2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This Work-in-Progress (WIP) paper presents an empirical study examining how instructional practices affect the responses of college students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in engineering. ADHD represents a neurodivergent profile that can pose challenges for students in traditional academic settings, and these challenges are often exacerbated in the high-demand, fast-paced environment of engineering education. Research has suggested that students with ADHD may struggle in traditional lecture-based classrooms due to the mismatch between these environments and their unique learning approaches. However, the specific ways in which different instructional practices influence student responses remain underexplored, particularly in the context of engineering. This study seeks to address this gap by investigating how students with ADHD respond to both traditional lecture-based and active learning environments (that is, classroom activities that involve students being actively engaged with course material), aiming to uncover insights that can inform more inclusive teaching practices.

The primary research question driving this study is: How do engineering college students with ADHD respond to various instructional practices? To address this question, we collected data from 26 engineering students diagnosed with ADHD at a large public research university through a combination of nine semi-structured focus groups—four focused on students’ experiences in lecture-based courses and five on courses featuring active learning—and six individual interviews covering both course types. Using Terenzini and Reason’s College Impact model, the focus groups and interviews were designed to investigate how different instructional practices influenced students’ classroom experiences, academic adjustment, and sense of belonging.

We are analyzing the qualitative data using an iterative approach with both deductive and inductive coding to allow patterns and themes to emerge. Our preliminary findings include four key categories for students’ responses: students’ attitudes and feelings, student engagement, classroom interactions, and understanding instructors’ expectations. Preliminary data shows that students generally express more positive attitudes and feelings toward active learning instruction than toward lecture-based instructional practices. They also tend to be more engaged and to have more frequent interactions with peers and instructors in active learning courses than in lecture-based courses. And in both types of classrooms, students reported mixed experiences regarding their understanding of instructors' expectations.

This study contributes to the broader conversation about inclusivity in engineering education by providing empirical evidence into how instructional practices can be adapted to support students with ADHD. Our findings can further refine our understanding of ADHD-specific instructional needs in engineering education.