Erica Rigoroso

Tag: education

  • How to Support Neurodivergent Students in School

    As an educator, supporting students’ unique needs is essential to fostering a positive learning environment and a safe space for them to be themselves. Understanding a student’s needs and providing the resources they need to thrive is vital in nurturing the next generation of scientists, doctors, artists, and anything they can dream. But how can you support the needs of neurodivergent students in school?

    Keep reading to learn how to support neurodivergent students in school.

      Understanding the Needs of Neurodivergent Students

      One of the first steps in providing support for neurodivergent students is to understand what “neurodivergent” means. The term “neurodivergent” is a non-medical term describing people whose brains work differently than others. Some of these differences can include learning disabilities, medical conditions, or mental conditions. As Cleveland Clinic describes, the word “neurodivergent” is a way to describe people using words other than “normal” and “abnormal.” There is no “normal” way of describing people and how their brains work, as every person thinks differently.

      Some of the most common forms of neurodivergence that you may encounter in the classroom are Autism Spectrum Disorder (Autism, or ASD) and Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). With autism being found in 1 of 36 children and ADHD being found in 11.7% of children, understanding these differences can promote a more inclusive approach to teaching, along with giving a different perspective to creating lesson plans for all students.

      Understanding the differences between students within the classroom can be a learning experience for both you and your pupils. Though understanding neurodivergent students and keeping their needs in mind may seem like a new concern, teaching with the utmost empathy and inclusivity for everyone remains a constant concern in education.

        Providing Thoughtful Solutions

        To help support neurodivergent students, it is essential to provide thoughtful solutions that can address their needs. Giving students the space or time they need when learning can allow a neurodivergent student to thrive when given appropriate support and encouragement from a mentor. Here are some common factors to consider to have a neurodivergent-friendly classroom:

        Sensory Sensitivities

        Some neurodivergent students may have sensory sensitivities, whether it is sensitivity to sound, light, or touch. To make your classroom sensory-friendly, you can:

        1. Use softer lighting or natural lighting instead of harsh fluorescent overhead lighting
        2. Provide a quiet space for students within the classroom or in another room
        3. Providing fidget toys or other sensory tools
        4. Clearly labeling areas of the classroom, materials, etc.

        Edutopia, a blog discussing student education for educators, suggests that another way to support neurodivergent students is to break down large tasks into smaller steps. Some students may find tasks overwhelming, especially because time management, organization, and focus can be something they struggle with. Some ways to help students struggling with these obstacles include:

        1. Utilizing checklists
        2. Using rubrics
        3. Using a calendar to organize specific times to complete the steps of a project or paper

        Additional Support for Neurodivergent Students

        When it comes to supporting neurodivergent students, parents and educators must work together to ensure that their needs are met. Having a conversation with parents about their child can help educators identify what methods of teaching would work best for them and allow them to thrive in the classroom.

        Child Mind Institute, an organization providing resources to families and educators alike about children’s mental health, suggests that a way for parents to help support their neurodivergent student at school is to create an “About Me” letter of introduction. This letter can include things about the student such as:

        1. What is their child good at, academically or otherwise?
        2. How does their child show stress, and what is the best way to approach them?
        3. What things are more difficult for their child?

          Take Care

          Supporting neurodivergent students in school can help them thrive in the classroom, with compassion and empathy essential to facilitate a supportive environment for all students. Understanding students’ specific needs and providing thoughtful solutions can help make a positive impact on their time at school and reduce obstacles they may face while learning. By keeping these differences in mind, parents and educators can help neurodivergent students learn at their own pace and to the best of their ability.

              This article was written for Ferry Godmother Productions, Inc.

            1. Quarantine the past: looking at how the COVID-19 pandemic affected UMBC students

              By Erica Rigoroso

              The beginning of the COVID-10 pandemic changed the lives of millions around the world, including the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

              COVID precautions created a physical distance between students and professors as quotidian campus life came to an abrupt halt in March of 2020, and classes migrated online.

              But more than just physical distance separated students from campus life. Students at UMBC and other colleges experienced a mental distancing; not just from other students, but from feeling part of a campus community.

              Have students—and the university as a whole—recovered from the disruptions caused by COVIID?

              Trevor Jansen, a UMBC alumni who lived on campus in 2020 during the COVID lockdown said that he felt that UMBC managed the sudden transition to online learning from in-person classes.

              Jansen states the lockdown was handled “about as well as they could have considering the circumstances. The transition to online learning wasn’t seamless, but they managed to keep the school year going without any major disruptions.”

              He pointed out that not only student, but professors too had to adapt very quickly to a new way of teaching and learning.

              “It seems like professors were kind of thrown in the deep end and expected to swim with their classes.”

              Jansen says that he found it harder to connect to students and professors during online classes and meetings.

              “Things definitely felt more distant with online learning,” he said.

              “There was much less incentive to pay attention in class, and group activities were even more awkward online than they were in person. I got to the point where I would just leave a class if they started putting us into breakout rooms.”

              Though he said that he had some good classes during the online period with memorable professors, “I don’t remember them nearly as well or as fondly as the professors I got to see and meet with in person.”

              Fellow UMBC alumni Michael Fialkowski offers a slightly different take on how UMBC handled the sudden jump to online classes.

              “I felt so bad for the less tech-savvy professors; turns out its difficult to teach when you can barely work a Zoom room. I feel that it’s easy to forget how far everyone’s digital literacy has come since we were forced online for school and work, and we had to figure out how to do videoconferencing on the fly.”

              Fialkowski feels that the school could have done more to address the mental health effects of the pandemic for students.

              “I also know that those times were tough on the mental for many – but as far as I know we didn’t receive much guidance on seeking out counseling or other mental services.”

              COVID-19’s impact on college students

              A collaborating team of researchers from Chinese and American universities conducted a study on 335 college students monitoring their mental health experiences from the start of the pandemic in 2020 to two years later in 2022.

              The researchers wanted to examine the way that emotions like fear and happiness were connected to university students’ mental health and these effects on their education.

              Participants were screened for psychological disorders and answered questions that would measure their anxiety, depression, hostility, interpersonal sensitivity, and sleep symptoms over the two-year study.

              Other factors considered by researchers included which students received the COVID-19 vaccine and students testing positive for COVID. 60% of students tested positive for COVID, with more female students than male students being affected.

              The results of the study presented a correlation between the effects of the pandemic and college students’ mental health and education.

              Participants showed an increase in feelings of fear, stress, and decreased happiness, with a reported 95.7% of the sample reporting and experiencing moderate to severe mood disorders.

              In turn, the self-reported decline in mental health took a toll on how participants were able to retain information from class. Students reported an average score of 7.6 on a scale of 10 rating how much COVID affected their ability to learn during the pandemic, with 10 being the most severe.

              Another group of researchers reported their findings on COVID’s effects on 4,714 college students in New York and New Jersey, the largest and most diverse sample of college students as of April 2022.

              The researchers studied the psychological, academic, and financial health of college students, along with paying attention to how racial and ethnic groups may have had different experiences during the pandemic.

              They conducted a survey for the students, which included a broad range of topics, such as COVID-related stressors, social behavior, and financial, academic, and mental health changes.

              A large number of students reported changes in socialization both with their families and on social media, with 73% reporting less interaction with their friends and families, and 75% reporting more social media use compared to before the pandemic.

              In addition to the lessened levels of socialization among participants, most students reported a decline in their mental health. 74% of students reported feeling more depressed, 76% felt more anxious, and 83% experienced more frustration or boredom.

              Moreover, the shockwaves from the initial changes from the pandemic can still be felt by students in both their academic and social lives.

              The Return to Campus

              Eighteen months after the initial lockdown, UMBC opened its doors to in-person classes and residence halls at full capacity during the 2021 Fall semester.

              At UMBC’s annual Fall Opening meeting in 2021, Provost Philip Rous said, “I feel like I’ve waited a very long time to say this, but… welcome home.”

              Though some older students were returning to campus, and to their sense of “normal college life,” many new residents were experiencing college for the first time in a post-quarantine world.

              The 2021-2022 school year welcomed almost 2,100 new students to UMBC—the largest incoming fall class in UMBC’s history.

              What did it mean for students to come out of high school fully online and then come out into the world beyond the extent of COVID precautions?

              Jonah Sichelman, a third-year student who came to UMBC as a freshman in Fall 2021, expresses the kind of social anxiety he felt in the transition from high school to college.

              “My entire last year of high school was online and I wasn’t leaving the house much at all then, so I had definitely gotten used to note being around people or not making new friends,” he said.

              Despite his worries, Sichelman felt welcomed by the UMBC community and connected with others because of this shared experience.

              “It was surprisingly much easier to make friends than I thought it would have been because of how things had been beforehand. Living on campus made it surprisingly easy to make friends and meet people despite being in the middle of a pandemic.”

              As a returning student, Fialkowski felt not just relief about coming back to campus, but also a sense of gratitude. He believes that the struggles that the UMBC community faced as students and faculty experiencing quarantine brought people closer together.

              “Once we came back to campus, I felt that my classmates and professors took more care to connect with one another, and I had noticeable better relationships post-lockdown,” he said.

              “Maybe it took a pandemic to recognize that we shouldn’t take our relationships – no matter how small – for granted.”