Improving the Achievement, Motivation, and Engagement of Students With ADHD: The Role of Personal Best Goals and Other Growth-Based Approaches

Abstract

In light of recent evidence suggesting the academic benefits of personal best (PB) goals for students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), this article explores practical approaches to implementing PB goals in the counselling and classroom context. Beginning with a brief summary of how and why PB goals impact academic outcomes and the relevance of this to students with ADHD, concrete steps to implementing PB goals are described. Following this, the broader concept of academic growth is discussed, along with some guidance as to how to operationalise growth approaches with students. Taken together, a greater focus on academically at-risk students' personal trajectories is suggested as a potentially fruitful approach to enhancing their educational outcomes.Keywords: attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, ADD, ADHD, goals, engagement, achievement PB Goals and Students with Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity DisorderGoal-setting is important for students' academic development (Anderman & Wolters, 2006;Elliot, 2005;Linnenbrink-Garcia, Tyson, & Patall, 2008;Locke & Latham, 2002;Maehr & Zusho, 2009). One of the most recently proposed goal-setting strategies involves 'personal best' (PB) goals. PB goals are defined as specific, challenging, competitively self-referenced targets towards which students strive (Martin, 2006;Martin & Liem, 2010). PB goal-setting involves focusing on one's own progress and achievement more than focusing on the progress and achievement of other students. It also involves trying to do a bit more or a bit better Anderman, Yough, & Gimbert, 2010;Betebenner, 2008Betebenner, , 2009Briggs & Betebenner, 2009;Dweck, 2006;Harris, 2011). Focusing on the individual and his/her personal progress, growth approaches are somewhat different from the more traditional static, snapshot, comparative, and norm-reference approaches. Indeed, this focus on the individual and his/her own personal progress aligns well with the student-centred work conducted by school counsellors and psychologists.In the competitive context of today's classroom, students who struggle academically may be at particular risk of giving up due to difficulties competing as effectively as other students (Christenson, Reschly, & Wylie, 2012). This struggle can be more pronounced in cases where students perceive that parents/caregivers, teachers, and more recently, government are placing pressure on them to perform competitively. On the other hand, when students compete against their own prior efforts, success becomes personally defined and potentially more accessible (Martin, 2012b).In previous research, PB goals have been shown to enhance the academic outcomes of 'regular' high school students (Liem, Ginns, Martin, Stone, & Herett, 2012;Martin, 2006;Martin & Liem, 2010). However, if PB goals are to be implemented in diverse classrooms, it is important that they have positive effects across the diversity of students in those classrooms. For school counsellors and psychologists to implement PB approaches with referred student...

Examining the yields of growth feedback from science teachers and students' intrinsic valuing of science: Implications for student‐ and school‐level science achievement

“…Additionally, researchers have noted that teacher feedback can be more effective and beneficial when it addresses personal development and progress (Butler, ; Ferguson, ; Lizzio & Wilson, ; Weaver, ). We refer to this as “growth feedback.” Specifically, growth feedback explicitly identifies how and where students can improve their learning and is constructive for personal learning and growth (Martin, ).…”

“…As such, growth feedback can be considered a quality form of teacher feedback. Specifically, growth feedback is that which explicitly identifies how and where students can improve their learning, provides information that is constructive for personal learning, and motivates students toward continued personal growth (Burns & Martin, ; Martin, ). It is important to note that growth feedback is considered related to but conceptually distinct from other forms of teacher feedback.…”

“…Second, unlike motivational feedback, growth feedback focuses exclusively on personal growth and aims to provide targeted and specific feedback, rather than socially comparative or supportive messages. Thus, growth feedback is considered a distinct form of effective teacher feedback because it provides constructive information for personal improvement (Hattie, ; Martin, ). Indeed, previous research has demonstrated that such feedback positively impacts students' attitudes toward school, such as valuing, and academic outcomes (Hattie, ; Hattie & Timperley, ; Sansone, ).…”

Grit, growth mindset and participation in competitive policy debate: Evidence from the Chicago Debate League

“…These NCS represent strategies that can be developed through practice and sustained effort, akin to muscular strength that can grow from training, but also atrophy from lack of use. This notion is especially important in the context of disadvantage (Spitzer and Aronson, 2015); racial/ethnic minorities, students with disabilities, and individuals from low socioeconomic backgrounds are more likely to endorse beliefs consistent with a fixed mindset, which may contribute to lower achievement for these groups (Good et al, 2003;Jury et al, 2017;Martin, 2013;Master and Meltzoff, 2016;Scherr et al, 2017).…”

Distance travelled: outcomes and evidence in flexible learning options

“…Thomson (2014) suggests that in alternative educational contexts, educators may assess achievement as the extent to which a young person undergoes personal growth through participation in a program. For young people considered 'academically at-risk, ' Martin (2013) proposes 'personal best' approaches. In FLOs, the framing of success as 'distance travelled' (Dewson et al 2000;Evans et al 2009;Te Riele et al 2016) (i.e., the progress a young person makes relative to his or her own starting point), is necessarily cognizant of the significant barriers to self-actualisation faced by disadvantaged young people .…”