Ella Belenky, Letting Fresh Air In, 2021
Introduction
This case study explores the rise of ADHD awareness and its implications for learning, creativity, and pedagogy. We are living in an era of hyperactivity, shaped by multiple intersecting factors:
- The ongoing cost-of-living crisis means many people have to juggle multiple jobs, while students balance coursework and employment.
- Our relationship with technology has introduced new cognitive demands, contributing to increased anxiety, mental fatigue, and shifting attention patterns (Haladyn, 2015).
- The growing awareness of ADHD has also led to progressive changes in educational and workplace accommodations, fostering more inclusive environments for neurodivergent thinkers.
Challenge and Opportunity
As someone who experiences neurodivergent thinking patterns, I have observed a paradox, that structured focus is often at odds with the spontaneous mind-wandering that fuels creative breakthroughs. This tension has prompted me to reconsider how pedagogies of play, embodiment, and reframing concepts of ‘ability’ and ‘disability’ might cultivate deeper engagement and insight in students’ creative practices (see Damiani, 2018).
Plan of Action and Context
I have found that managing multiple projects at once helps me sustain attention. Shifting between mediums, research methodologies, and reflective practices allows me to work both fast and slow—layering intuitive gestures, imagery, and thought (see Kahneman, 2011). This fluid approach not only fosters experimentation but also cultivates thematic cohesion across different works.
Beyond conceptual shifts, physical movement plays a crucial role in processing and retaining information. I would like to integrate more movement-based strategies into my teaching, drawing from Paul and Gail Dennison’s ‘Brain Gym’ program, which employs embodied learning techniques to deepen student engagement (Dennison, 2010).
Drawing and play also serve as tools for embodied cognition. Studies indicate that students who doodle while listening tend to retain more information, as the physical embodiment of drawing acts as an effective mnemonic device (Salamon, 2018). Life drawing is also used as a tool to teach and train sustained focus; helping build cognitive links between hand and eye, and the greater world.
Another source of inspiration is the Warburg Library’s classification system, known as ‘The Law of the Good Neighbor’ (Steinberg, 2012). Instead of sorting books by conventional categories, they are placed adjacent to conceptually related works, fostering unexpected discoveries. This approach mirrors the liberal arts framework I experienced in my undergraduate studies, which encouraged forming interdisciplinary connections.
Ergas presents mind-wandering in a negative light but later acknowledges its creative potential. Instead of suppressing this cognitive drifting, he advocates for reinterpreting it as a “contemplative mind” (Hart, 2004; Zajonc, 2009; Ergas, 2015). This perspective aligns with Haladyn’s discourse on boredom—not as a state to be avoided but as a generative threshold for creativity and self-reflection. Rather than passively accepting the meanings prescribed by consumer culture, boredom invites us to construct our own sense of meaning. Haladyn argues that boredom and interest exist in a dialectical relationship, shaping our engagement with the world (Haladyn, 2015).
By embracing the interplay between structured focus and mind-wandering, I hope to create learning environments that better support neurodivergent thinkers. Recognizing that traditional models of attention may not accommodate diverse cognitive styles, we can instead foster inclusive spaces where movement, play, and interdisciplinary connections are valued.
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Ergas, O. (2015). Educating the Wandering Mind. Journal of Transformative Education, 14(2), pp.98–119. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/1541344615611258.
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