Amanda Callendrier

Amanda is a teacher at College Champittet and an EdD Candidate at the University of Bath

SESSION AIMS

The session will aim to change how we as educators see the concept of learned helplessness in students, and to create better learning strategies for both students and teachers.

The concept of learned helplessness has evolved over time, from the early research of Seligman and Maier to their own reformulation and revision of the theory decades later. 

The usage of the term “learned helplessness” in education has not changed much, despite continuing research on the subject. 

As resources for students continue to be expanded in a post-COVID, AI-assisted landscape, complaints of learned helplessness in students are rampant, particularly in managing challenges and overcoming difficulties. 

It is a facile solution to center the blame on Gen Z and Alpha students, claiming that they are less self-reliant than previous generations.  

What can we as educators do to help them, without helping too much? 

The session will include scenarios and strategies, with a focus on secondary-aged students.

Concrete classroom strategies for generating independence in students, New understanding of learned helplessness as a concept