Avoiding Learned Helplessness Part 3: Setting Goals, Long Term vs. Short Term

When a student first comes to tutoring, the tutor has no way of knowing whether this will be the student’s only visit or the beginning of a college career-length relationship. One way to help avoid engendering learned helplessness without “turning off” short term clients is to set specific goals.

· Identify: Figure out what the student’s greatest difficulty appears to be at the moment.
· Method: Once you’ve decided on a focus, determine the method for improvement and implement it.
· Short Term: Use the terminology as outlined in the student’s textbook. Concentrate on paper-level issues.
· Long Term: Remind the student that there are alternate terms that apply to the same ideas. Discuss how paper-level issues apply to bigger concepts.
· Lay the Foundation: Provide a long-term goal in addition to the immediate goal (triage). Don’t give the impression that all the student’s problems are fixed, but don’t act as if the student’s problems are insurmountable.
· Avoiding Dependence: By focusing on the short term “building block” approach—rather than an “all or nothing” impression—many learned helplessness issues can be avoided.