Abstract
The ineffective implementation of inclusive education teaching practices in South Africa has caused a worrying trend that ADHD students’ needs are not directly met in both the mainstream and remedial classroom environment. Previous studies suggest that due to poor social skills associated with most ADHD students, they find it more challenging learning new concepts in a classroom interaction, but no studies have been done to clarify this hypothesis. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate how conceptual learning occurs during classroom interactions between the teacher and ADHD students. Data collection took place through video recording of a 45-minute Maths lesson for 13 ADHD students in the age of 12 to 14 years, taking place in a private remedial primary school in Johannesburg, South Africa. Conversation analysis was conducted using the framework by Clayman and Gill to analyze the video recording on four different levels of classroom interaction. Results showed that the teacher plans a hypothetical learning trajectory of how a learning conversation will take place in the classroom towards achieving the learning goal. As the teacher assesses the students’ understanding of the new concepts being taught, the hypothetical learning trajectory is altered based on students’ preexisting knowledge. Practical recommendations based on these results include explicit mention of the learning goal prior to the learning conversation and frequent use of asking open-ended questions addressing specific students to check for understanding. Future studies could clarify the role of motivation in conceptual change models for ADHD students.
M.Ed. (Educational Psychology)