Help-Seeking is a learning strategy which the self-regulated student can use to improve academic achievement. The purpose of this study is to find ways to enhance high school students’ understanding and learning, raise their grades, and lower the prevalence of task avoidance, faking, and cheating, by encouraging the students to seek more help than they usually would in Language Arts classrooms. Subjects to my study were 44 top track junior English students, 10 third track freshman English students, 14 junior honor German students, six Language Arts teachers, as well as four case studies. After investigating the reasons for help-seeking avoidance as well as help-seeking over-eliciting, I offered help in different areas – teacher-directed intervention, peer-review and collaborative learning, and technological/media support. Results indicated that in most students, the help-seeking behavior had not changed after my student teaching, but the majority acknowledged help tools such as writing conferences as important to attain higher grades. While some students used help tools, others rejected them openly. They know what is out there – remains to use it! The practical implications for the Language Arts classroom are discussed.
Table of Contents
I. INSPIRATION AND INTRODUCTION
A. Background
B. Statement of the Problem
C. Significance of the Study
II. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK AND RELATED LITERATURE
A. Conceptual Framework
B. Limitations and Weaknesses of the Past Research
C. Review of Related Literature
1. Student Goals as Basis for Motivation
2. Defining Areas where Help is Needed
3. Reasons for Help-Seeking Behavior
a. Students’ Theories about Social Cognition and Academic Task
b. Classroom Climate
c. Teacher-Student Inter-Subjectivity
i. Teachers’ Willingness to Help
ii. Teachers’ Competence
iii. Teachers’ Negative Reaction
iv. Teachers’ Expectance
v. Teachers’ General Personality
vi. Student-Teacher Relationship
vii. Teachers’ Predictability
viii. Student-Teacher Familiarity
ix. Teachers’ Gender and Race
x. Teachers’ Mood
4. Students’ Gender and Age
5. Achievement Level: Tracking, Ethnicity, and Language
6. Foreign Language Classroom
7. Teachers’ Counter-Methods
a. Writing Conferences
b. Written Comments on Papers
c. “Slang Dictionary” Extra Credit Project
d. Graphic Novels, Poetry Comics, Hip Hop Poems, WebQuests, Blogs, Community Member Visits
e. “Sorrow Box”
D. Summary of Research Hypotheses and Research Questions
III. METHODOLOGY
A. Overview
B. Participants
1. Classes and Teachers
2. Case Studies
a. Jim-Bob
b. Fabumi
c. Tad
d. Lys
C. Methods
1. Quantitative Methods
a. Pre-Survey
b. Post-Survey
c. STI-Scores for “Slang Dictionary Project”
2. Qualitative Methods
a. “Sorrow Box”
b. Writing Conferences
e. Field Study: Student Observation in Third Track Class
IV. RESULTS and ANALYSIS
A. Has the Students’ Help-Seeking Behavior Changed Over the Year?
B. Correlation Analyses
1. Foreign Language Anxiety and Help-Seeking in German
2. Help-Seeking and Race/Low-Income/GPA
3. Help-Seeking and Student/Teacher Perception
4. Help-Seeking and Classroom Climate
C. Students’ Preferred Ways of Help-Eliciting
D. Students’ Acceptance / Refusal of Offered Help Tools
E. Summary of Help-Seeking Results
V. DISCUSSION
A. Overview
B. Study Findings
C. Implications for Classroom Practices
D. Validity and Reliability
E. Conclusion
VI. References
Objectives and Research Themes
The research investigates the patterns of help-seeking behavior among high school students in Language Arts classes. The central objective is to identify why students either avoid seeking help or excessively elicit it, and to explore effective teaching counter-methods that encourage self-regulated learning and improve academic achievement.
- Analysis of psychological, behavioral, and demographic factors influencing help-seeking.
- Evaluation of the impact of classroom climate and teacher-student inter-subjectivity.
- Examination of specific teacher-developed interventions like writing conferences and the "Slang Dictionary" project.
- Comparison of help-seeking patterns across different academic tracks (top track vs. third track).
Excerpt from the Book
A. Background
After five months of classroom observation, and five months of student teaching during my apprenticeship for the Master of Arts in Teaching, I gained the impression that sometimes, my students could have achieved better understanding, and in consequence, better grades, if they had just asked the questions that were on their minds, instead of trying to figure it out alone, coming to no ends, asking peers who were not sure themselves, or simply abandoning the task completely due to frustration or indifference. When my cooperating teacher and I gave the final exams in English at the end of the second semester of 2006, in which the students had to write an essay-type evaluation about two of their previous writings, describing the positive and negative aspects of their writing capacity, I found the following shocking statement:
With the “Scarlet Letter” I didn’t really understand the book, the topic, or anything about the assignment. This was one of my papers that I tried to fake my way through. I also tried to be fancy with my words & ideas. (Original quote by a male top track junior English student, final exams in English, December 21st, 2006)
I was appalled – why does the student tell me this at the end of the semester? Why did he not ask questions when the assignment was given a couple of months earlier? I do not know if I could have made him understand the book, but at least I could have explained the instructions of the assignment to him. This quote confirmed me in my decision of doing my action research on help-seeking avoidance. How far have teachers come when their students have to “fake their way through” by using “fancy words,” because they do not understand what we want them to do, and do not inquire? And how often do those “fancy words” appease the teacher and make him or her think the student uses really sophisticated language, having understood the original text as well as the secondary sources? Are we not ready prey to well-sounding essays?
Summary of Chapters
I. INSPIRATION AND INTRODUCTION: Explores the author's motivation for researching help-seeking avoidance, sparked by observations of student confusion and the tendency to "fake" understanding.
II. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK AND RELATED LITERATURE: Outlines the psychological factors (goals, anxiety, cognition) and social influences that shape how students seek or avoid help in a high school setting.
III. METHODOLOGY: Details the research design, participants from various academic tracks, and the specific qualitative and quantitative methods used to gather data.
IV. RESULTS and ANALYSIS: Presents the findings regarding changes in student behavior over the year and correlates help-seeking with student demographics and teacher perception.
V. DISCUSSION: Interprets the findings and provides implications for classroom practices, highlighting the importance of supportive teaching environments.
Keywords
help-seeking avoidance, help-seeking willingness scale, student goals, anxiety, self-perception, cognition, motivation, classroom climate, gender differences, tracking system, self-regulated learning, cooperative learning, teacher intervention, teacher-student inter-subjectivity, foreign language classroom anxiety scale
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this research?
The research focuses on understanding "help-seeking avoidance" in Language Arts students and how it impacts their academic performance compared to students who over-elicit help.
What are the central themes discussed in the work?
The core themes include self-regulated learning, the influence of teacher-student relationships, classroom climate, and the effect of academic tracking on student confidence and help-seeking strategies.
What is the core research question?
The research asks why, how, when, and for what reasons students ask for help, and which specific teaching methods can effectively bridge the gap between avoiding help and becoming an independent learner.
Which scientific methods were employed?
The author utilized both quantitative methods, such as surveys based on existing psychological scales, and qualitative methods, including case studies, focus-group-style observations, and analysis of final exam responses.
What is covered in the main body of the text?
The main body examines the literature on goal theory and social cognition, presents the data from different student tracks (third track vs. top track), and evaluates specific counter-methods like writing conferences and slang dictionaries.
Which keywords best characterize the study?
Key terms include self-regulated learning, help-seeking avoidance, classroom climate, goal orientation, and teacher-student inter-subjectivity.
How did "third track" students differ from "top track" students in their help-seeking?
Third track students often exhibited "over-eliciting" or "non-adaptive" help-seeking, showing reliance on the teacher for solutions, whereas top track students displayed more "help-seeking avoidance" due to self-worth protection and perfectionism.
What was the role of the "Slang Dictionary" project?
It was a counter-method designed for third track students to foster independence and provide a meaningful entry point into vocabulary work that resonated with their cultural background, decreasing reliance on the teacher for constant help.
- Citar trabajo
- Dr. Christina Voss (Autor), 2007, Help-Seeking Avoidance in Language Arts High School Students and Teacher-Developed Counter-Methods, Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1133085
