Attention Deficits in College Transition Students
RESEARCH TO PRACTICE BRIEF
Issue 4 – January/February 2005
By Kathrynn Di Tommaso
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Why are Attention Deficits Important to Address in College
Transition Students?
It is now estimated that 4% of all American adults suffer from
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) (Szegedy-Maszak,
2004). The number of students entering colleges with attention
deficits has been estimated at anywhere from 1% to 20%, but most
frequently, researchers estimate that 1 to 5% of students transitioning
to college suffer from the disorder (Richard, 1995; Jones, Kalivoda & Higbee,
1997). College transition students with attention deficits often
experience debilitating problems with attention, distractibility,
organization, self-regulation, and mood (Kane, Mikala, Benjamin & Barkley,
1990). These students often need extra assistance organizing
their time and the material taught in class to help them experience
educational success.
The increasing cognitive demands of college transition and postsecondary
education put these students at high risk of poor academic performance
and a lack of persistence (Barkley, 1990; Fargason & Ford,
1994; Nadeau, 1995; Richard, 1995). The transition to college
can cause students with attention deficits to become overwhelmed
by the pressures of academic deadlines and the heavier workload,
leading to confusion and frustration. If not addressed, these
problems can lead to high drop out rates for these students.
Research has shown that only 5% of students with attention deficits
will complete a degree program compared to over 41% of students
without such deficits (Barkely, 1990).
What Are the Causes of “Attention Deficits?”
Most researchers now agree that the causes of attention deficits
stem mostly from neurobiological problems (Hallowell & Ratey,
1994). According to the most common theory, students with attention
deficits have impaired functioning of the naturally occurring
chemicals (called neurotransmitters) in the brain (Ballard et
al, 1997). These neurotransmitters carry messages to different
parts of the brain, allowing cells in the brain (or neurons)
to communicate with each other. Most researchers believe that
in individuals with attention deficits, there is a chemical imbalance
in the stimulant neurotransmitters that control attention, known
as dopamine and norepinephrine (Ballard et al, 1997; Jones et
al, 1997).
What Are the Effects of ADHD
on College Transition Students?
Problems of attention and impulsivity can prevent these students
from physically organizing and planning their time and study
space in ways that would allow for academic success. College
transition students need to be able to schedule their courses,
appointments, and study time, to plan and focus on assignments,
and to use effective study strategies. However, students with
ADHD experience difficulty structuring their time and concentrating
on tasks long enough to organize, plan, study, establish a routine,
and complete assignments (Jones et al, 1997; Nadeau, 1995). The
prospect of even beginning a classroom assignment can be overwhelming
because of their inability to organize their time and effort,
to create a productive space, and to use strategies to approach
their work (Nadeau, 1995; Willis, Hoben & Myette, 1995).
How Can Organizational Strategies Help These Students?
The chemical imbalances in their neurotransmitters cause students
with ADHD to experience difficulties paying attention, shifting
attention, selecting relevant information, using goal oriented
strategies, organizing, and ignoring outside stimuli (Ballard
et al, 1997; Mercugliano, 1998). Consequently, class material
becomes poorly organized mentally or is filed in the brain in
a random fashion (Nadeau, 1995; Willis et al, 1995). In addition
to any other treatments students with attention deficits may
receive such as tutoring, medication, and accommodations, teachers
can also help these students by teaching them specific methods
of organizing class material and information (Barkley, 1990;
Kane et al, 1990; Mercugliano, 1995). It should be noted that
the following strategies are useful for helping all learners
become more efficient in their studies. In students with ADHD,
they may make the difference between academic success and failure.
Calendars and Planners:
A schedule that is created by the student with
the guidance of the teacher can assist in prioritizing time and
in planning a suitable course load, hours of productivity, and
specific objectives (Willis et al, 1995). In these daily calendars,
students should be taught to write all appointments, commitments
(including personal obligations or social activities), due dates,
and tests for each day and then to cross off each task as it
is completed. This strategy has been shown to prevent procrastination
and to increase organization and task completion (Hallowell & Ratey,
1994; Schwiebert et al, 2002).
Notebook Organization:
The use of color coded notes has been demonstrated
as a successful strategy for improving the organizational skills,
comprehension, and retention in students with attention deficits
(Hallowell & Ratey, 1994). Instructors can show students
how to keep all notes organized by color in a three-ring binder
with tabs to divide specific elements of class such as homework,
class work, lectures, and so on (Willis et al, 1995). The instructor
or individual students can choose a specific color to be dedicated
to each element of class; for example, the syllabus for the course
might be in the red section, homework in the green section, and
class notes in the yellow section.
Note-taking Strategies:
Students can be taught to organize material within these
notebooks with note- taking strategies like summarizing the reading
or annotating the text and then recording the annotations in
the appropriate section of the notebook (Jones et al, 1997).
Students can also be taught to take notes on their own thoughts
while listening to a lecture or discussion to improve the comprehension
and retention of information (Hallowell & Ratey, 1994; Schwiebert
et al, 1998). If particular students find it difficult to concentrate
on listening and processing while taking notes, they may qualify
for note-taking accommodation (Richard, 1995). Instructors can
then adapt the strategy by having these students review notes
taken by their note-taker after class and then write reactions
to the content in their notebook to encourage engagement, comprehension,
and retention of class content.
Visual Organizational Maps:
Visual organizational maps such as flowcharts, clusters,
lists, and outlines can help adult students with attention deficits
to organize class content and their own ideas. Students can plug
their ideas into organizational frameworks provided by the instructor
and can eventually learn to generate these maps themselves (Oliver
et al, 2000). The teacher can provide a map that shows the components
of narratives to help students to structure class lectures and
readings. Students can also use maps or outlines while writing
papers and the teacher can provide outlines for different formats
(description, cause-effect, problem-solution, etc.). These maps
enable the students to eliminate the burden of idea organization
so that they can focus on idea generation. Students can gradually
be taught to generate their own maps to structure course content
and their own ideas (Schwiebert et al, 1998).
Visual Manipulatives:
Visual Manipulatives that allow students to build models
of organization with different colored shapes and different parts – such
as Legos, Cuisenaire rods, or Word Shapes – can be used
to organize class content, student ideas, and structural components
of assignments (Oliver et al, 2000). This multi-sensory approach
involves touch, color, and movement to facilitate the understanding
of patterns of organization. Eventually, students often internalize
the approach and no longer require the manipulatives to organize
the information. The structure of essays, for example, can be
taught by using interlocking gears where the first gear (green
for “go”) represents the introductory paragraph;
the next three gears (one color) represents the supporting paragraphs
and the last gear (red for “stop”) represents the
conclusion (Oliver et al, 2000). After composing their essays,
students can compare their work to the gears to check for appropriate
structure. These models can help students to understand the structure
of ideas in a nonverbal way before they express those ideas.
Mnemonic Devices:
Mnemonic devices can assist students in remembering
and focusing on the various requirements for academic success
through cues and rhymes (Hallowell & Ratey, 1994; Schwiebert
et al, 2002). “CANDO” for example, can assist students
in organizing course content by reminding them to Create
a list of what is to be learned, Ask themselves
if the list is complete, Note main ideas and
details in a map, Describe each component, and Over-learn
main points. Another device is “RAP” which reminds
students to Read, Ask themselves
what is the main idea and what are two details, and Put
them into their own words. “TOWER” can help students
structure and organize their work by reminding them to Think
about the content, Order the topics, Write
a rough draft, Error search, and Revise
and rewrite (Schwiebert et al, 2002).
Clarifying Questions:
Instructors can specifically ask students what steps
they plan to take in achieving a particular goal, what strategies
they plan to use to organize, and why they have chosen those
strategies. Through these questions, instructors can help students
understand what information is most important, how to find it,
conceptualize it, express and present it, and how to proceed
when a goal is not reached (Oliver et al, 2000; Richard, 1995;
Willis et al, 1995). Instructors are encouraged to ask students
questions about personal experiences (like a movie or event)
and to use clarifying questions to help them verbally structure
their main points and details (Schwiebert et al, 2002). Students
can also be taught to ask clarifying questions to understand
the ideas expressed by their classmates and to include clarifying
questions such as “Do you see what I mean?” to make
sure their points are clear (Schwiebert et al, 2002).
Feedback:
Students with attention deficits greatly benefit from
having their progress monitored and from their instructors describing
what is expected of them, whether they are meeting course objectives,
and what approaches might be most useful to them. Feedback should
also praise students for their efforts and improvements and should
encourage them to become self-observant by asking specific questions
about organizational strategy use, time management, and future
goals (Hallowell & Ratey, 1994). Students can also fill out
feedback sheets about the verbal and written organization of
each other’s work during peer reviews, providing models
of effective and ineffective organization of concepts (Oliver
et al, 2000). Feedback sheets with specific questions that reinforce
the structure and organization of information presented in class
can also be filled out by students at the end of class. A discussion
of these sheets that compares the organization of the questions
to the notes the students took during class can also assist students
in monitoring their note-taking abilities (Oliver et al, 2000).
Will These Strategies Help my Students
with Attention Deficits?
Much more research on comprehensive interventions that address
the various factors associated with ADHD is needed to meet the
needs of this growing population most effectively. Most researchers
do agree that students with attention deficits need multi-modal,
comprehensive interventions that address a variety of factors.
Instruction in organizational strategies is merely one recommended
element of an intervention for students with attention deficits.
In addition to making personal recommendations to students (for
tutoring, note-takers, etc.) based on their individual needs,
teaching students these organizational strategies may assist
them in overcoming some of the often debilitating difficulties
that attention deficits can cause. Through improving their organizational
skills both physically and mentally, these students are more
likely to reach their full potential, to experience educational
success, to succeed, and to persist in academic settings.
Note: See the University
of Central Florida’s 10 Tips to Improve Concentration for
all students at http://www.sarc.sdes.ucf.edu/studyhandouts.html
References
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About the author
Kathrynn Di Tommaso, AM, EdM, is a doctoral candidate at the
Harvard University Graduate School of Education and a Fellow
at the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy
(NCSALL). She has taught English and developmental reading and
writing at community colleges in the Bay Area and in the Boston
area. You can reach her at ditommka@gse.harvard.edu
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