September 23, 2026
Contributing Author: Allyson Apsey
As we visit classrooms across the nation, one concern we hear consistently is that students are becoming increasingly dependent on adults and taking less ownership of their learning. We often hear educators describe this as “learned helplessness.”
Recent research suggests that our very instinct to help may sometimes contribute to the problem. The way we offer help can shape how students perceive their own abilities, how long they persist when learning gets difficult, and how independently they approach challenges. In other words, when it comes to helping students, our best intentions may sometimes have unintended consequences.
Researchers Jellie Sierksma and Kristin Shutts reviewed research examining some of those unintended consequences.
- Receiving help can affect how children see themselves. In one study, girls ages 6–11 who received unsolicited help during a task reported feeling less smart afterward. Other research found that young children persisted for less time on a difficult task after an adult had taken over a previous task for them, compared with children who had been taught through hints and questions.
- Children notice who gets help. Beginning as young as age four or five, children can interpret receiving help as a signal that someone is less capable. They may even generalize that perception to others in the same group.
- The type of help matters. The researchers distinguish between direct help, such as providing an answer or taking over a task, and indirect help, such as offering hints or asking questions. Children who observed others receiving direct help perceived them as less smart and believed they would learn less than those who received indirect help.
The big takeaway is that how we help matters. We want to give students the support they need without taking away the thinking, persistence, and independence we want them to develop.
Help students see asking for help as a strength. The researchers recommend teaching “intellectual humility”, which means recognizing both what we know and what we still need to learn. We can model this ourselves and celebrate when students recognize that they need help and ask for it. Asking for help is an important learning skill, not a sign of weakness.
Provide support without lowering expectations. Students who struggle academically often receive more help than their peers. While that support is important, students also need opportunities to experience success independently. Scaffolds, including AI tools that adjust reading complexity or help us differentiate questions, can provide access to grade-level learning while students develop the skills they need. The key is remembering that scaffolds should help students move toward independence, not become permanent supports that unintentionally lower expectations.
Give just enough help. Rather than automatically providing additional help to an entire group of students, the researchers recommend responding to what each individual learner actually needs. Sometimes the most helpful thing we can do is offer a hint, ask a question, or give a student a little more time to figure it out.
We want every student to feel supported and successful. This research is a good reminder to think carefully about what kind of help will serve them best. Sometimes the best support we can give is just enough to help them take the next step on their own.
Ultimately, we want students to see themselves as capable learners who can stick with something when it gets hard. And we want them to understand that capable learners don’t have to figure everything out on their own. Knowing when to ask for help is an important part of learning.
Source:
Sierksma, J., & Shutts, K. (2025). The unintended negative consequences of help in childhood. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 34(4), 247–252.
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| Learn more by contacting Allyson Apsey, Associate for Creative Leadership Solutions |