ERIC Number: ED275741
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1986-Mar
Pages: 39
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Help-Seeking Behavior in Learning.
Nelson-Le Gall, Sharon
Help-seeking has become a topic of growing interest in the past 5 years for educators and psychologists concerned with the development and enhancement of children's active learning skills. This paper explains the instrumental role of help-seeking in learning. Major conceptualizations of help-seeking are examined and evaluated for their utility in understanding help-seeking in school-aged learners. Cognitive, developmental, and motivational characteristics of the help-seeker are discussed, as well as situational and contextual characteristics of the helping interaction. A reconceptualization of help-seeking that emphasizes its adaptive and instrumental functions in achievement activities is outlined. The role of instrumental help-seeking across the developmental span from infancy to adulthood is illustrated in the context of parent-child and peer relations, and in formal and informal learning situations. Prior research on the development of skills relative to help-seeking is reviewed. The impact of situational variations in the learning and achievement setting of the classroom is discussed, and ideas for future research are suggested. A six-page list of references concludes the document. (JAZ)
Descriptors: Behavior Patterns, Cognitive Style, Decision Making, Educational Environment, Educational Research, Elementary Education, Helping Relationship, Heuristics, Inquiry, Interpersonal Relationship, Learning Processes, Learning Strategies, Metacognition, Personality Traits, Problem Solving, Self Esteem, Social Environment, State of the Art Reviews
Publication Type: Information Analyses
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Inst. of Education (ED), Washington, DC.
Authoring Institution: Pittsburgh Univ., PA. Learning Research and Development Center.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A