Prior achievement in math impacts adolescents’ help‐seeking behavior in interactive learning environments

Abstract

AbstractStudents who struggle to complete an assignment may rely on self‐regulatory strategies such as rereading class notes or learning from worked‐out examples from textbooks to handle tasks beyond their capability. Learners may also reach out to teachers or peers for assistance. In the past, seeking help from other individuals has been viewed as a dependent behavior. (Nelson‐Le Gall's 1985) ground‐breaking work created a paradigm shift that resulted in perceiving help seeking as an essential and desired self‐regulated learning skill that significantly contributes to academic achievement. Research has shown that not all students seek help when they are stuck. Unfortunately, it is typically low prior knowledge students who do not seek help in the classroom because they feel embarrassed. Recent research indicates, however, that the anonymity available in interactive learning environments seems to alleviate this situation.