Action Research Project

Bridget Binns
Loyola Marymount University
EDES 6081 Special Populations
Introduction
According to Stephen Brocks article about special needs (2002), Affecting three to
seven percent of the population, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the
most common of childhood behavior disorders (p.1). In order for students with ADHD to
receive the best education possible, intervention strategies must be used to help these students
stay focused and become more successful in the classroom. The student I have chosen to focus
my Special Population study is Kylee, a third grader at Our Lady of Perpetual Help School, a
TK-8 Catholic School situated in Downey. This suburban, upscale community is located about
fifteen minutes northeast of Long Beach.
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic School is one of the most expensive Catholic
schools in the area, and many of the children who attend the school live in Downey. When I first
met Kylee at the beginning of this school year, I knew that she would be tough to handle. I
refer to Kylee as a ball of energy. During the first week of school, her parents met with me
to let me know that Kylee was diagnosed with mild ADHD last year. They presented me with
some tips and strategies for handling her behavior such as keeping her in the front of the
classroom to help her stay focused and on-task.
Kylee is taught by two other teachers as well. The school began this brand new model
for teaching called team teaching. Therefore, there are three teachers for two grades. I am on the
third/fourth grade team with two other teachers. Our team will sometimes have Kylee stay for

academic support after school to help her complete class work, finish tests, etc. Our team of
teachers divide the subjects and at times, we will do station teaching where two teachers are in
the same classroom. One of the subjects I teach is third grade Math, and I have noticed that
Kylee has a very difficult time finishing her Math tests. She does complete the Math tests that
she takes, but she usually has to stay either for the lunch period or after school in order to
complete her Math tests. She also has to be prompted several times to continue working while
she is taking her Math test. Based on what I already have learned about Kylee, the question for
my research study is the following: In what ways can I improve Kylees focus so that she can
complete her Math tests on time and improve her Math test scores?
Lit Review
According to Dr. Karen Walker (2009), ADHD can manifest itself in three different
ways: inattentiveness, over activity, and/or impulsivity. Kylee definitely exhibits all three of
these ways in which ADHD is shown. She has to be redirected multiple times throughout the day
due to her lack of attention. She has difficulty staying in her seat. She will often sit-up on her
knees instead of sitting correctly in her chair. Kylee is also very slow at completing tasks because
of her inattention that she shows throughout the school day.
Apparently, there is abundant research supporting the theory that ADHD is caused by
dysfunction in this part [the prefrontal cortex] of the brain (Barkley, 1997; Brennan & Arnsten,
2008; Dickstein, Bannon, Xavier Castellanos, & Milham, 2006; Dige & Wik, 2005). Dysfunction
of the prefrontal cortex can lead to impulsive states with increased tendency to initiate action
(Warden, 2012) This is perhaps what is happening in Kylees brain, causing her to be impulsive
and inattentive. Kylees parents are very adamant about not putting her on medication to help
with her ADHD.

Placing students on medications often adhere to important neurotransmitters, dopamine

and norepinephrine, which are typically in short supply in students with ADHD. The medications
then activate these neurotransmitters to stimulate the prefrontal cortex (Szegedy-Maszak, 2002).
In order to help Kylee achieve better results in the classroom, other methods (other than
medication) need to be attempted. According to the research, there are other ways, besides using
medication, to help stimulate the prefrontal cortex part of her brain. One of the methods that the
research suggests is the use of brain games. As the research states, From the moment children
understand rules as a social regulator, they become more interested in improving their
competencies in order to succeed and win. To do so, they have to use different skills, such as
attention, organization, and self-control (Barkley, 1997, 2000; Cypel, 2007). Brain games
challenges students to pay attention, problem-solve, and develop strategies to become successful.
When students face these challenges, this will help stimulate the prefrontal cortex part of
the brain, which is believed to directly result in treating ADHD. These games can include games
such as pick-up sticks, dominoes, memory, etc. (Barkley, 1997, 2000; Cypel, 2007). According to
Prensky (2001), students will learn better when instruction is presented in a stimulating,
motivating, and fun way. Furthermore, A more positive direction to enhancing self-concept
appears to be cognitively oriented interventions, designed to realign students thinking towards
more positive self-affirmation (Hattie, 1992). Kylee is aware that she struggles as well as the
rest of her classmates. Her name for the purpose of redirection, is said more than any other
students name in the class. Using this game-based instruction will give her positive affirmations.
Out of all her subjects, Kylee struggles the most with Math. This subject requires a lot of
attention, which is a struggle for Kylee. Many times during Math class, she will ask to use the
restroom, get water, etc. to continue getting out of her chair instead of sitting and completing her

Math assignments. It is imperative to find ways to help Kylee with her ADHD while also
improving her Math skills.
While doing research, I came across something called the Math Academy. The Math
Academy is a day-long event in which students rotate from classroom to classroom to participate
in various math games. The day has a theme related to math such as math-related careers,
restaurants, sports, etc. All of the math games in each of the classrooms coordinate to the theme
for that day (Rimbey, 2007). This type of event would reach all learners, especially a student
such as Kylee. She is participating in Math games and having fun, while she is moving around
from classroom to classroom. Other research suggests the use of Brain Gym. This program has
been used internationally and is an intervention designed by educators and reading specialists,
Paul and Gail Dennison, in the 1970s to improve various outcomes including attention, memory,
and academic skills. Brain Gym consists of 26 simple movements that are believed to enhance
academic and behavioral performance by activating both hemispheres of the brain through
neurological repatterning to promote whole-brain learning (Hyatt, 2007; Dennison & Dennison,
2007).
Further research suggests physical activity has been shown to improve on-task behavior
in the classroom (Mahar et al., 2006). Much of the research provides methods for helping
ADHD students to stay focused without the use of medication. Some of the research has
indicated using brain games as a method to help students remain focused. Other research
suggests giving students physical activity so that they are not sitting for prolonged periods of
time. After researching and gathering some very helpful information, I have decided to use brain
games as an intervention strategy as well as giving her more frequent breaks to get out of her
seat. These intervention strategies will be discussed for in the intervention cycles of this research

paper. I hope that using these strategies will help Kylee with her ADHD as well as improve her
Math scores.
Cycle I-Baseline Data
Kylee is a student in the third grade class. I teach Kylee Reading, Math, Writing, and
Social Studies. At my school, we team teach, so Kylee has two other teachers who also teach her
various subjects. Two teachers in the same classroom teach some of the above-mentioned
subjects. I decided to choose Kylee for this study to help her improve her focus, especially while
taking her Math tests to improve her scores. Kylee really struggles with her attention span. She is
consistently out of her seat. Kylee must be prompted on a daily basis to complete classroom
routines. Her parents are extremely supportive, and there is definitely follow-through with
consequences at home. Her parents are very adamant about not giving her medication to help
calm the ADHD and keep her focused. I have seen improvements with focus and attentiveness,
but I also feel that she has a long way to go. Her Math test scores are now suffering because of
her lack of attentiveness. Kylee is capable of doing the Math assignments, but she has difficulty
completing her class work assignments during class due to her lack of focus. The chart below
reveals her most recent test scores.
Math Assessments Data before Intervention

Math Test
Chp.6
Chp.7 Quiz
Chp.7 Test

Score
18/23 (C)
8/10 (C+)
22/31 (C-)

This baseline data shows that Kylees Math grades suffer. There could be a variety of reasons for
this, however based on classroom observations, it is mostly because her lack of focus and
inattentiveness.
Kylee is very social in class and you can usually spot her looking around the room,
talking to someone, searching for something inside her desk, etc. I will spend the intervention
period researching and finding strategies to help Kylee stay focused, perhaps with an incentive
chart. I hope that this intervention will improve her attention span, which will hopefully improve
her test scores.
Cycle 2-Intervention and New Benchmark
During the intervention, Kylee was allowed a number of breaks before, during, and after
her Math lessons in order to help improve her focus. I had her walk around the school, up and
down the hallway, etc. to release that energy since she has difficulty sitting still. In addition to
her frequent breaks, I also worked with Kylee after school Mondays-Thursdays for thirty minutes
to play the brain games that were suggested by the research. Kylee played pick-up sticks,
multiplication bingo, memory, and dominoes. Playing these games take a lot of concentration, so
research suggests that participation in these games help improve concentration, impulsivity, etc.
Kylee participated willingly in each game and enjoyed them. I noticed that in the
beginning, she had difficulty sitting still and staying focused when participating. For example
when we played pick-up sticks, Kylee was not careful in playing the game and was not too
successful. However, the more we played these brain games, the more focused she became and
involved in the game. I also saw improvements during Math lessons. She would still ask to go to
the restroom, get water, etc. a number of times during class, but I noticed that she asked less

frequently. She also stayed more focused when she took her quizzes and tests. Below is a chart
demonstrating Kylees Math progress during the intervention.
Math Assessments During Intervention
Math Test
Chp.8 Quiz 1
Chp.8 Quiz 2
Chp.8 Test

Score
20/23 (B-)
19/23 (C+)
28/31 (B+)

The above-mentioned data shows the Math assessment data that Kylee had accomplished
throughout our Multiplication Unit. This data indicates that using the brain games helped
improve her focus, which then improved her Math scores. Even during the assessments, Kylee
was able to maintain focus instead of becoming distracted. She did have to be redirected a few
times to continue working during her assessments; however, she maintained more focus than I
have seen her sustain all year.
I have noticed a change in Kylee not only in Math, but also in her behavior. She stays in
her seat more often, does not ask to use the restroom as much, and she participates more in class.
There are still times where she needs to be redirected to stay focused and stay in her seat;
however, the improvement has been quite impressive. I am very proud of what Kylee has
accomplished and I hope to continue helping her as she continues to grow and improve in class.
Conclusion
It was such a joy to work with Kylee and to see her Math scores improve one step at a
time. Participation in the brain game strategy worked for her. The more she participated in the
various brain games, the more focused and concentrated she became, which was evident in the
classroom. As the data suggests, Kylee clearly improved her focus and concentration. When the
students are asked questions to demonstrate mastery, Kylee was more often focused and even

participated in class discussion instead of being distracted. I noticed that she is much more
focused, and I do not need to redirect her as much to complete her assignments. She still has a
long way to go as far as staying in her seat and staying on task, but the improvement that I have
seen has been very rewarding.
Before the intervention, she did everything she could to leave class for any reason,
consistently out of her seat, talking to her classmates, etc. Even though playing these brain games
are a good strategy, this does not mean that this strategy would work for all students. More
research is needed to determine what other strategies for students with ADHD could be used to
help improve a students Math scores. Although this strategy may not be guaranteed to work
with all students, Kylee definitely benefitted from this intervention; she is now more studious
and does not have to be corrected as often for her behavior. I hope that Kylee continues on this
path to success.
References
Barkley, R. (1997). Behavioral inhibition, sustained attention and executive functions:
Constructing a unifying theory of ADHD. Psychological Bulletin, 121(1), 65-94.
Brock, S. E. (n.d.). Helping the student with ADHD in the classroom.
Hatton, J. (1993). Massage the brain-button and learn. Newsmagazine, 20(15), 34.
Hyatt, K.J. (2007). Brain Gym: Building stronger brains or wishful thinking? Remedial and
Special Education, 28(2), 117-124.
Mahar, M.T., Murphy, S.K., Rowe, D.A., Golden, J., Shields, A.T., Raedeke, T.D. (2006). Effects
of a classroom- based program on physical activity and on-task behavior. Medicine &
Science in Sports & Exercise, 2086-2094. doi:10.1249/01.mss.0000235359.16685.a3
Rimbey,Kimberly. Explorations In Fractions, Decimals, & Percents. (n.d.). Production of the
Math Academy Booklet.
Szegedy-Maszak, M. (2002). The mind maze. U.S. News & World Report, 132(15), 52.
Walker, K. (n.d.). ADHD-To Medicate or not?

Warden, M. R., Selimbeyoglu, A., Mirzabekov, J. J., Lo, M., Thompson, K. R., Kim, S., . . .
Deisseroth, K. (2012). A prefrontal cortexbrainstem neuronal projection that controls
response to behavioural challenge. Nature. doi:10.1038/nature11617