. Some students prefer visual learning and, for others, writing, it’s important to make use of these factors.
- Work In Chunks: sitting still for a prolonged time can be difficult for students with ADHD. Longer and more complex topics should be broken into smaller learning plans that are more manageable for your student. Breaking apart a lesson plan and adding in breaks can make learning easier.
- Variety: there are several different approaches that can be taken to learning. Methods such as visual elements, videos, and discussion can make learning more effective and add to written and reading materials. Use of variety also encourages creative thinking. Also, allow your students to move slightly while working, as this can increase comfort and improve focus.
- Use of Incentives: learning should incorporate rewards. Proper use of rewards can help students stay focused on their goals. Some rewards can be a part of the lesson that result in creativity and general fun with the learning experience.
- Hands-On: learning activities that have hands-on components help students learn more effectively. Physical learning tools, props, games, and other involved methods of learning can help the lessons and content have more of a long-lasting impact.
- Motivation: motivation issues can be more notable in students with ADHD. As a tutor, motivation and proper organization of learning plans is highly important. This is because students with ADHD can feel helpless when learning due to past problems or learned helplessness. With proper guidance, this can be overcome.
- Focus on Your Student’s Passion For Learning: as with learning methods, each student has a subject or topic they find interesting. Find out what your students like and don’t like and don’t be afraid to ask. Feel free to incorporate hobbies or other interests in learning to make your tutoring program more effective.
Final Thoughts
Success in education is a building block for future success. Sadly, many students with ADHD can become frustrated with learning and, due to the challenges they face, underachieve in learning. This does not need to be a permanent thing. Hard work and tutoring can help a student with ADHD live up to their full potential. As a tutor, careful planning and adaptation to your student’s needs can help improve the learning process and set them up for success.