Only two days after spring break, and already I'm having trouble not letting the frustrating students beat me down! There's the student who hasn't retained the knowledge I've managed to teach him (it all leaked out over Christmas break) and is having an even harder time learning the new stuff, the student who keeps being on the verge of tears whenever something doesn't come easily, and the student who is both highly demanding and *incredibly* dense... *sigh* Whatever happened to the calm I used to be able to maintain?
In good news, one of my regulars is showing more independent thought than he used to. Yay!
Tomorrow morning I have another tutoring session. I'm torn between the extra income being nice, and the frustration level being not worth it...
Anyone have suggestions on how to teach proof writing to someone who, although he can answer simple, direct questions, he can't put those pieces of information together to form a proof? He even has problems writing down complete thoughts on paper.
What teaching strategies can I use with a diagnosed ADD student?
4 comments:
Are you teaching the whole class or students one by one ?
I used to be a psychologist and I must say that the hardest part was to not be too affected by what other people live, they expect you to be strong but understanding at the same time, not always easy, especially if you are a generous person.
I guess for the ADD student, he should maybe see somebody that knows how to deal with that problem.
You job is to teach him a skill not to cure his problem.
I would try to always remember that whatever you do, he will learn or he will not learn, but it depends more on him than on you.
So I would treat him like an other students but adapt to his rhythm, repeat, make lots of links, ask questions going backward, try to help him to put things together and giving him tools as much as I can, little tricks to do it right.
There are lots of links on the net about ADD.
One on one for tutoring, and a rapid succession of one on one for the help centre.
Re: ADD, does the university have an office for students with disabilities? They should be able to help you identify what accommodations the student needs. ADD impairs concentration and focus, and also creates a much lower threshold for overwhelm. A simple task like laundry was overwhelming to D before he developed new strategies to deal with it. And the overwhelm is not just a mental thing, it is accompanied by a physical, almost painful, feeling. The only way to cope with that for many people with ADD is to check out or walk away. And after 13 years of life with an adult with ADD, my best suggestion is patience!
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