The Biggest Problem in Mathematics Education Today!

The Hidden Barrier to Math Success: Confronting Learned Helplessness in Our Classrooms

As a math educator with over 20 years of experience and more than 2,500 students passing through my classroom, I’ve seen the education system from many angles. I’ve taught in affluent and underserved schools, engaged with parents, collaborated with educators, and debated with college professors about what works and what doesn’t in education. One common thread runs through all these interactions: the urgent need to address why so many students struggle with math and, more importantly, what can be done about it.
Lately, I’ve had more meetings with parents frustrated that their child is struggling with math, convinced the issue lies with my teaching. But as someone who has worked to refine my curriculum, instruction, and scaffolding strategies, I have to ask: What’s really going on here?
The truth is sobering. It’s not just the curriculum, standards, or even the instruction. It’s learned helplessness—a mindset that is quietly sabotaging our students and their futures.

What is Learned Helplessness?

Learned helplessness is a psychological phenomenon where individuals believe they cannot control or change their circumstances, so they stop trying. In the classroom, this manifests as students who, when faced with challenges, simply shut down and wait for someone else—often the teacher—to step in and do the work for them.
This mindset isn’t just a personality quirk; it’s a learned behavior. Many students develop it over years of being unintentionally enabled by well-meaning parents and teachers who swoop in to help whenever things get tough. Post-COVID, I’ve noticed this trend intensify as students have grown more vocal about their struggles, often framing them as insurmountable.

How Learned Helplessness Shows Up in Math

Math, in particular, suffers from the effects of learned helplessness. Math requires persistence, grit, and a willingness to struggle through discomfort. It’s like building a pathway across a field of grass—consistent effort will eventually create a visible path, but the process can feel slow, messy, and frustrating.
Let me share an analogy: imagine forming a path across a grassy field. If I, at 300 pounds with size 14 feet, walked the same route daily, the path would appear faster than if a 90-pound student walked it. The process is consistent, but the time and effort required vary.
Learning math is similar. Building new brain pathways—those neural connections that make learning "click"—isn’t uniform. Some students form these pathways quickly, while others must work harder, longer, and with more persistence. But the path will form with enough consistency and effort.
Unfortunately, our culture often rewards ease over effort. Social media influencers project an illusion of success without struggle, feeding into the idea that hard work is optional. When students bring that mindset into the classroom, they resist the “dirty work” of math—practicing, failing, asking questions, and trying again. Instead, they wait for a teacher to walk them step-by-step through every problem.
The result? Students leave high school unprepared for the demands of STEM careers and higher education. In Washington State, where lucrative STEM jobs are abundant, this lack of foundational math skills closes doors before they’ve even been opened.

A Crisis in Mathematics: The Data and the Reality

At a previous school, as the department head, I warned that students scoring below 220 on the MAP test in middle school faced a steep uphill battle in high school mathematics. These students lacked foundational knowledge, creating gaps that made higher-level math almost inaccessible.
In the last two school years, about a third of our incoming freshmen scored below this threshold. Despite my school being one of the highest-performing in the region on the Smarter Balanced Assessments (SBA), many of these students still scored at Level 1. These gaps will haunt them, not only in school but also in their future opportunities. With Washington State's robust STEM industries, a weak math foundation closes doors to lucrative and fulfilling careers.

My Personal Struggles: A Lesson in Grit

As a high school senior, my football season didn’t go as planned. I struggled, felt defeated, and faced barriers I never expected. My youth group mentor didn’t swoop in to fix things. Instead, he supported me from the sidelines, allowing me to wrestle with those challenges.
Years later, he told me that watching me struggle—and later sing about those struggles in a DC Talk song—was one of the most meaningful moments of his mentorship. That tough season, while painful, helped shape the man I’ve become.
This is a lesson for educators and parents alike: sometimes, the best way to support students is to let them struggle.

Effective Teacher Behaviors: Facilitating, Not Doing

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) emphasizes the importance of facilitating student thinking rather than doing the thinking for them. Here are some evidence-based strategies for promoting learning:
Ask Probing Questions: Instead of giving answers, ask questions that guide students to discover solutions themselves. For example, “What do you notice about this problem?” or “What would happen if we changed this variable?”
Scaffold, Don’t Solve: Provide hints or steps that nudge students forward without giving them the full solution. This might look like pointing to a relevant formula or reminding them of a similar problem they’ve solved.
Encourage Productive Struggle: Allow students to wrestle with challenging problems. Research shows that this struggle helps deepen understanding and create lasting learning pathways.
Break Down Goals: Divide problems or assignments into smaller, manageable steps to help students build confidence and maintain momentum.
Model a Growth Mindset: Show students that struggle is part of learning. Share stories of your own challenges and how you overcame them.

Effective Student Behaviors in Math Classrooms

To combat learned helplessness, students need to adopt specific behaviors that promote success in math:
Active Engagement: Writing down notes, solving problems independently, and attempting tasks even when they feel unsure.
Embracing Struggle: Viewing mistakes as opportunities to learn rather than signs of failure.
Asking for Strategic Help: Seeking guidance only after making a genuine effort to solve a problem, rather than defaulting to dependency.
Consistent Practice: Regularly working on math problems to build fluency and reinforce pathways in the brain.
These behaviors align with Carol Dweck’s work on growth mindset, which shows that effort and perseverance are critical for developing new skills.

Final Thoughts:

The solution to our math crisis isn’t just better standards, curriculum, or instruction—it’s a mindset shift. We need to teach students to embrace struggle, value effort, and take ownership of their learning.
Math is a sandbox, and learning it is messy. But with persistence and the right support, students can carve out pathways to success. Let’s help them believe that, too.

References

Boaler, J. (2013). Mathematical Mindsets: Unleashing Students' Potential through Creative Math, Inspiring Messages, and Innovative Teaching.
The Research:
Educational Psychology (2019). "Learned Helplessness in Mathematics: Causes and Interventions." Outlined Below:

Teacher Strategies:

Promote a Growth Mindset: Use language and classroom practices that reinforce the idea that math ability can be developed through effort and persistence.
Example: "Mistakes are part of learning. They show you're trying."
Facilitate Productive Struggle: Design tasks that are challenging but achievable, encouraging students to persevere through difficulties.
Example: Break down problems into smaller steps but refrain from giving answers outright.
Scaffold Effectively: Offer incremental support to guide students toward solutions rather than doing the work for them.
Use Formative Feedback: Provide feedback that focuses on effort, strategy, and improvement rather than just correctness.
Normalize Struggle: Share stories or examples of mathematicians or students who overcame difficulties through persistence.

Student-Focused Approaches:

Teach Self-Regulation Skills: Help students set goals, monitor their progress, and reflect on their learning.
Encourage Metacognition: Train students to think about how they approach problems, identify where they get stuck, and develop alternative strategies.
Example: Use prompts like, "What strategy could you try next?"
Build Resilience Through Practice: Incorporate regular opportunities for students to attempt challenging problems and learn from their errors.
Foster Peer Collaboration: Use group activities to show students that problem-solving is a collective and iterative process.

Parent and Community Involvement:

Support a Growth-Oriented Math Culture: Encourage parents to praise effort and persistence over innate ability.
Avoid Enabling Behaviors: Discourage parents from completing math homework for their children; instead, guide them to ask questions that lead students to think critically.
Incorporate Real-Life Math Applications: Show how math skills are used in everyday life to increase relevance and motivation.

Preventative Measures:

Early Intervention: Identify students showing signs of disengagement or anxiety in math early and provide targeted support.
Frequent Low-Stakes Assessments: Reduce the pressure of high-stakes testing by using regular formative assessments to track progress and build confidence.
Differentiated Instruction: Tailor lessons to address diverse learning needs, ensuring that all students feel capable of success.

The Role of School Systems:

Professional Development for Teachers: Train educators on recognizing and addressing learned helplessness in their classrooms.
Culturally Responsive Teaching: Acknowledge and integrate students’ cultural and community backgrounds into math instruction to foster inclusion and belonging.
Engage Families and Communities: Develop partnerships with families to align strategies at home and school.
By implementing these interventions, Educational Psychology (2019). "Learned Helplessness in Mathematics: Causes and Interventions." argues, schools can significantly reduce learned helplessness in math, empower students to take ownership of their learning, and improve long-term academic outcomes.

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