ENGLISH IS COOL

THE INFLUENCE OF COOPERATIVE LEARNING ACTIVITIES IN THE ENGAGEMENT AND PARTICIPATION OF 10^TH GRADER STUDENTS WITH ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER (ADHD) IN ENGLISH CLASSES

Influencia de actividades de aprendizaje cooperativo en el compromiso y participación de los estudiantes de decimo grado con déficit de atención e hiperactividad (TDAH) en las clases de inglés.

Qualitative study by

DIANA MIREYA FERNANDEZ SALAZAR

JOHANA ROJAS SARMIENTO

Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, Postgraduate Specialization in Teaching English as a Foreign Language

ABSTRACT

This study is aimed at the implementation of some cooperative learning activities to analyze the engagement and participation that ADHD students can have in English classes. The research is a qualitative descriptive study, which presents observations, and includes open and closed questionnaires given to the ADHD learners in order to find out their opinions about cooperative activities in the English class. The sample was taken from five tenth grade students (15-17 years old) from a coed public high school in Envigado, Colombia. The information provided by the students was analyzed using the five stages of data analysis given by Miles & Huberman (1994,) then interpreted and categorized. ADHD students remarked on the importance of working in groups and how this methodology enables them to increase their participation and engagement in the English class. One of the most remarkable troubles ADHD face everyday is that most of the teachers tend to stereotype them as mischievous and distracted children and teachers do not look for new strategies and methodologies for class that allow them to be engaged in the activities. One possible option is to give teachers effective training about how to work with ADHD students.

RESUMEN

Este estudio tiene como objetivo la puesta en práctica de algunas actividades de aprendizaje cooperativo como una manera de ver el compromiso y la participación que los estudiantes con trastorno por déficit de atención e hiperactividad (TDAH) tienen en sus clases de inglés. La investigación fue un estudio descriptivo cualitativo que presentó observaciones, y dos cuestionarios de preguntas abiertas y cerradas dadas a los estudiantes con TDAH con el fin de conocer sus opiniones sobre las actividades de cooperación dentro de las clases de inglés. La muestra fue tomada de cinco estudiantes de décimo grado (15-17 años) de un colegio público mixto. Este colegio se encuentra situado en Envigado- Colombia. La información proporcionada por los estudiantes se analizó utilizando las cinco etapas del análisis de los datos dados por Miles y Huberman (1994), luego, interpretada y categorizada. Los estudiantes con TDAH destacaron la importancia de trabajar en grupos y cómo esta metodología les permite aumentar de alguna manera su participación y compromiso en las clases de inglés. Uno de los problemas más notables que los TDAH enfrentan cada día es que la mayoría de los profesores tienden a estereotiparlos como los niños traviesos y distraídos y los profesores no buscan nuevas estrategias y metodologías dentro de las clases que les permitan estar comprometidos en las actividades. Una posible opción puede ser que los profesores reciban una formación eficaz para trabajar con alumnos TDAH.

Key words: engagement, participation, ADHD students, cooperative activities.

1.0. INTRODUCTION

In Colombian schools the number of students with special needs such as hyperactivity or attention disorder is increasing in the classroom and this population is one of the challenges for teachers. Some institutions do not provide the necessary attention to ADHD learners require. Teachers have not received any training for teaching apprentices with special needs, and that is why, they do not know the most appropriate methodology for helping those students overcome the difficulties they have in the classroom.

To perform this study the researcher applied some data collection methods, three cooperative activities, two questionnaires and a literature review. Previous studies have shown ADHD students can surmount their lack of attention and interest, controlling their hyperactivity through cooperative activities, fostering engagement and participation in English classes at the same time.

This research helps teachers to reflect on the importance of creating a suitable learning environment, considering students learning styles and needs, which can trigger them to look for new strategies and methodologies that fulfill the requirement when teaching ADHD apprentices.

1.1. Justification

The number of students with ADHD is growing in our classrooms, since it is a right for everyone, including students with special needs in Colombia. ADHD students are those who have difficulties staying focused and paying attention in class, having a need to move around the classroom (Brown, 2000).

Most of these pupils show lack of interest and motivation in English class, which has generated their low academic performance, according to educators and administrator´s comments. In some public institutions in Envigado, Antioquia working with ADHD students is a challenge, since some teachers tend to forget every child learns in a different way, and they just focus their attention on carrying out the syllabus, not using varied teaching strategies to overcome students’ difficulties.

It is the school which must guarantee an equal education for all the students; teachers should implement diverse strategies for ensuring the success of ADHD students in the English class.

The possibility of helping ADHD students emerges through the implementation of some cooperative activities as an instructional strategy to enhance engagement and participation in English class, as well as, strengthen social relationships.

By means of this study, it is expected ADHD students to accomplish specific tasks, working with their peers. It is the teachers’ responsibility to look for an appropriate environment for the learners, where they can enrich their English learning process and at the same time they provide and receive help from their classmates. Furthermore, involving them in appealing group activities that get their attention, considering their learning styles personal interests and needs.

1.2. Statement of the problem

English teachers have to face many difficult situations inside a classroom especially when they have students with ADHD in their classes, according to learners and co-workers spontaneous remarks, observations, teacher´s experience, and student´s low academic results in both tests and term scores. In teachers’ class where ADHD learners have shown a lack of interest, a lack of motivation, and most of them do not fulfill tasks or activities entirely. This occurs because they are not engaged, show apathy, a lack of attention and misbehavior, their sense of commitment is poor in their classes and the participation is not active.

To describe this issue, it is important to remark on the curriculum and syllabus in Colombian schools which are not adapted to teach and to assess abilities and disabilities of ADHD students in an English class. Most of the time, teachers do not know what kind of strategies they can implement for teaching, engaging and increasing children´s participation, since some of them might work for one student and for another one not .Educators can provide or propose oral, visual, tactile, and kinesthetic or group work activities to all students with learning disabilities, for that reason, they, sometimes, need to know the particular cases of their learners, which require special attention. The support these ADHD students receive is not easy at school. Some institutions do not have the specialized people who can diagnose students, and provide suitable treatment for them, which help them to continue with psychological support to improve their engagement and participation in the English class through the whole academic year.

Engagement and participation of ADHD students in English are very important, but do not receive the appropriate methodologies and attention in the classroom to overcome their academic needs. Strategies and approaches should be part of the school syllabus, and, teachers can start implementing new techniques like cooperative learning activities, which foster participation and interest to improve their own learning.

There is a long history of research on cooperative learning that indicates how teamwork in the classroom produces higher achievement and greater productivity, more caring, supportive, and committed relationships, and greater psychological health, social competence, and self-esteem (Johnson & Johnson, 1991).Cooperation among students who celebrate each other’s successes, encourage each other to do homework, and learn to work together, regardless of ethnic backgrounds or gender, their capacities or disabilities, promoting and appropriate atmosphere for ADHD students in an English class.

Based on the issues mention above and the possibility of use cooperative learning to improve AHDH learners’ engagement and participation in the English class, the following research question emerges.

1.3. Research question

· How do cooperative activities foster 10^thADHD students’ engagement and participation in an English class?

1.4. Main objective

· To determine the impact of implementing cooperative activities in 10^thADHD students to engage their participation in an English class.

1.4.1. Specific Objectives

· To describe how cooperative learning activities foster 10^thADHD students engagement and participation in an English class.

· To create some cooperative learning activities, taking into account 10^thADHD students´ needs.

2.0. METHODOLOGY

2.1. Conceptual Framework

2.1.1. Inclusion

In Colombia, article 5 in the 1991 Constitution recognizes people with special needs are entitled to have access to a quality education promoting their integral development, independence, and equal participation in the public and private spheres.

According to Law 115 of 1994, General Law of Education, in Chapter 1, title III, articles 46 through 49 states “education” for people with limitations or exceptional capabilities is an integral part of the public education service (art. 46), and that “... the State supports institutions and promotes programs and experiences in adequate schooling (art. 47).

The educational system fosters children with disabilities to acquire important skills, knowledge, and behaviors that will facilitate high school and labor accomplishments. Such achievement depends on a continuum of special education placements, which includes the regular classroom according to the law 1346, 2009.

When schools supply the diverse students’ needs, teachers´ roles change and the circumstances for a personnel education takes on substantial significance. By placing pupils with exceptional capacities or disabilities into regular classes, where untrained educators are expected to replicate the process of special education and the treatments associated with them, the focus cannot be only placed on learners but, it must be on teachers curricular reforms, support personnel, policies, strategies for assessment, and so on (Ferguson, 1998).

Inclusion is an important fact in daily life and it is worthy starting to pay close attention to those students who have special needs in classes.

2.1.2. Attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD)

The main focus for this study is students with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). According to Rief, 2005, ADHD students represent a group of children often described by teachers and parents as over energetic and overactive.

According to Serfontein (1999,) children with ADHD present the following characteristics: Impulsiveness as one remarkable symptom. It is vital to teach the child how to perform an activity and behave properly. A teenager with attention disorder has problems focusing on one activity for a long time. Serfontein also suggests ADHD students should be placed as close to the teacher as possible, and there should not be any other distractions. Another characteristic of this population is Hyperactivity; they are constantly active and distracted. This disorder appears when pupils disturb others, when their physical activity is higher than others. Lower social competence is one common trait in male population; they act as the class clown to call the attention of people who are around them, and their social behavior is very infantile at school and at home. The last characteristic of these learners is low self-esteem; they often feel badly about themselves. They think they are stupid, naughty, bad or a failure. Their confidence lowers with each negative experience, they go on like this through these years of school.

According to Chronis and Brown (2006) ADHD teenagers do not only have difficulties with the attention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity, but also they present academic underachievement, aggression, and disturbances in peer relationships. These pupils have their greatest difficulties with persistence of effort or sustaining attention to tasks (DuPaul &Stoner, 2003). These behaviors do not allow them to succeed academically compared with their classmates.

As a result of the aspects mentioned previously, it is necessary to understand the characteristics of children diagnosed with ADHD to comprehend the disorder itself. It is the school's obligation to ensure appropriate education, to know, and fulfill helping special needs children to have equal opportunities for success at school.

2.1.3. Engagement

For the purpose of this study, engagement has been used to depict student’s willingness to participate in routine school activities, such as: attending classes, submitting required work, and following teachers´ directions in class. This includes participating in the activities offered as a part of the program, and making learners participate in school reformed activities (Fletcher, 2005).

This is critical to educational success; to enhance achievement, one must first learn how to engage children (Newmann, 1992).

Teachers focus particularly on the phenomenological aspect of high involvement in classrooms, which includes concentrated attention, interest, and enjoyment, as opposed to apathy and lack of interest with instruction (Newmann, Wehlage, and Lamborn, 1992). High engagement during tasks in high school classrooms has been a significant predictor of continuing motivation and commitment in order to achieve the class room goals.

The very act of being engaged also adds to the foundation of skills and dispositions that are essential to live a productive and satisfying life after school. That is, students who are involved in educationally productive activities, in school, are developing habits of the mind and heart that enlarge their capacity for continuous learning and personal development (Shulman, 2002).

For that reason, engagement might be one of the most suitable strategies to enhance learning in ADHD adolescents in an English class.

2.1.4. Participation

Black (1995) who defines participation as “ The student being engaged in a meaningful way with the subject matter, in order to gain a better understanding of it. Participation also requires the student to be present physically and mentally in the learning situations.” Needless to say, this might include body posture, movement, drawing, and even silence.

Hollander (2002) discusses the need to present participation as a collective responsibility of the class rather than just an individual responsibility. In order to facilitate a conversation where connections are made, students need to view their participation as a contribution to a shared experience. Asking pupils to respond to a peer’s response helps to facilitate a conversation. As well, positively reinforcing such contributions builds this sense of collectivism.

2.1.5. Cooperative learning

This occurs when students are actively engaged in the learning process and working in collaboration with other partner to accomplish a shared goal. Cooperative Learning utilizes not only the learner’s own experience to solidify knowledge, but also the experiences of others (Richard and Rodgers, 2001).

This method requires pupils to work together in small groups to support each other and improve their own learning, this is a successful teaching strategy in which small teams, each with students of different levels of ability, use a variety of learning activities to improve their understanding of a subject (Jolliffe, 2007). Each member of a team is responsible, not only for learning what is taught, but also for helping teammates learn, thus, creating an atmosphere of achievement. Teenagers work through the assignment until all group members successfully understand and complete it (King (1993).

During the past decade, cooperative learning has emerged as the leading new approach to classroom instruction. Students completing cooperative learning group tasks tend to have higher academic test scores, higher self-esteem, and greater numbers of positive social skills, fewer stereotypes of individuals of other races or ethnic groups, and greater relationship among partners according to Stahl (1994).

In order to foster learning in a foreign language, it is necessary to promote interaction and communication; this method is an appropriate methodology to work with ADHD pupil. Moreover, cooperative learning makes reference to inclusion because through group work students enrollment is promoted as a central part of class activities.

2.2. Research design

This research was carried out using a qualitative and descriptive study which was conducted to determine the impact of some cooperative activities developed by ADHD students in an English class in Envigado, Antioquia, Colombia. This study is based on real student’s behavior and opinions. The researcher analyzed information provided by students’ questionnaires and the teacher’s journal. The data collected was interpreted with the aim of generated ADHD participants´ engagement and participation through the implementation of some cooperative activities in English classes.

2.3. Participants and settings

The participants of the present study are from a co-ed public high school in Envigado, Antioquia, Colombia. The institution has a population of 2,000 students, 600 in elementary school and 1,400 in high school. The student population is heterogeneous and they belong to social strata 1, 2, 3 and 4. In particular, this group presents some specific characteristics due to their social conditions which have a high level of economic problems, drug consumption, domestic violence and abandonment.

The populations of this research are five 10 th grade students diagnosed with ADHD. They present low academic achievements as a result of their lack of attention, they have problems focusing on one activity for a long time, and these teenagers also present impulsivity that interferes with their classroom by disturbing others.

Most of the time a regular teacher has not training in dealing students with special needs. In some cases they have the psychologist diagnostic, but the teachers do not receive a pedagogical support on how to treat and how to teach those students inside a classroom.

2.4. Data collection instrument

The data gathering techniques included in this research were three: two students´ questionnaires, one applied before implementing the cooperative learning activities and another one at the end of the process. Also, a teachers’ journal, which collected the observations of the cooperative activities.

In the first questionnaire, there were 5 diagnosed ADHD learners from 10^thgrade. This questionnaire asked the students´ ideas about cooperative activities and how their participation is in their English learning process.

Class observations, registered in the teacher’s journal, allowed the teacher to have an idea of what attitudes, behaviors and participation, ADHD adolescent presented while they were working in cooperative activities.

The last questionnaire had different kinds of questions, which helped students to express their ideas, both questionnaires were in Spanish in order to avoid learners’ misunderstandings.

There were three cooperative activities implemented in this study. Their purpose was to see how engagement and participation can be encouraged in ADHD students in regular classes.

To create the team groups to work with ADHD pupils. The researcher took into account the numbers of students (four,) where there was one student with a high English level, two average partners and one diagnosed with ADHD, looking for homogeneity in each team.

In the first activity, the students had to create a magazine based on these topics: music, sports, health and fashion. Every member of the group presented and shared their ideas to make decisions such as: name, design, the cover, and the sections they want to write about. Finally they had to present it to the whole class.

For the second activity, students worked on a song called “Fireworks” by Katty Perry. They saw the video without listening to the song, and then in groups, they had to discuss about the topic of the song, the situations presented. Later, each member of the group had to perform a specific task, being responsible for it. They listened and organized the song. To finish the class, they wrote the message and created a poster where they had the opportunity to interact with their team mates.

In the third activity, students read a fable and they had to answer questions related to the reading. Students listened and analyzed how each one of them had faced situations, where team work was needed. Then, they wrote a personal experience in which they needed to work with classmates, friends or strangers in order to complete successfully a task as a group. Afterwards, students wrote the moral: "United we stand, divided we fall" and illustrated its meaning.

2.5. Data analysis and reduction

Based on the data collected, the applications of the two questionnaires and observations from the teacher´s journal; the study had a lot of information, and it was necessary to reduced it in order to use the most relevant data.

The data was reduced by a relational comparison. To analyze it, we used different stages such as: categorization, interpretation and inference, in order to find out the relationships that emerged from it, allowing the researcher to have a reasonable interpretation from the questions /answers and observations, which allowed us find important patterns. At that level, the study was able to draw conclusions about the impact of cooperative activities in the engagement and participation of ADHD students, and what positive and negatives outcomes were.

The data analysis follows various steps as claimed by Miles & Huberman (1994.) First, this study implemented the hierarchy of the information to describe data and seek relationships among it. Second, the information was entered in a system of superordinate and subordinate concepts that helped us to understand the aspects studied, as the authors previously quoted, suggested. Third, categories were coded and classified, revealing some emerging patterns. Fourth, it was necessary to create a chart with the information gathered, showing connections between elements and variables. Fifth, examining their connections, which facilitated the visualization of an exploratory portray of the study between relationships. Finally, there was a report of the outcomes and conclusions.

2.6. Categories

After triangulating the data gathered from the different instruments and having found some patterns: the following categories emerged.

Categories	Sub- Categories
Engagement	Start the activity Keep on the activity Finish the activity
Classroom Participation	Assigned: participation promoted by the teacher Voluntary: students´ spontaneous participation
Cooperation	Sharing of ideas: expressing opinions Helping and asking for help: supporting and requesting assistance.

2.7. Trustworthiness

The information gathered in this study was collected through two questionnaires given to the students, and class observations. At the beginning of the study, one questionnaire was carried out and at the end another. Their aim was to contrast the data, and at the same time, it helped to analyze the similarities or differences found in the answers. The questions were clear in order to avoid misunderstandings, allowing students to answer in a reliable and honest way. The information obtained in the class observations allowed the researcher to perceive students’ real attitudes and behaviors through the development of the three cooperative activities. The observations were conducted in some classes, where students worked in groups using cooperative activities; the researcher observed the impact on learners’ engagement and participation, when they did the exercises. Hence, giving this study more credibility and reliability, in order to triangulate the data, the researcher used three sources: two questionnaires and the teacher’s journal.

2.8. Ethics

The participants’ authorization was important, making use of ethical practice to develop this study. Besides, it was relevant to mention the advantages of this research for the school community, family, and, the most important part, the ADHD students. The school principal, coordinators and parents signed informed consent letters about the steps to follow, the activities involved and the students’ role. To keep participants´ privacy safe, personal information and the name of the school are not mentioned to avoid legal disputes with the school or parents.

2.0. FINDINGS

The following section reveals the interpretations and results obtained from the data collection, the study took into account, students’ attitudes during the development of the cooperative activities and the results obtained in the gathering of information as well as the impact of these activities in the engagement of the ADHD students in English class.

3.1. Engagement

The engagement at the beginning of the activities was shown because some of the students were willing to interact and work with their classmates. Engagement allowed them to keep on. ADHD students´ felt motivated to learn English when the activities proposed to them vary, taking into account their learning styles such as games, songs, dialogues and handicrafts. One example of this situation was reported in the first questionnaire, when teenagers mentioned, they want to learn English but they recognized speaking, pronunciation, grammar and writing as the most difficult aspects for them. Also, some of these learners proposed English classes would be more interesting, if the teachers developed more ludic activities (first questionnaire). During the development of the task, the engagement decreased with activities related to grammar and writing. For example, in the teacher´s journal (page 1,) it was reported, students tend to have a lot of difficulties working in syntactic and written tasks. They stated these activities are not appealing, showing apathy, lack of attention and misbehavior as it is expressed in the first questionnaire. However, when they had to deal with other kind of works (magazine for instance,) everyone started and accomplished the task, even if some of them presented some difficulties in writing. There is evidence of this in the final questionnaire, when one student said: “I learned more when I contributed with my ideas to the group, if I do not take active part in the activity; I feel that I do not learn anything”.

When the students saw a silent video, they were not interested to see it and one of them mentioned “Teacher, to see a video without music is boring, I prefer chatting” (Teacher´s journal) but once they listened to the song, and worked cooperatively, they were motivated and interested to perform the exercise completely. They decided to participate and persist, with the help of their peers, in the activity, keeping and finishing it properly, in despite of some challenges and obstacles the activity demanded. Later, they discussed the topics presented freely interacting with their peers and the teacher without inhibitions, in order to submit the required work. This aspect is evidenced in the teacher´s journal (page 3) where one pupil said “Listening to music is one of my hobbies because I feel relaxed.”

During teacher´s explanation the interest was not enough; the ADHD students were not pleased with the task. However, they realized with the assistance of their classmates, they had many ideas to share and that helped them to work in groups. Also, they started to express themselves about the positive or negative opinions they had and, they caught classmates’ attention and reduced their anxiety level, as it is shown in the second questionnaire, where 80% of learners mentioned learning to work together is a way to support their teammates to keep and accomplish the activities, because when somebody had a doubt or needed some aid, their group solved the difficulty and supported them until the end of the process.

Furthermore, when ADHD students had the possibility of sharing life aspects that are common for them, the level of engagement was increased, this information was taken from the second questionnaire, where 80% of learners said, they liked the activities proposed because these activities allowed them to interact with their classmates, share ideas, support each other and make agreements inside the group. Also, they liked when they had a role inside the activities that made them feel important and appreciated; they manifested positive emotions, enthusiasm, curiosity and interest to fulfill the tasks. In this activity, students listened and talked about their personal experiences, they told how they felt when they had the opportunity of being united as a group to achieve a common goal. Later, they draw a message related to the quote given to them, being involved during this exercise, as it is written in the teachers’ journal, and “The motivation was good and many of them did their best to create original posters” (page 5). There was also an improvement of apprentices’ engagement and fulfillment of the goals, after implementing cooperative activities as Newmann, Wehlage, and Lamborn (1992) stated: “High engagement during tasks in high school classrooms has been a significant predictor of continuing motivation and commitment in order to achieve the class goals.”

3.2. Classroom participation

In the development of the activities, some learners were not comfortable working with students who were not so close to them. As it is evidenced in the second questionnaire, when one student said: “I do not like to work with somebody who is not my friend”. For that reason, the teacher was the one who had to promote the participation in the different activities by calling some students to give their ideas (assigned participation).

In the classes, some of the students were excited about participating; they performed the activities with more independence and autonomy, using creativity because they gained a little confidence working with their peers in the different activities. Students affirmed: “Most of the time we work in class by ourselves, but it was a good opportunity to change our minds and learn how to work in a different way” teacher journal (page 2). It was found, learners are not confident in random groups, for that reason, it is necessary to foster assigned participation, because it is the teacher who is responsible to increase student’s participation, but when they feel comfortable and self -reliant, carrying out cooperative activities, their participation tends to be voluntary according to the second questionnaire.

Likewise, the participation of some ADHD students improved due to their interest to ask for information and to help team members when it was needed. For instance, in the second activity, ADHD learners felt more secure when their classmates assisted them to solve their doubts, before speaking in front of the whole class. Some of them got involved by being more interactive, freely, with classmates and the teacher, expressing without embarrassment and responding to comments, as it was answered in the second questionnaire, and in this questionnaire, where 20% of the students evidenced a voluntary participation during the activities due to the topic that got their attention. Most of them liked music and they knew a little bit about their teammates, which facilitated their interaction and voluntary participation. Another example of their involvement in the classes was when they, based on the video about the song, raised their hands and expressed their ideas, being self-reliant and eager to share with classmates their knowledge and likes about music. The second questionnaire evidenced learners were aware about group work: “learning to work together is a way to help their teammates because when somebody had a doubt or needed some help, their group solved the question and supported them.”

Furthermore, in one of the activities, the students’ participation was assigned and voluntary. As it is mentioned in the teacher´s journal, the teacher promoted the participation of some them when she asked questions about the reading, the assigned students were nervous but they answered them properly. Some others felt comfortable and sure, since they knew what they wanted to say, and they could express their ideas easily (second questionnaire) .Learners´ knowledge and interests in the topic were factors that encouraged voluntary participation in the class.

ADHD students in the cooperative activities also improved their participation, when they worked in groups (round table,) not in lockstep form since classroom arrangement facilitated the visualization of each student and also it helped to promote their interaction. This aspect plays an important role in students’ participation as it is quoted by Black (1995) “Participation also requires the student to be present physically and mentally in the learning situation’. Needless to say, this might include body posture, movement, drawing, and even silence.”

The participation was shown and requested by students in two ways: assigned and voluntary, since some learners believe it is good when the teacher is the one who chooses who has to speak, so that everyone has the opportunity to participate, and some others said “It is better when we are determined to take part and interact inside the group without any kind or pressure.” (Teacher´s journal, page 6). The participation is fostered when the subjects are captivated and activities are varied for them as one student also stated in the first questionnaire “I would like more ludic activities which help me to learn and take risk without paying attention to my mistakes.” Classroom participation played an important role in the learning process. Creating interesting activities and developing a class through joyful learning task triggers students’ participation.

3.3. Cooperative activities

Before the implementation of the activities, ADHD students did not have a clear idea about the definition of the concept of cooperative activities, for that reason they were not able to answer if these activities facilitated their participation in English classes or not. Students answered in the first questionnaire “It is a group work” and others answered “I do not have any idea about it.”

Through cooperative activities, ADHD students had the opportunity to share their ideas, opinions and likes about different subjects. After group discussions, they had to make agreements as a group, as it was answered in the second questionnaire by one student who stated: “Through cooperative activities, we share knowledge and make agreements inside the group.” Cooperative activities promoted a sense of belonging which allowed learners with special needs to change the negative image they had in the classroom, such as lazy, mischievous and distracted children. The teacher reported some other educators commented about the image of them, which was always negative, labeling them as the bad pupil (page 2). Teaching students with ADHD requires understanding, they have a brief period of attention, taking into account what it is stated by Serfontein (1999,) “Lower social competence is one common trait in male population; they act as the class clown to get the attention of people who are around them, and their social behavior is very infantile at school and at home.” They often feel bad about themselves and their self-esteem is low. The role of the instructors should be to allow them have leeway and freedom to express and share their points of view, enabling them to be valued and making them an important part inside the group, which facilitates the interaction with their classmates.

In one activity, students wiggled, got up and moved around their group in order to interact and to socialize with their peers and with their teacher. As it was reported on the teacher´s journal educators need to understand each person learns differently and they should be versatile in adapting classroom activities, such as: allowing pupils to move or to stand, while they are performing a certain task (page 2). These adaptations in the classes are ways that lead learners to focus on the schoolwork. When an instructor realizes each of his learners have different learning styles, teachers develop their class according to those characteristics, helping ADHD apprentices to have an appropriate learning environment. They also need to value students´ strengths for building on the positive of what they have to offer to the group. Each member of a team is responsible, not only for learning what is taught, but also for assisting their classmates, thus, creating an atmosphere of achievement. Apprentices work through the assignment until all group members successfully understand and complete it (King (1993). For that reason, during the activities, students worked according to their abilities, the one who was good for designing, drawing, narrating and writing was in charge of that aspect during the activities, while the other ones worked depending on their strengths until the work was accomplished.

However, the second questionnaire reported a low interaction, in some occasions, due to students’ lack of knowledge of their classmates and peers. ADHD learners did not ask their classmates for help because they felt afraid of making mistakes and some others thought the real problem was the exposure to classmates’ comments or critiques. It is relevant learners feel confident when they have to participate, and if a teacher does not provide an appropriate environment, they will be reluctant to express themselves, as Madrid (1993,) affirmed: “ESL students in class are reluctant to share their ideas and opinions in large and small group settings. It seems critical to create a climate of trust that encourages children to participate and take risks in a non- threatening environment.”

On the one hand, some of the cooperative activities facilitated students´ interaction, as it was evidenced in the second questionnaire: “I felt satisfied with the activity because there was companionship when I organized the song and I asked for help when I did not know the meaning of a word. Working with music is an interesting activity for me. I shared my ideas about the video and I discussed the message of the song for creating a poster.” Cooperative activities enhanced participation in a positive way, as it is mentioned by Hollander (2002) “In order to facilitate a conversation where connections are made, students need to view their participation as a contribution to a shared experience. Asking students to respond to a peer’s response helps to facilitate a conversation. As well, positively reinforcing such contributions builds this sense of collectivism.”

Furthermore, ADHD students had more commitment in the class, they reduced their anxiety level, and they got involved easily, while performing cooperative activities, as it is stated by Shulman (2002,) who affirmed “Students who are involved in educationally productive activities in school are developing habits of the mind and heart that enlarge their capacity for continuous learning and personal development.” This cooperation did not only give the child the chance to get more information about a topic, but also verified the parts they did not understand, when the teacher explained in a traditional form, as it is evidenced in the second questionnaire, where they were excited to work, to participate and finish the activity as a group.

The teacher reported in the journal, the students showed interest to work in cooperative activities, they realized that this methodology helped them to be engaged in a class, to focus their attention in an interactive way, having better discipline and not disturbing the class (page 6). In the development of the task the learners were eager to help each other and they saw in their classmates the advantage of learning more about them, at the same time, they increased their linguistic knowledge. The social relationships, the cooperation, the support and the union among all the members of the group were strengths evidenced in the implementation of the three cooperative activities, these aspects are shown in the second questionnaire when some students affirmed “I learned things that I do not know, I learned how to get along with my classmates”, and some others said “we discuss, join together and make an agreement.”

4.0. CONCLUSIONS

The cooperative activities allowed ADHD students to be concentrated on their tasks for longer time than before, they were interested and enjoyed the group work, students learned to work together and played an important role inside the groups increasing their self-confidence and self-esteem.

Teachers need to identify students’ characteristics, strengths and weaknesses, their likes, interests and desires inside the classroom, because this information helps them to modify and adapt their classes according to the needs they have. Cooperative activities foster ADHD students’ participation in a committed form, since they tend to express their ideas without paying too much attention to their mistakes but to the meaning when they participate.

Proper training for teachers in cooperative learning methodology provides them with elements that help ADHD students to get involved in English classes, creating a suitable environment that fosters their participation in both, a nominated and a voluntary way.

The implementation of the cooperative activities stimulates ADHD engagement and participation when they are created according to the students’ needs and likes. These kinds of activities help teachers to control ADHD students’ behavior, at the same time it fosters students’ interaction and individual accountability.

When implementing these activities, one of the teachers concerns should be to enhance ADHD students’ role in the classes through nominated participation, making them aware of their abilities, as well as realizing their contributions, ideas and opinions are meaningful and valuable in the English class.

5.0. IMPLICATIONS

During cooperative activities, small groups of students work together to accomplish individual and common goals; this is recommended to increase the amount of cooperative activities implemented, and for a longer time. Some ADHD Students were not able to master some of those strategies because of the length of time. It would be better to use more cooperative exercises and provide them with more time to learn, showing how to do it. The results were limited because of the small sample of students used. It would strengthen the results to use a larger group or some different groups with similar characteristics. After conducting this study, three weeks is a short period to teach and implement cooperative activities.

In a future study, teachers should attend training on cooperative learning before attempting to implement these activities into the classroom. It was difficult to learn about cooperative learning and try to implement the new ideas at the same time. During the study creating and gathering materials for cooperative learning projects involved a huge amount of preparation and time. Therefore, instead of working apart on implementing cooperative learning, it is recommended a small group of teachers and students who work together in order to produce cooperative units. This won’t only reduce the workload for an individual; it would produce more noticeable results.

One of the goals of teaching is to prepare students for the future. It is teachers’ responsibility to continue looking for more strategies to improve ADHD students’ learning processes, enhancing their engagement and participation, at the same time, they improve learners’ performance in the classes. As it was stated in this research, this is providing ADHD students with different strategies to overcome issues, not only in the academic field, but also in many aspects of their lives.

6.0. REFERENCES

Bayat, O. (2004). The effects of Cooperative Learning Activities on Students Attitudes Towards English Reading Courses (Master´s thesis)Bilkent University . Akara, Turkey.

Brown.T(2000)Attention-Deficid Disorders and Comorbidities in Children,Adolescents,and Adults American Psychiatric. Press,Inc

Chronis, A. Jones,H., & Raggi,V.(2006). Evidence-based psychosocial treatments for children and adolescents with attention-deficitlhyperactivity disorder.Clinical Psycology Review.Retrieved November 28, 2014

Coelho, E. (1994). Learning together in the multicultural classroom. Markham, Ontario: Pippin Publishing Limited.

Cowie, H. & Rudduck J. (1988). Cooperative group work: An Overview. London: B.P. Educational Services.

Deen, J.Y. (1987). An analysis of classroom interaction in a cooperative learning and teacher-centered setting. (Unpublished master’s thesis), University of California, Los Angeles

Evert.B.(2009).Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in the schools:Alternative Interventions for school CounselorsWinsconsinUniversity of Winsconsin-Stout

Ministerio de Educacion Naciona.l(2012).Orientaciones Generales Para la Atención Educativa de las Poblaciones con discapacidad -PcD-. en el marco del derecho a la educaciónBogotá D.C.Ministerio de Educacion Nacional

Stahl, R. (1994). The essential Elements of Cooperative Learning in the Classroom. Bloomintong: Erick Digest.

Winser.M.(2000) Special Education in the 21 st Century: issues of inclusion and reformWashington,DCGallaudet University Press

ENGLISH IS COOL

Eleven Grade

jueves, 5 de septiembre de 2019

INGLÉS TERCER PERIODO OCTAVO

miércoles, 27 de marzo de 2019

Inglés primer periodo 2019

sábado, 3 de septiembre de 2016

THE INFLUENCE OF COOPERATIVE LEARNING ACTIVITIES IN THE ENGAGEMENT AND PARTICIPATION OF 10TH GRADER STUDENTS WITH ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER (ADHD) IN ENGLISH CLASSES