A research paper

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Running Header: Online Help-Seeking Behavior
Online Help-Seeking Behaviors for Adult Learners with Specific Learning Disorders
Ericka K. Eppler
Oklahoma State University

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Abstract
Help-seeking behaviors, such as perceiving additional external help could increase academic
success, regulate internal learning deficiencies, and determine what kinds of questions or actions
would best resolve a learning problem, often improving chances to meet educational goals (Roll,
Aleven, McLaren, & Koedinger, 2011). Adult learners often use help-seeking behaviors to self-
regulate their learning, which is unique to adult learners when compared to children and
teenaged students. The way adults use these behaviors may differ when used in a traditional
educational setting when compared to help-seeking in an online class environment. Some adult
learners may not fully employ their help-seeking behaviors in either setting if learning
impairment prevent them from doing do. Specific learning disorders (SLD), neurological
disorders that impair learners’ ability to perform academic tasks such as read, write, perform
mathematical computations, and accurately perceive their learning environment, impair the
ability to use help-seeking behaviors effectively. To pinpoint an area that needs further research
due to limited literature addressing this topic, the author wishes to explore the relationship
between adults with specific learning disorders and their online help-seeking behaviors.
Keywords: Help-seeking behaviors, online learning, specific learning disorders, adult learners

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Online Help-Seeking Behaviors in Adult Learners with Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)
Several studies define online help-seeking behavior in general and many other studies
define how adult learners behave in an educational setting. Additionally, one can find literature
discussing the impact of SLD in an academic environment. However, connecting these three
parameters in a meaningful research endeavor has not been entirely explored, as there is
currently limited research that defines the relationship between adult learners with specific
learning disorders and online help-seeking behavior. Since research shows that learners with
advanced help-seeking skills have improved performance when compared to their peers with
limited help-seeking behaviors, it is reasonable to hypothesize that adult learners with specific
learning disorders may also improve their academic performance when using these strategies in
an online learning environment.
Roll, Aleven, McLaren, & Koedinger (2011) define help-seeking as productive learning
strategy with an aptitude for self-regulated learning (p. 267). Adult learners usually self-regulate
their learning by using metacognition, a process in which learners consider and then evaluate
their learning. Students may then choose to change their behaviors if they discern the actions
may not align with their academic plan. Essentially, help-seeking behavior is a skill that arises
self-monitoring capabilities.
Types of help-seeking behaviors may include perceiving a need to seek external help,
self-evaluating internal learning deficiencies, and then determining what kinds of questions or
actions would best resolve a learning problem (Roll, et al., 2011, p. 267). The outcome of this
type of self-assessment could lead adult learners to exhibit certain behaviors depending on the
situation. Therefore, distinguishing how learners engage online in comparison to traditional help-
seeking behaviors, and particularly what types of support they can receive is vital. Learners

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accessing traditional methods of support may prefer face-to-face communication, such as asking
a teacher for help after class, meeting with a study group, or hiring a tutor to meet them for
individual tutoring.
In comparison, learners in an online environment use different methods to seek
assistance. They might request support in an online forum. Perhaps, they may email their peers
or their instructor to obtain information about an assignment. Some learners might also browse a
search engine to collect ideas, watch online videos, and connect to social media to confirm their
knowledge. They might also access intelligent tutoring systems instead of use traditional tutors to
enhance or remediate learning (Roll, et al, 2011, p. 268; Cheng & Tsai, 2011, p. 151; Hao,
Wright, Barnes, & Branch, 2016, p.468). Summarily, learners can find many forms of
technology-based, help-seeking tools online.
Stark, Lassiter, & Kuemper (2013) state that individuals with advanced help-seeking
skills, also known as expert learners, find greater academic achievement in an online classroom
setting when compared to novice learners, individuals with low levels of self-regulation and thus
reduced help-seeking skills. Expert learners have increased motivation and confidence in their
ability to successfully navigate online. Expert learners also generally possessed a greater overall
aptitude towards learning. Conversely, novice learners may not understand when or how to ask
for help online and may even struggle with basic tasks such as accessing the Internet (pp. 271-
274).
Considering that novice adult students without SLD struggle to interact online, adults
faced with these kinds of learning challenges may find it even more difficult to utilize help-
seeking behaviors. In some cases, impairments prevent them from adequately self-regulating
their learning. For instance, persons with dyslexia may not perceive the need to seek external

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help if they believe they fully understood their assignment after reading it; they did not realize
the mistake until they receive unsatisfactory marks on a paper. Other adult learners with
dysgraphia may perceive they have a need but may not be able to adequately formulate a
question in writing to get the help. Overall, these individuals are at a disadvantage when
compared to the rest of the adult student population.
Although it is not impossible to move towards learning as an expert, adult learners with
SLD may struggle to transition from novice to expert level status; they may not be aware of other
online help-seeking options. When they learn how to interact with new technology, the process
of learning may cause significant cognitive strain for adult learners with SLD and thus further
impair their online help-seeking skills. Subsequently, they may stay stuck in a cycle of low
academic performance, characterized by reduced comprehension, undesired grade marks, and
low self-esteem.
Adults want to feel in control of their learning and when challenges such as SLD
undermine their desired control, they often experience low self-esteem (Nalavany, Carawan, &
Sauber, 2013, p. 568). Consequently, persons in this population may also retain skewed
epistemological beliefs about their ability to learn. Their previous, negative learning experiences
may cause adult learners to feel incapable of improving their learning environment.
However, albeit difficult for some, adult learners with SLD can enjoy elevating
themselves to expert learner status. If they increase their online-help-seeking skills, they can
become confident learners with the proper kind of support. In a study where college students
with SLD received positive feedback after attempting to seek accommodations, those students
were more likely to further pursue additional help-seeking behaviors than their counterparts who
received negative responses when making such attempts (Hartman-Hall & Haaga, 2002, p. 263).

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The learners’ environment can greatly impact help-seeking behavior, especially for individuals
with SLD. Since adult learners desire to direct their learning, they may only seek opportunities
where they perceive a helper will respond positively. Going forward, because of these dynamics,
educational institutions should attune to the needs of adult learners with SLD. Having
institutional support joined with positive feedback, will encourage these learners. This
combination can improve their help-seeking behaviors and academic performance.
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References
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Hao, Q., Wright, E., Barnes, B., & Branch, R. M. (2016). What are the most important predictors
of computer science students online help-seeking behaviors? Computers in Human Behavior, 62,
467-474. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2016.04.016
Hartman-Hall, H. M., & Haaga, D. A. (2002). College students’ willingness to seek help for their
specific learning disorders. Learning Disability Quarterly, 25(4), 263-274. doi:10.2307/1511357
Nalavany, B. A., Carawan, L. W., & Sauber, S. (2013). Adults with dyslexia, an invisible
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seeking skills using metacognitive feedback in an intelligent tutoring system. Learning and
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