Three Strategies Help Students Overcome ‘Learned Helplessness’
Sometimes, a student who has had several failures in a row refuses to try a new or challenging task. This reaction is often referred to as learned helplessness—in which a child’s first decision is to avoid a task out of fear that it may be too difficult.
To guard against learned helplessness, encourage your child to:
· Focus on being positive. When students believe in their ability to succeed and commit to giving their best effort, they are more likely to succeed.
· Try easier work first. Some children gain self-confidence by finishing an easy task first.
· Try new learning strategies. Does your child need to review sample problems? Does making pictures or graphs help your middle schooler understand the material better? Does comprehension improve if your child takes notes while reading and writes a summary at the end?
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