De Asis, Princess Joy C BEED-302

Students Hyperactivity

Hyperactivity means having increased movement, impulsive actions, and a shorter attention span, and

being easily distracted. Hyperactive behavior usually refers to constant activity, being easily distracted,

impulsiveness, inability to concentrate, aggressiveness, and similar behaviors. Hyperactivity is not easily

defined. It often depends on the observer. Behavior that seems excessive to one person may not seem

excessive to another. But certain children, when compared to others, are clearly far more active. This can

become a problem if it interferes with school work or making friends.

Hyperactivity is often considered more of a problem for schools and parents than it is for the child. But

many hyperactive children are unhappy, or even depressed. Hyperactive behavior may make a child a

target for bullying, or make it harder to connect with other children. Schoolwork may be more difficult.

Kids who are hyperactive are frequently punished for their behavior. Excessive movement (hyperkinetic

behavior) often decreases as the child grows older. It may disappear entirely by adolescence.
My Reaction

A hyperactive student is not hard to recognize. This is the student who's constantly on the move, bouncing

from one task to another and rarely completing any. Even sitting in their seat, they are anything but still,

as they fidgets, wiggles, twists, and turns. They are a "mover and shaker" in the literal sense of the words.

It would be nice if teachers could simply turn off a switch with hyperactive students to calm their

behavior, but there are no easy answers with these children. Indeed, teaching a hyperactive student can be

one of the most challenging management problems teachers’ face. It also can be one of the most

annoying, especially if they are disrupting my ability to teach and other students' ability to learn.

The challenge in working with hyperactive children is to balance their needs with the needs of the other

students. I want to create a good learning environment for the hyperactive student, mindful of the issues

of peer rejection and low self-esteem. At the same time, I want to minimize the disruption to the other

students. This requires considerable structure, support, and consistency. It also demands patience and

restraint in the face of often difficult and annoying behavior.

As a future educator I will have all our share of challenging students. This is the child who has an

extremely high energy level, acts impulsively most of the time, and is distracting to the other students.

They may fidget a lot, blurt out during classroom instruction, or even play with their materials. When

working with these types of students, it’s important to keep in mind that most of the time these children

are completely unaware that they are behaving in this manner. I can increase my own effectiveness by

clearly defining and stating my behavioral expectations for all students, rewarding appropriate classroom

behavior, as well as always being consistent in my consequences no matter what. While it may be

tempting to withhold recess or physical play time as punishment for hyperactive behaviors, it is generally

not a good idea to do that. Actually, withholding physical play can make classroom hyperactivity worse.
If I would need to discipline a hyperactive child, I will find an alternative method. I might assign the child

to trash duty after school, for example.

Students with hyperactivity need physical activity to run off excess energy. Being active in appropriate

situations, such as recess or study breaks at home, also reinforces the message that hyperactivity can be

appropriate in these situations. Students with high energy levels do not like to sit for long periods of time.

Offering students more hands-on activities where they can get up and moving instead of the traditional

seatwork. I’ll try more spontaneous learning activities that get students up and moving, like using their

body to paint a picture or playing a learning game that uses all of their senses. Studies show that when

students get a brief “brain break” or “movement break,” they will show improvement in their behavior.

Every few hours having the students in class get up and get moving for a few minutes. We can do a

few yoga stretches, a quick dance, or take a few minutes to play follow the leader and get their energy

out. This is a great way to increase the focus of my entire class, not just the students who are overactive.