Effects of reflective teaching strategies on problem-solving abilities of impulsive children

Abstract

Impulsive behaviour is a pervasive characteristic of Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), which is known to interfere with successful learning. The present study assessed three cognitive behavioural strategies for modifying impulsivity among children using the quasi-experimental approach. Two hundred and seventy-five primary four pupils from the Tamale Metropolis were used as subjects for the study. They were aged between eight and eleven years. Nine hypotheses were tested using the Solomon Four Group analytical procedure. The subjects were assigned to treatment and control groups. The treatment groups received training in cognitive modelling, self-talk or a combination of the two. The control groups received a placebo in drawing and creative arts exercises. Results revealed superiority in response-time and accuracy (to the Matching Familiar Figures Test-20) of the treatment groups over the control groups. These results subsisted at one-month follow-up measures. It is suggested that the school in collaboration with educational psychologists should establish remedial programmes in which reflective procedures could be employed to nurture impulsive children to employ the reflective approach in solving problems.