ADD / ADHD in the Classroom: What Are the Best Ways to Impart and Assess Math Skills?

1. ADD / ADHD in the Classroom: What Are the Best Ways to Impart and Assess Math Skills? • Maria LaCava • Action Research Project • Brooklyn College • CBSE 7202T • Fall 2013

2. Table of Contents: • Abstract • Statement of the Problem • Review of Related Literature • Statement of the Hypothesis • Methods: Participants, Instruments, Experimental Design, Procedure • Threats to Internal Validity • Threats to External Validity • Data Analysis: Student Pre & Post Test Results • Data Analysis: Student Survey Results • Discussion and Implications • References

3. Statement of the Problem: • Adhd and ADD, are on the rise due to genetics, and our use of technology. Adhd / ADD is often prescribed to students across all social and racial fronts but, it’s often prescribed, yet untreated in black, and latino demographics. The purpose of this research concerns implementing techniques to best serve students with ADHD and ADD in the urban classroom with regards to mathematics. This action research aims to show that students respond better to shorter, task-based assignments and activities rather than longer, more involved testing / assignments. This research aims to show that students that struggle with ADD / ADHD and math respond better to short tests in assessment of their skills. This research consists of a survey, pretest, experiment, and post-test to document the efficacy of this research. According to the testing, there is a positive correlation in test scores when students take a battery of 5 question tests rather than a longer cumulative test consisting of 15 questions. Students scored significantly better on three sets of 5 question tests than they did on three of 10 question tests, and students scored significantly lower when they took a cumulative, 15 question test. This experiment is designed for use in a very urban, poor, lower middle class demographic.

4. Related Literature Review Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has become one of the most widely studied childhood psychiatric disorders as its prevalence has increased over the past two decades. - Froelich et al., 2007; Olfson, Gameroff, Marcus, & Jensen, 2003 Children with ADHD “often” do not follow thru on instructions and fail to finish activities, have difficulty organizing tasks and activities...” - Langberg, J., Epstein, J. N., Becker, S. P., Vaughn, A. J., & Grillo-Herrera, E. (2012). Predictors of Response and Mechanisms of Change in Organizational Skills Intervention for Students with ADHD. Journal of Child & Family Studies, 22, 1000-1012.

5. Statement of the Hypothesis Students with ADHD will be able to complete a series of short tests opposed to a long, cumulative test. Giving students with ADHD a multitude of shorter tests will aid in their ability to complete the tests, and proves to be a better form of assessment for students struggling to complete their work and stay on task.

6. METHOD • Research Design: • Quasi-Experimental Design • OXO • A single group is pre-tested (O), exposed to a series of tests (X) and post-tested (O) over a period of six weeks. • 10 - 5TH grade students were given: • Consent form • Pre-survey • Pre-test • Treatment • Post-survey Participants: 10 fifth grade students and 1 teacher at an urban afterschool program in Brooklyn, New York • Instruments: • Pre-survey • Post-survey • Pre-test • Post-test • Consent form • Procedure: • Survey, and pre-test • Treatment: 3 rounds of 5 question tests, 3 rounds of 10 question tests, and a final 15 question test • Students completed a post-survey

7. Internal threats to validity • History: The experiment and research takes place over a course of six weeks and certain threats due to the weather, fire drills, or natural disasters could occur and affect the students’ ability to complete the surveys and treatment. • Maturation: Students could mature of the course of the experiment or receive tutoring over the course of the experiment which would likely make their scores increase. • Testing / pre-test sensitization: Students might not answer truthfully on their surveys for fear of being judged, or because they are unaware of their own struggles with attention and math. Students might become familiar with the material, and this might greatly affect their later scores. • Mortality: A student could be absent or out of the classroom on one of the treatment days. Weather and time of the year could also affect students’ presence in the classroom. • Statistical Regression: There is a great chance that this could occur since there are a battery of tests and a number of factors could cause outliers in the scores. • Selection / Maturation: There is a possibility that some students might have had an ADHD diagnosis while other students have tell-tale signs but no formal diagnosis. There is also a chance that many of the students with or without ADHD have received tutoring or outside help that affects their scores over the period of six weeks.

8. External threats to validity • Generalizable Conditions: This experiment could be conducted in a similar setting. • Multiple Treatment: Student could be getting outside help for math, or getting treatment for ADHD which could affect their surveys, or scores. • Hawthorne Effect: The Hawthorne Effect is essentially when an individual’s behaviors is changed because they know that they are being studied. Students will be pre and post-tested but may not change individual behaviors because they are used to pre and post assessments. • Compensatory Rivalry Effect: There is no control or experimental groups in this research study, therefore there is no comparison group to compete with.

9. DATA ANALYSIS Analysis: This graph shows the scores of the students 5 question test average (the average of the three tests combined), the three 10 question test scores combined versus the final 15 question test scores. The graph shows that students scored better on the average of three 5 question tests than a final 15 question test. Class Averages: 5 question test class avg: 85.4 10 question class avg: 69.4 15 question clasavg: 73.1 Class Ranges: 5 question test: 48 10 question test: 13 15 question test: 18 student

10. DATA ANALYSIS The table and graph show that there is a positive correlation between the pre-survey, and post survey question of: I do better on multiple short tests rather than on 1 long unit math test

11. DATA ANALYSIS The data shows that there is a positive correlation between the pre and post survey question of: I can pay attention for longer on multiple short exams rather than a longer unit exam.

12. Sample Student Surveys

13. Discussion // Analyses • Research shows that students in lower socioeconomic areas, and in minority groups often get little treatment for symptoms and diagnosis of ADHD. • As students sometimes do not have the resources to be treated for ADHD, educators can implement an IEP, or treatment based on the strengths of the student. • Most students with and without ADHD responded better to shorter testing – proving that long and involved testing might not be the best indicator of their knowledge and skills in math and other subject areas.

14. References • Anderson, T. (n.d.). University of Illinois at Chicago - UIC. University of Illinois at Chicago - UIC. Retrieved October 1, 2013, from http://www.uic.edu/ • Ahmann, E. (n.d.). Psych Central - Trusted mental health, depression, bipolar, ADHD and psychology information .. Psych Central - Trusted mental health, depression, bipolar, ADHD and psychology information .. Retrieved October 1, 2013, from http://psychcentral.com/ • Maddox, C. (n.d.). Penn State Graduate School Forms. Race Matters: Disparities in African-American Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Retrieved October 30, 2013, from http://forms.gradsch.psu.edu • Tucker, Catherine , and Andrea L. Dixon. "Low-Income African American Male Youth with ADHD Symptoms in the United States: Recommendations for Clinical Mental Health Counselors." Journal of Mental Health Counseling 31.4 (2009): 309-322. Journal of Mental Health Counseling. Retrieved from the web on 12 Oct. 2013.