A new study provides some alternatives for parents whose children are diagnosed with ADHD. Mike Smith speaks with the author of this study on today's Home School Heartbeat.
Mike Smith:
My guest this week is Dr. Steven Duvall. Steven, what are the similarities and differences between homeschool and public schools?
Dr. Steven Duvall:
Well, Mike, one important aspect that we looked at was each child's instructional environment. And this included things like the types of tasks students were involved in and the ways students were grouped both physically and instructionally.
Concerning tasks, the public school students spent a lot more time listening to lecture. And that may sound impressive, but unfortunately, lecture makes students act as passive learners. Regarding physical arrangements, we found that both homeschool and public school students spent a lot of time studying in groups. But homeschoolers spent much more time working independently of others, so not only do homeschoolers have opportunities to develop skills involved in teamwork, for example, but home education may teach them to be less reliant on others to become problem solvers.
Mike:
Well, what about the instructional group of homeschoolers?
Dr. Duvall:
Well, Mike, there our most important finding was that the homeschool students with ADHD received more than six times as much one-on-one instruction as similarly-affected public school students.
Mike:
This is great news, Steve. Listeners, join us next time as we continue our discussion of homeschooling and ADHD. And I'm Mike Smith.
