Poster #37 - Seeking Help and Seeking Challenge: The Development of Learning Strategies During Childhood and Adolescence

• In Event: 2-110 - Poster Session 07
  In Poster Session: PS 07 Section - Cognitive Processes

Integrative Statement

Introduction. Successful learning requires the use of adaptive strategies, such as seeking more information when we do not know the answer or challenging ourselves in order to increase learning. The current study investigated learning strategies in children and adolescents in a classroom setting using a task that measured several elements of adaptive behaviors including bids for help and challenge-seeking. We predicted that older children would be more efficient in their help-seeking strategies based on work showing that the ability to evaluate the accuracy of performance and, therefore when help is most beneficial, improves with age (Selmeczy & Ghetti, 2018). Furthermore, we examined whether help-seeking behavior in the current task was associated with academic success. Finally, we explored whether age-related differences emerged in challenge-seeking behaviors. Although these behaviors may reflect a keener understanding of effective learning strategies (Kron-Sperl, Schneider & Hasselhorn, 2004), they may also result from motivational factors that may be, in part, independent of strategy development.

Participants. Participants included samples of students from a diverse private school in a Midwest city. Students were 3rd graders (N=60, 8- to 9-years-old), 6th graders (N=56, 11- to 12-years-old), and 11th graders (N=78, 16- to 17-years-old).

Methods. Students completed a computer-based puzzle task that involved solving reasoning matrices. First, students practiced by solving easy puzzles and were asked whether they would want easier or harder puzzles in the next set. Then, all students were given medium-difficulty puzzles. Students received feedback on whether they answered each puzzle correctly or not, and then had the opportunity to seek help by reading tips for solving each puzzle. Finally, students were tested by completing a set of easy and hard puzzles.

Results. Third graders sought help more frequently and viewed the helpful tips longer compared to 6th and 11th graders (ps<.05) (Figure 1). Additionally, multilevel logistic modeling demonstrated that all children sought help more frequently after incorrect compared to correct responses (p<.001); however, 3rd graders were less efficient such that they sought help more frequently even when correct (accuracy x age group interactions, ps<.02) (See Figure 2A). Furthermore, there was a positive correlation across all children such that those who sought help more often had higher performance on the test set of puzzles (r=.19, p=.007), suggesting that help-seeking may have improved task performance. Additionally, concurrent GPA was available for 6th and 11th graders, and we found that help-seeking was positively correlated with GPA above and beyond accuracy during test (Figure 2B). This suggests that help-seeking may be a critical aspect of classroom learning and academic success at an age largely neglected in most recent psychological research on help-seeking. Finally, children generally chose to seek more challenging problems and we found no age differences in this tendency (p=.28; 3rd graders M=4.28, SD=1.25, 6th graders M=4.20, SD=1.37, 11th graders M=4.51, SD=.98), suggesting that this task was generally motivating, but no developmental differences were revealed. We discuss these findings with regard to theories on the development of help-seeking behaviors and their connection with academic achievement.

Authors

• Diana Selmeczy, University of California, Davis
  Presenting Author

• Simona Ghetti, University of California, Davis
  Non-Presenting Author

• Lucy Zheng, University of California, Davis
  Non-Presenting Author

• Tenelle Porter, University of California, Davis
  Non-Presenting Author

• Kali Trzesniewski, University of California, Davis
  Non-Presenting Author