If you are a high school student who gets lost in a math class, what will you do to resolve your confusion? You may ask for the teacher’s help in class, or you may hold your questions until having a chance to talk privately with the teacher. Or perhaps you will avoid seeking help from others and deal with the confusion with other strategies. Previous literature has shown that students who seek help prioritize mastery goals such as learning over performance approach (outperforming other students) and performance-avoidance (hiding low performance) goals. However, most of the prior studies relied on students’ self-reports of what they have done or intend to do when they feel confused about classwork. Little is known about students’ actual help-seeking behaviors. Let’s take a look at how Peeters et al.’s (2020) approach this issue.

To explore students’ actual behaviors when they do not understand and the mechanism underlying their help-seeking behaviors, Peeters et al. (2020) observed three high school math classes varied in grade levels. After five 1-hour observations of each class, the researchers selected 18 students (9 help seekers and 9 help avoiders) to participate in 30-minute stimulated recall interviews. Students were presented with verbal descriptions of their help-seeking behavior in class and were then asked to explain what they were thinking and feeling at those moments. Peeters et al. found that simply classifying students as help seekers or avoiders may be misleading because students varied in the ways they sought or avoided help. For instance, some students being categorized into help avoiders may seek help from their trusted peers in private settings. Moreover, students also showed complex reasoning about their help-seeking behaviors. Some of them weigh multiple goals simultaneously when they feel confused in class. The tension between the goals such as the desire to learn and avoidance of psychological risks (e.g. upsetting the teacher, being mocked by peers) might prevent students from actively seeking help. Regarding academic achievement in math, students who were help seekers performed better than those who were help avoiders. 78% of students who asked their questions in the class passed the class compared with 45% of students who avoided public help-seeking. 

One of the most important takeaways from Peeters et al.’s (2020) study is that students will weigh up the learning goal and psychological risks associated with help-seeking actions. In accordance with EPIC’s mission of tackling educational challenges, the article provides important insights into interventions aiming to increase students’ help-seeking when they get lost in class. Perhaps educators can put effort into reframing help-seeking behaviors as a positive sign of active learning rather than an indicator of failure. They can also adjust teaching pedagogy by normalizing having confusion and making errors as natural processes of learning. 

For more information about Peeters et al. (2020)’s study, check out the following link for the journal article: 

https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2020-43446-001

Reference:

Peeters, A., Robinson, V., & Rubie-Davies, C. (2020). Theories in use that explain adolescent help seeking and avoidance in mathematics. Journal of Educational Psychology, 112(3), 533–550. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000423