Does Help Help or Hurt? Perseverance and Persistence in Problem Solving Tasks

Abstract

Persistence is believed to be a predictor of success in academic undertakings and in many professions. Research on self-efficacy indicates that incorporating certain features in learning environments can encourage task persistence. Past research also suggests that under some conditions individuals who perform high effort tasks generalize that high level of effort to other tasks. The proposed research will examine the relationship between persistence and help. The research aims to address the question: Can help be harmful in some situations? More specifically, does using help undermine task persistence in learners? This Early Career project seeks to investigate this phenomenon in different contexts to determine whether or not findings are generalizable across different types of problem-solving activities and suggest how to design formal and informal learning environments, including those for military training contexts, to nurture persistence.

Document Details

Document Type
DoD Grant Award
Publication Date
Jan 12, 2017
Source ID
W911NF1610190

Entities

People

  • Shuchi Grover

Organizations

  • Army Contracting Command
  • SRI International
  • United States Army

Tags

Readers

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Educational Psychology
  • STEM Education