Help them recognize their own pessimistic and optimistic thoughts when they arise in class. Once students better understand how their thoughts influence their outcomes, we can help coach them to be more optimistic. Click the link below for a couple of free mini-lessons to help students examine their beliefs about adversity: So, how does one begin fostering optimism in students? Start by helping students explore their own thoughts in relation to controlled or simulated adversities. I use the acronym HELP with my students to dispute their pessimistic beliefs: Seligman calls this “Disputation,” adding the “D” to the ABC model. If we notice her withdraw and not show effort again, this is a signal that she may see her mistake as permanent and universal.īy noticing students’ language and/or their responses to common classroom adversities, we can also coach students on re-working or “thought challenging” their pessimistic responses. A consequence is how the person responds after the adversity – their actions, decisions, and comments.įor example, if Sierra continues to raise her hand in the future, there is a chance she saw her failed answer as a temporary and specific event. Or, we can take note of the “Consequence,” the C in our ABC acronym. Pessimists, on the other hand, are more likely to see adversities as 1) permanent, 2) universal, and 3) entirely their fault.Īs teachers, we can access a student’s explanatory style, asking them to describe their responses when something goes wrong – in person or in writing. What makes them optimistic is their belief that adversity is 1) temporary, 2) specific and 3) a result of various factors. Optimists still experience negative thoughts. That analogy leads us to think an optimist is always a chipper Pollyanna, whereas a pessimist is a brooding curmudgeon. Let’s stay away from the whole “glass half full/empty” analogy. A person’s style of belief, what Seligman calls “explanatory style,” can be categorized as optimistic or pessimistic. Why did it happen? How is it affecting her now? How will it affect her in the future? She may say to herself, “Crap, I should have thought more carefully.” Or, she may say to herself, “I’m an idiot.” Despite how these statements are both negative, they have critical differences that can tell us a lot about Sierra’s thought patterns – and whether she will develop learned helplessness or not. The deciding factor is the “B” in our ABC’s, a person’s Belief about the adversity.Īfter Sierra gets the wrong answer, she will begin processing the adversity. We’ve all known students who face extreme adversity and yet remain resilient. Interestingly, experiencing a lot of adversity does not automatically mean a person will develop learned helplessness. Second, teachers can’t always influence how deeply or frequently their students experience adversity. Two important caveats: Some people experience more adversity than others. Spilling coffee might be a minor annoyance for one person, but ruin another person’s entire day. Stubbing your toe on that stupid coffee table? Adversity. Adversities can be short-term or long-term they can cause deep emotional anguish, or mild displeasure. At this point, she has experienced an adversity. Her answer is wrong, so she feels embarrassed. Sierra raises her hand to answer a question. Based on these beliefs, the response of the person creates a Consequence. Following the adversity, the person processes the impact and cause of the adversity, forming Beliefs about the adversity. Martin Seligman, whose research helped establish our understanding of the concept “learned helplessness” in psychology, talks about it in terms of ABC’s. Why does this matter? Because thoughts can be influenced and changed. How do we influence these students so that we break the pattern of avoidance and quitting? To curb learned helplessness, we first have to understand that it is a cognitive influence, meaning that it is dependent on a person’s thoughts. A student who wails, “I suck at math.” Each of these scenes represents one of the most frustrating issues in a classroom – learned helplessness, when a person thinks his or her actions are useless in creating effective change. A kid who doesn’t even try, even when the task at hand is easy. A high achieving student shutting down after a few minor mistakes.
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