Applying Educational Technology Issues to Practice

Evaluation: Outcomes of our Dedicated Hard Work

How often as teachers do we sit through another professional development session or meeting and think to ourselves, "wow! What a waste of time!" I know this is harsh. I know it might sound unprofessional, but when you've heard this sentiment from the majority of your colleagues, it becomes something that you cannot passively watch anymore. Like Berger encourages in chapter 5 of his book on "A More Beautiful Question," these are the exact moments where we can either just agree and move along, or we can spark and begin to ask why was that information was unhelpful? Or simply, why do I feel like that was a waste of my time? We have the option to be brave and avoid the predetermined path of sitting through sessions that don't lead to our growth as educators, through questioning and investigating what would be better.

Much of my research throughout my graduate program has revolved around different professional development aspects for educators. Some of the studies I've done have centered on effectiveness, while others (like on this page) ultimately lead to content that teachers feel they need to learn more about. In this post, I have the opportunity to model how I would evaluate my solution to the problem I've been deeply investigating over the last 8 weeks or so: "How can we identify and address executive functioning challenges in students without labeling developmentally appropriate behavior?" Most teachers who participated in my survey requested additional training in this area. But what happens after the training is done? How do we know if it worked?

As I looked into different models of evaluation, LTEM (The Learning Transfer Evaluation Model) by Will Thalheimer caught my eye for its depth and reasonable application toward evaluating teacher professional development outcomes. Because I have not yet been able to run a professional development session, this is my future evaluation plan for dissecting outcomes after we implement further training regarding ADHD markers.

As Will Thalheimer said in his LTEM proposal, this model "is a roadmap. You don't have to take the journey in a day!" (p. 28). Learning is a reflective process and should be treated as such! This model is a great way to flush out a plan for really dissecting the learning we do as educators, and making sure it's serving us well.

References

Berger, W. (2014). A more beautiful question: The power of inquiry to spark big ideas. Bloomsbury Publishing.

Will Thalheimer et. all. (2018). The Learning Transfer Evaluation Model: Sending messages to enable learning effectiveness. Available at https://www.worklearning.com/Catalog/

A Wicked Problem Exploration

Wicked Problems are problems that are multifaceted, have no one solution, often have many stakeholders, and are socially complex. Throughout this webpage, I have been exploring executive function and teacher readiness to identify students who are finding these necessary skills challenging versus students who are exhibiting developmentally appropriate behaviors. Throughout this process, I had the opportunity to survey a small set of K-12 teachers and use my findings and current research on the topic to make an informed action plan to work toward equipping teachers to do this work to the best of their ability.

Key takeaways from my research indicate that common misconceptions can be a barrier for teachers when identifying (or misidentifying) specific markers of executive dysfunction. While teachers feel confident identifying easily observed markers of ADHD, like impulse control and emotional dysregulation, they reported in high numbers struggling to identify key learning skills such as self-monitoring and planning/prioritizing tasks.

In my survey, not a single teacher reported feeling equipped to confidently identify all markers related to executive dysfunction, and over 22% of teachers reported not feeling trained to identify any of the markers related to executive dysfunction or ADHD.

Check out my presentation for further information and actions we might take to support our teachers by clicking the image to the right or the button below.

Click Here for Alternate Video Access

Survey Data Analysis - Surveying Educators About Executive Function and Developmentally Appropriate Behavior

ADHD diagnosis rates are on the rise for K-12 students in the U.S. and U.K. (and some other parts of the world) (Eszter, 2011). In the public eye, some might say there is an overdiagnosis crisis, while others would disagree based on a lack of research about diagnosing ADHD (Sciutto, 2007). There is one population that is often seen as a reliable source for recommending K-12 students to be screened for ADHD: teachers. This begs the question: How reliable, educated, and equipped are teachers in identifying and referring K-12 students to be screened for ADHD?

In my survey, I had the phenomenal chance to investigate this qualm and other current research on the topic. Out of 38 respondents, 85% of teachers report experience teaching a student with executive functioning challenges often or very often (diagnosed or undiagnosed). This means a majority of teachers believe that many K-12 students require support for these skills.

In an effort to identify which areas of executive functioning teachers are most and least comfortable with observing, we had them look through a list of executive functioning markers and report which ones were most and least observable. The two highest areas teachers felt confident in identifying were emotional control skills and impulse control skills. This is to be expected, as both of these are often clearly observed based on student behaviors.

The two least identifiable skills, however, were reported as self monitoring skills and planning and prioritizing skills. These skills are crucial for learning and identifying executive functioning challenges that do not fit the most commonly observable markers, but can impact student learning just as much. 75% of teachers reported feeling pressured to identify and push for a diagnosis for their suspected ADHD students to receive support or interventions for students who are struggling. (This rose after collecting more responses from 65%)

While it’s important to recognize that teachers spend a lot of time with students in a different environment than families do, further educating our teachers and families on ADHD and more studies on teacher preparedness for addressing executive functioning challenges are needed. ADHD is a complex disorder that often comes with other learning disabilities in tow- and can even cover them up! (Sciutto, 2007) Addressing misconceptions and the markers teachers reported as harder to observe, such as planning and prioritizing, and self monitoring skills, will further support students who need interventions and tools to be successful learning.

As a part of this study, teachers contributed meaningful suggestions to further education that would positively impact their ability to teach students with executive functioning challenges in the future. A significant number of teachers suggested learning from teachers who have extensive experience teaching these student populations. Current research on the topic supports this suggestion, as teachers who have more experience teaching students with ADHD are more likely to have more knowledge about symptoms, proper diagnosis, and intervention strategies. (Eszter, 2011).

My research, and the other included research regarding ADHD diagnosis in K-12 environments, supports further instruction for teachers on the less known areas of executive functioning skills/challenges. This study has also shed light on several other aspects of this issue that impact teachers and students, including: the lack of consistency in ADHD screening, prevalent public misconceptions regarding ADHD that are impacting diagnostic rates, and the likely occurrence of other learning disabilities with ADHD that is less studied overall. More research is needed to continue supporting proper diagnosis paths for students who require more support.

References:

Sciutto, M. (2007). Evaluating Evidence for and Against the Overdiagnosis of ADHD. Sage Publications.

Sciutto, M. Terjesen, M. Bender Frank, A. (2000). Teacher’s Knowledge and Misconceptions of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Westminster College Milestone School for Child Development. John Wiley & Sons Inc.

Eszter, P. (2011). Teachers’ Knowledge about Different Features of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Studia UBB Psychology. PAED, LVI 1.

Rebecca J Ward, Hanna Kovshoff & Jana Kreppner (2021) School staff perspectives on ADHD and training: understanding the needs and views of UK primary staff, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, 26:3, 306-321, DOI: 10.1080/13632752.2021.1965342

Walking the Line: Surveying Educators About Executive Function and Developmentally Appropriate Behavior

This week, as I continue investigating the wicked question regarding whether educators are equipped to identify age-appropriate executive functioning challenges versus age-appropriate behaviors, I embarked on a big step: creating a way to collect useful data about the problem. Solving a big problem requires a lot of input! This led me to create a survey aimed at identifying how well educators feel equipped to do this work related to executive functioning in their classrooms.

When creating a survey that is (hopefully) going to yield useful data, there is a lot to consider. The easiest is audience - for my survey, I am specifically interested in K-12 educators who work with students in a classroom setting. (If that's you, you can take the survey here!). I wanted to ask questions that allow educators to answer honestly and comprehensively, so I can get a full view of the problem. This meant considering different types of questions to include. Berger identifies three main important question types through his own research: what questions, how questions, and potentially the most engaging: why questions (Berger 2014).

With the help of some peer editing, I came up with questions related to three main facets of my original question to include as sections of my survey. The first part of the survey targets the frequency of the problem. This helps identify and reinforce that the question I'm answering is an important problem that deserves investigating. The second group of questions focuses on which executive functioning areas of struggle might be the most prevalent or noticed by educators. The last section of questions zooms in on the preparedness of teachers to address this skill set in students and leaves more room for engagement and qualitative feedback with paragraph-style response questions.

Targeting these three areas with intentional structuring of the questions will help me round out and investigate possible solutions to that big initial question: How can we identify and address executive functioning challenges in students without labeling developmentally appropriate behavior?

Moving into data collection is great progress on answering this question together. If you have 5-7 minutes and are a K-12 teacher, don't forget to take it!

References

Berger, W. (2014). A more beautiful question: The power of inquiry to spark big ideas. Bloomsbury Publishing.

An Exploration of a Wicked Question

Have you ever encountered a problem that felt unmanageable? Unsolvable? These can be referred to sometimes as "wicked" questions. Wicked questions are socially complex and often have no clear answer. To come up with one or multiple solutions to a wicked problem, the best place to begin is to start asking and organizing questions. By asking a bunch of questions, we're able to narrow down the best question to help us find a solution. Organizing my questions helped me narrow them down to find the best-fit question.

One wicked topic that has been staring me in the face daily is how to support kids who seem to lack certain necessary executive functioning skills to be successful in learning. I have had trouble narrowing down the best way to tackle this until I began asking more questions and organizing them based on three different categories:

question type (what, why, how)
The TPACK framework
And stakeholders impacted - students and teachers, most notably

There was a question that popped up again and again and felt the most complex- like it matched exactly what I had been looking for.

Watch my sketch note video to find out what it was!

Wicked Problem Exploration Video

An inquiry-based approach to ADHD and the Inquiry-based learning model

Image of quick fire questions (a 5 minute brainstorm activity)

In my short time teaching in the classroom, I have worked alongside parents and other teachers who support students who find starting tasks that require higher-order thinking skills or other executive functioning skills to be a challenge. I have watched and participated in conversations with parents whose student struggles to engage with certain subjects (looking at you- writing time!).

I have also experienced working with families who already had intervention plans in place for their students based on a previously known ADHD diagnosis or older siblings with known executive functioning delays.

The Cleveland Clinic describes executive function as "the skills needed to manage everyday tasks like making plans, solving problems, and adapting to new situations." I often wonder why this seems to be a more prevalent issue facing my classroom. I sometimes have felt unprepared for these conversations with families, and have often questioned why there are so many kids who seem to lack this specific skill set.

When reading Warren Bergers "A More Beautiful Question," I became stuck on one idea he brought up and described as "a chicken or egg first situation" it was a question he posed: "Do kids stop questioning because they've lost interest in school, or do they lose-interest in school because their natural curiosity (and propensity to question) is somehow tamped down?" (p. 46) Working with kids who have ADHD has made me interested in this question, too. I often wonder if they just are not interested, or how I can identify the skills they are missing to fully participate and engage in inquiry based learning. If you lack the skill to start a task, it is going to be extremely difficult to participate when the first task is often exploring a question or problem. And then came another question I had- do they have the skill to ask these kinds of participatory questions? In what situations do they not do this? I also turn my questions inward and begin asking myself if I am creating an environment where kids can ask questions and explore them with me as a team.

The image up above is a "quick fire," which is essentially a question brainstorm. Asking questions is the most important step to solving a problem (or exploring it). I'm not going to pretend to have answers to these questions, because I don't- yet. But I am going to share them with you in hopes that we can explore them together and begin to place value on inquiry-based processes of learning for every learner.

References

Berger, W. "A More Beautiful Question." (2014). Bloomsbury Publishing

Cleveland Clinic. Executive Function. (n.d). https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/executive-function

Problems of Practice: Executive functioning skill support for students with attention challenges or Traumatic Brain Injuires

Executive functioning skills are crucial to student success. Being able to plan, organize, and initiate a task is core to every subject and activity children participate in at school. At home, challenges with these skills can lead to difficulty getting ready and out the door, interrupted bedtime routines, and struggles with homework or social relationships.

One interesting problem I came across in my teaching practice this year was the relationship between executive functioning and traumatic brain injuries (TBI). Children who may not have had challenges with observable executive functioning skills may develop challenges after experiencing a brain, head, or neck injury, specifically one that requires medical attention. Kids play hard. TBI is more common in children and adolescents than teachers realize. These instances can lead to students needing more support post injury than they have needed in the past. Teachers need to be responsive to all students with executive functioning challenges, but especially notice observable changes in this skill set after an notable injury whether it happens at home or school.

Ill-Structure Problem CEP812.mp4

In this video, I highlight some beneficial research that discusses TBI and executive functioning. I also give you one simple app you can use with elementary-aged students to support executive function, specifically in the area of planning and carrying out tasks.

Here is a link to the app: Lil Planner

Other than using this app for morning routines, I can also see it being beneficial for writing processes, reading assignments, or other parts of the day that may be a struggle for students with attention challenges. While seemingly simple, a check list is one of the most powerful tools to avoid badgering students or singling them out when they struggle to stay on task.

Traumatic brain injuries can lead to learning loss without the correct support at school and home. Attention challenges are wide spread and a complex issue teachers face today. Knowing resources and tools, as well as other causes of attention challenges we don't normally discuss, like TBI, are powerful ways to gain knowledge and support your students.

References

Gies, L., Lynch. J, Bonanno, K.A., Zhang, N., Yeates, K., Taylor, G. & Wade, S.L. (2024). Differences between parent- and teacher-reported executive functioning behaviors after traumatic injuries, Child Neuropsychology, 30:8, 1203-1214, DOI: 10.1080/09297049.2024.2314957 https://doi.org/10.1080/09297049.2024.2314957

Saairnen, M., Haimenen, L., Raukola-Lindblom, M. Et. Al. (2025). Cognitive performance and perceived injury symptoms in school-aged children and adolescents after mild traumatic brain injury. A long-term follow-up study. European Journal of Paediatric Neurology. 54 pp 159-170. https://www.journals.elsevier.com/european-journal-of-paediatric-neurology

Waltzman D, Haarbauer-Krupa J, Daugherty J, Sarmiento K, Yurgelun-Todd DA, McGlade EC. Lifetime history of head or traumatic brain injury before age 9 and school outcomes: results from the adolescent brain cognitive development study. J Sch Health. 2024; 94: 1129-1140. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/josh.13508

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