Learned Helplessness

 Students who approach assignments with very low expectations of success and give up quickly.  Condition where a student believes that no matter how hard he or she tries, failure will result.

Signs of Learned Helplessness  Attribute failures to lack of ability rather than controllable causes such as insufficient effort or reliance on an inappropriate strategy.  Attribute successes to external and uncontrollable causes rather than to their own ability or effort.  Following failure, make severe reductions in their estimates of future success probabilities.

How do you work with Learned Helplessness?

Attribution Retraining  Involves bringing about changes in students’ tendencies to attribute failure to lack of ability rather than to a remediable cause, such as insufficient effort or use of an inappropriate strategy.  Involves exposing students to a planned series of experiences, couched within an achievement context, in which modeling, socialization, practice, and feedback are used to teach them to: Concentrate on the task at hand rather than worry about failing Cope with failures by retracing their steps to find their mistake or by analyzing the problem to find another approach Attribute their failures to insufficient effort, lack of information, or use of ineffective strategies rather than to lack of ability.

Efficacy Training  Involves exposing students to a planned set of experiences within an achievement context and providing them with modeling, instruction, and feedback.  Helps students set realistic goals and pursue them with the recognition that they have the ability needed to reach those goals if they apply reasonable effort.

Efficacy Training Practices  Cognitive modeling that includes verbalization of task strategies, the intention to persist despite problems & confidence in achieving eventual success.  Explicit teaching in strategies for accomplishing the task.  Performance feedback that points out correct operations, remedies errors, & reassures students that they are developing mastery.  Attributional feedback that emphasizes the successes being achieved & attributes these to the combination of sufficient ability & reasonable effort.

Efficacy Training Practices  Encouraging students to set goals prior to working on tasks (goals that are challenging but attainable, phrased in terms of specific performance standards & oriented toward immediate short-term outcomes)  Focusing feedback on how student’s current performance surpasses his/her prior attainments rather than on how s/he compare with other students.  Supplying rewards contingent on actual accomplishments (not just task participation)

Additional Strategies  Assisting students in experiencing success regularly (by being sure they can do what is assigned, providing immediate feedback to their responses, and making sure that they know the criteria by which their learning will be evaluated.)  Encouraging their learning efforts by giving them recognition for real effort, showing appreciation for their progress, and projecting positive expectations.  Emphasizing personal causation in their learning by allowing them to plan & set goals, make choices, & use self-evaluation procedures to check their progress.  Using group process methods to enhance positive self- concepts (activities that orient these students toward appreciating their positive qualities & getting recognition for them from their peers.)