Learned Helplessness

In the article titled "'Struggling' Adolecents' Engagement in Multimediating: Countering the Institutional Construction of Incompetence," O'Brien lays out a definition of learned helplessness. He described this trait as occurring when students feel that success and failure are outside their means of control. They feel as though they cannot succeed because certain social factors (class, race, gender, etc) hold them back. In addition, they feel that success is permanent and given only to those people who are privileged.
O'Brien tried to help the students by giving them media projects that would allow them to construct their own work. By succeeding at something on their own, the students felt in control of their education. Likewise, they were successful not because of their intrinsic "privileges," but because they worked hard.

O'Brien's study seems like one of many that I have read about before in many classes. Key words and phrases such as Zone of Proximal Development, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, critical thinking, and scaffolding come to mind. They all fall under a category of ways in which students can become more effective contributors to their daily lives and worlds outside the classroom. I have heard the speeches by other teachers in class and read the essays/articles by other authors including Bomer, Atwell, and Bobrowski. Although I may sound like I am tired of hearing these things, I am not. Don't get me wrong...in fact, I think that when a topic has a following such as the one I speak of, it is an indication of a new wave...the new wave of constructivism.
I did my Honors thesis on the idea of constructivism, and let me tell you, it is a loaded topic. I focused mostly on the critical thinking aspect of constructivism, and that subject alone can yield hundreds of google and database searches.
I think O'Brien has hit the nail on the head. If we give students tangible, possible, and interesting work, then they are more likely to become lifelong readers and critical thinkers.