Permission to Fail Helping Students Overcome Learned Helplessness

Permission to Fail Helping Students Overcome Learned Helplessness © 2015 University of Phoenix, Inc. | All rights reserved Page 1

What is Learned Helplessness? • Concept discovered by Martin Seligman and Steven F. Maier in 1965, at University of Pennsylvania. • Inadvertently discovered while researching Classical Conditioning with dogs. • The belief that an individual has no personal control over the outcome of a situation. • Learned behavior, rather than an inherited trait. © 2015 University of Phoenix, Inc. | All rights reserved Page 2

What does this mean in the classroom? Learned helplessness in the classroom can mean that a student fails to invest time and energy into the work, because s/he doesn’t truly believe it will impact their outcome. Students tend to internalize failure as a sign of inability to perform the work, rather than as a stepping stone on the path to success: “I failed the essay assignment because I am a terrible writer. ” © 2015 University of Phoenix, Inc. | All rights reserved Page 3

“When people feel that they have no control over their situation, they may also begin to behave in a helpless manner. This inaction can lead people to overlook opportunities for relief or change” (Cherry, n. d. , para. 3). -Kendra Cherry © 2015 University of Phoenix, Inc. | All rights reserved Page 4

Learned Helplessness © 2015 University of Phoenix, Inc. | All rights reserved Page 5

What does this mean in the classroom? Students may remain passive when confronted with challenges in the classroom, despite their ability to change their own responses. © 2015 University of Phoenix, Inc. | All rights reserved Page 6

What does this mean in the classroom? Why are our students enrolled in higher education if they feel that they can’t achieve success? “People tend to want to succeed at the highest possible level while at the same time avoiding the possibility of failure” (Brennen, n. d. , p. 3). © 2015 University of Phoenix, Inc. | All rights reserved Page 7

Reflection Question: What is your gut response (words, phrase, feelings, images) when you hear the word “Failure”? Please type your response in the chat box. © 2015 University of Phoenix, Inc. | All rights reserved Page 8

Reflection Question: How do our students respond to the same question? © 2015 University of Phoenix, Inc. | All rights reserved Page 9

Student Responses “Failure to me means, not living up to expectations set by myself or others, a certain standard I meant to achieve but failed to do so. ” “When I hear the word failure I think of me because I have let myself down so many times {…} I kept making the same mistake over and putting my education on the back burner. ” © 2015 University of Phoenix, Inc. | All rights reserved Page 10

Student Responses “When I hear the word failure the first thing that comes to mind is pitiful and the thought of not graduating. If I fail at something I become disappointed because I let myself down. ” “The word failure to me when I hear it makes me have the feeling of shutting down, not feeling that I was capable of succeeding. It brings a sadness or darkness over me. My parents taught me that failure was ok as long as I tried my best. But to me It meant that I did not try hard enough. ” © 2015 University of Phoenix, Inc. | All rights reserved Page 11

Student Responses “The first gut reaction when I hear the word failure is not passing, not succeeding, not going to make it, not going to be successful, or a big let down. ” “Yes, I try to avoid failure at all cost. If I could eliminate the possibility of failing and not fail again, yes I will because I do not like failure. ” © 2015 University of Phoenix, Inc. | All rights reserved Page 12

Student Responses “When I was younger I was told that failure was not acceptable that when you fail you are not putting the time and effort into what you want to achieve. ” “The world failure gives me a bad feeling. An emotional response, similar to hatred with sadness in it. I do not like to fail at the things that I desire, and I will back off of things when I fail at them sometimes. ” © 2015 University of Phoenix, Inc. | All rights reserved Page 13

So what do we do from here? © 2015 University of Phoenix, Inc. | All rights reserved Page 14

TED Talk: Stanley Mc. Chrystal: Listen, learn. . . then lead © 2015 University of Phoenix, Inc. | All rights reserved Page 15

TED Talk: Stanley Mc. Chrystal: Listen, learn. . . then lead “I walked out feeling as low as a snake's belly in a wagon rut. And I saw my battalion commander, because I had let him down. And I went up to apologize to him, and he said, "Stanley, I thought you did great. " And in one sentence, he lifted me, put me back on my feet, and taught me that leaders can let you fail and yet not let you be a failure” (Mc. Chrystal, 2011). © 2015 University of Phoenix, Inc. | All rights reserved Page 16

© 2015 University of Phoenix, Inc. | All rights reserved Page 17

Even Einstein Struggled: Effects of Learning About Great Scientists’ Struggles on High School Students’ Motivation to Learn Science By Lin-Siegler Xiaodong, Janet N. Ahn, Jondou Chen, Fu-Fen Anny Fang, & Myra Luna-Lucera © 2015 University of Phoenix, Inc. | All rights reserved Page 18

Xiaodong, Ahn, Chen, Fang, & Luna-Lucero: “Even Einstein Struggled” Using stories to shape the ways that students learn about science: • “Story-based instruction that models how scientists achieve through failure and struggle” (Lin-Siegler et al. , 2016, p. 314). • Students given one of three stories: • Outlining how scientists struggled intellectually. • Outlining how scientists struggled in their personal lives. • Outlining the successful discoveries made by these scientists. © 2015 University of Phoenix, Inc. | All rights reserved Page 19

Xiaodong, Ahn, Chen, Fang, & Luna-Lucero: “Even Einstein Struggled” “Students expressed that stories are often given to younger students. However, this approach largely disappears after Middle school age, even though high school students express a strong thirst for hearing stories about people who create the knowledge that they are learning” (Lin-Siegler et al. , 2016, p. 317). • “We live in what Sarbin (1993) calls “a story-shaped world” (p. 63), surrounded by narratives of all kinds that embody our cultural values—popular movies and television shows, myths and folklore, religious histories and traditions, social scripts and mores, to note only a few” (Clark & Rossiter, 2008, p. 63). © 2015 University of Phoenix, Inc. | All rights reserved Page 20

Xiaodong, Ahn, Chen, Fang, & Luna-Lucero: “Even Einstein Struggled” What did they discover? • The students who were exposed to the “struggle stories” displayed improvement in their grades for science class. • The nature of the struggle stories, whether or not they were intellectual or personal, did not impact the effect of the story on the learner. • “A significantly larger number of students who read about scientists’ struggles (intellectual or life) felt connected with the stories and scientists than did students who read about scientists’ achievements” (Lin-Siegler et al. , 2016, p. 323). © 2015 University of Phoenix, Inc. | All rights reserved Page 21

Xiaodong, Ahn, Chen, Fang, & Luna-Lucero: “Even Einstein Struggled” How do we apply this research to help our students engage and connect with the material we are teaching? • Include more narrative learning within the classroom. • Emphasize the role that failure plays in progress. • Encourage our students to create and share their own personal narratives that are relevant to the material. © 2015 University of Phoenix, Inc. | All rights reserved Page 22

Avoiding “Learned Helplessness” by Andrew Miller “Work with students as well to create a culture where the answers are everywhere” (Miller, 2015, para. 3). • Curating and creating an academic space where the answers exist in multiple places. • Encourage students to seek answers from resources outside of their instructor. © 2015 University of Phoenix, Inc. | All rights reserved Page 23

Andrew Miller: “Avoiding Learned Helplessness” “Instead of using questions to check for understanding and getting the right answer, we can use questions to probe students' thinking and push them to think about their learning” (Miller, 2015, para. 4). • What would happen if we revised our role in “helping” our students? What are the consistent questions we are asked in the classroom, and how can we “flip” those experiences to develop a stronger sense of autonomy within our students? • Getting “out of the way” with our students: how can we be a valuable resource to them without being the final destination for answers? How do we build in the steps to enhancing selfconfidence in our first year learners? © 2015 University of Phoenix, Inc. | All rights reserved Page 24

Andrew Miller: “Avoiding Learned Helplessness” “Do you allow for multiple drafts and revisions and demand high-quality products? If so, you are communicating to students that they have multiple tries to learn and, more importantly, that they can be creative and experiment” (Miller, 2015, para. 6). • When providing feedback, are we also providing students with the immediate opportunity to utilize the suggested revisions? • Do you build in “second chances” for your students in the course syllabus? © 2015 University of Phoenix, Inc. | All rights reserved Page 25

Teaching to Fail by Edward Burger “Individuals need to embrace the realization that taking risks and failing are often the essential moves necessary to bring clarity, understanding, and innovation” (Burger, 2012, para. 3). © 2015 University of Phoenix, Inc. | All rights reserved Page 26

Edward Burger: Teaching to Fail “Instead of just touting the importance of failing, I now tell students that if they want to earn an A, they must fail regularly throughout the course of the semester — because 5 percent of their final grade is based on their "quality of failure. " Would such a scheme provoke a change in attitude? Absolutely — with this grading practice in place, students gleefully take more risks and energetically engage in discussions” (Burger, 2012, para. 4). © 2015 University of Phoenix, Inc. | All rights reserved Page 27

Edward Burger: Teaching to Fail How does Burger assess the “quality of failure”? • At the end of the course, students write a one page reflective essay on their failures, and how these attributed to their growth during the course. • Students assign themselves a score from 0 -10. 0= “I never failed” or “I learned nothing from my failure” 10= "I created and understood in profound, new ways from my failed attempts. ” © 2015 University of Phoenix, Inc. | All rights reserved Page 28

So what do we do from here? Highlighting the importance of failure in the overall learning process. How can we ease our students’ fears about failing? • Recognize that many students are facing this fear every time they enter a classroom or begin an assignment. • Build in the expectation of failure. • Normalize the concept of failure as a step towards success. • Share stories about failure, encourage story telling about failures. • Foster an environment that encourages revisions and second attempts. • Encourage students to reflect on their mistakes and share them in the context of classroom discussions. © 2015 University of Phoenix, Inc. | All rights reserved Page 29

Questions? © 2015 University of Phoenix, Inc. | All rights reserved Page 30

References Brennen, A. (n. d. ). Enhancing Students’ Motivation. Retrieved from http: //www. soencouragement. org/enhancing-students-motivation. htm Burger, E. (2012, August). Teaching to fail. Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved from https: //www. insidehighered. com/views/2012/08/21/essay-importanceteaching-failure [Catholic Dads HQ]. (2012, February 25). Learned Helplessness. [Video File]. Retrieved from: http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=TU 7 RBq. Tnd. J 8 Cherry, K. (n. d. ). Psychology. about. com. Retrieved from http: //psychology. about. com/od/lindex/f/earned-helplessness. htm Clark, M. C. , & Rossiter, M. (2008). Narrative Learning in Adulthood. New Directions For Adult & Continuing Education, (119), 61 -70. doi: 10. 1002/ace. 306 Edison, Thomas. [I have not failed. I’ve just found 10, 000 ways that won’t work. ] Retrieved from: http: //www. personalexcellence. co Einstein, Albert. [A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new]. Retrieved from: http: //www. motivationquote. co [Failing is not always failure]. Retrieved from: https: //stellarcorpse. wordpress. com/2015/05/23/motivation-from-omtexsports-2/ © 2015 University of Phoenix, Inc. | All rights reserved Page 31

References Lin-Siegler, X. , Ahn, J. N. , Chen, J. , Fang, F. A. , & Luna-Lucero, M. (2016). Even Einstein struggled: Effects of learning about great scientists’ struggles on high school students’ motivation to learn science. Journal of Educational Psychology, 108(3), 314 -328. http: //search. proquest. com/docview/1764355581? accountid=166133 Marquis, J. W. (2013, November). How to help your students embrace failure through game -based learning. Te@ch Thought. Retrieved from http: //www. teachthought. com/technology/help-students-embracefailure-game-based-learning/ Mc. Chrystal, S. (2011, March). Stanley Mc. Chrystal: Listen, learn … then lead. [Video file]. Retrieved from: https: //www. ted. com/talks/Stanley_mcchrystal? language=en Miller, A. (2015, May). Avoiding "learned helplessness". Edutopia. Retrieved from http: //www. edutopia. org/blog/avoiding-learned-helplessness-andrewmiller? utm_content=blog&utm_campaign=avoiding-learnedhelplessness&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=socialflow&utm_term=link Reyes, C. (2011, January). When children fail in school: Understanding learned helplessness. Education Articles. Retrieved from http: //www. edarticle. com/articles/1068/when-children-fail-in-schoolunderstanding-learned-helplessness. php © 2015 University of Phoenix, Inc. | All rights reserved Page 32