Co-constructing ADHD Pedagogy

March 2024 the ‘Co-constructing ADHD Pedagogy’ mini-project started. It builds on the Relaxed Pedagogy project. The project falls under the ADHD Women banner. It is grounded in Dr Dyi Huijg’s organisation and facilitation of the ADHD Reading Group – as a spin-off of the Intersectional Neurodiversity and Disability Reading Groups. These reading groups have run since 2019-2020. The ADHD Reading Group started in 2022 and has resumed in 2024. Eight reading group members, with a variety of disciplinary backgrounds, expressed an interest in thinking about how ADHDers co-construct (ADHD) Pedagogy. We now use our reading group participation/facilitation to reflect on and write about how we co-construct ADHD pedagogy. All of us are ADHDers. Find below the message as published on the reading groups’ website.


‘Co-constructing ADHD Pedagogy’ ​

Version 03 April 2024

Here you can learn more about the ‘Co-constructing ADHD Pedagogy’ research project.

A small section of the ADHD reading group has been reflecting together on our participation and facilitation. We realised that we are co-constructing ‘ADHD Pedagogy’ in the ADHD reading group through the ways that we facilitate and participate. As there is so little knowledge about ADHDness that is produced by ADHDers themselves, and we are all ADHDers, we decided that it would be really important if we would write this up as an article. That way we can share with others what we have learned about ADHD Pedagogy. We have called this, in short, the ‘Co-constructing ADHD Pedagogy’ project. In this project we hope to understand better what ADHD pedagogy and ADHD learning is, what ADHD group facilitation and participation looks like, what ADHD knowledge construction is and what and how we learn about ADHD, and what intersectional aspects are too. We might also think about related ADHD topics, such as accessibility, communication, collaboration, methodology, and (co-)writing.

The research (‘data collection’) for the ‘Co-constructing ADHD Pedagogy’ project takes place between Mar-Dec 2024. The whole research team consists of ADHDers. Some of us have participated in the reading group(s) for months or even years, others are fairly new. Dyi (Dr Dyi D. Huijg) is the ‘principal investigator’ (PI) and has received ethics approval through the University of Roehampton (HSS 24/ 018).

At the start of each ADHD reading group meeting, between Mar-Dec 2024, Dyi will let you know which people in the meeting are part of the research team. Currently, the following people are part of the research team:

  • Dr Dyi Dieuwertje Huijg (PI), University of Roehampton
  • Dr Eric Olund, University of Sheffield
  • Dr Rudolph Reyes II, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary (USA)
  • Dr Jane Dryden, Mount Allison University (Canada)
  • Laura Basten, PhD candidate, Freie Universität Berlin (Germany)
  • Dr Warren Whitaker, Molloy University (USA)
  • Dr Kate, independent researcher (USA)
  • Dr Jake Pyne, York University (Canada)

In the project we will use a method called (retrospective) ‘collaborative autoethnography’. This means a few things. The research team members are both research participants and researchers and co-authors. During the reading group meetings we are just participants (and facilitator) as everyone else – we will not take notes for the project during the meetings. Then, after the reading group meeting is over, in the period Mar-Dec 2024, we ‘go home’ and think about ourselves and our own participation and facilitation and the topics above, and also possibly about the other research team members, and then write a few reflective diary notes about these thoughts. The research team will also meet separately online to reflect together. We will use our reflections to learn about ADHD pedagogy. We will then write at least one article together about ‘Co-constructing ADHD Pedagogy’. We will try to write it in a way that is accessible and we seek to publish it somewhere so that everyone can read it (not just academics!).

We hope that you will be interested in reading the article and that we can discuss it at a reading group meeting in the future!

If you are not a member of the research team, then it is important to know the following:

  • We prioritise the space of the ADHD reading group and the reading group members!
  • You are not a research participant in the project.
  • We will not write any notes during the reading group meetings.
  • We will not record any of the reading group meetings.
  • We will not specifically reflect on you or observe or take notes on you.
  • Your name, other directly or indirectly identifiable information about you, or things you contributed verbally or in the chat will not appear in any publications (so we will not quote you)!

If you attend the ADHD reading group meetings, then we hope you continue to feel welcome and comfortable! Of course, and as always, you can arrive and leave as you feel is necessary and useful for you, and without any explanation.

If you have any questions or concerns or otherwise want to discuss this project with Dyi (who is the facilitator of the reading group and the PI of the project), then there are a few options (till Dec 2024):

  • You can arrive in the ‘zoom room’ 15min before the reading group meeting, so you have a bit of time then.
  • You can send an email to Dyi (through the email address you receive your normal emails) and share your question or concern, and Dyi will respond per email.
  • You can send an email and arrange a time with Dyi to meet and chat about your question or concern.

We look forward to the next reading group meeting and learning more about ADHDness!

Best wishes,
Dyi

– on behalf of the ‘Co-constructing ADHD Pedagogy’ project research team

Dr Dyi Dieuwertje Huijg