21 Ways to Help Learners Who Care Too Much About What Others Think

Are you looking for ways to help students who care too much about what others think? If so, keep reading.

1. Get the student to regularly record their own progress to have concrete evidence of success.

2. Provide praise and constructive criticism continuously to all students.

3. Make cleaning up accidents a group responsibility to express the idea that we all make mistakes and accidents are common to all of us.

4. Ask the student a question when they will most likely be able to answer correctly.

5. Urge the student to be a peer tutor to recognize their own strengths and abilities.

6. Minimize learning activities that might threaten the student (e.g., announcing test score ranges or test scores aloud, making students read aloud in class, emphasizing the success of a particular student or other students, etc.).

7. Assist the student in learning those skills appropriate to improve their personal appearance and hygiene.

8. Make sure that your remarks are in the form of constructive criticism rather than criticism that can be perceived as personal, menacing, etc., (e.g., instead of saying, “You always make that same mistake.” say, “A better way to do that might be … “).

9. Provide a predetermined signal when the student begins to be overly critical of himself/herself.

10. Assess the appropriateness of the social situation and place the student in the group in which they will be most successful.

11. Pair the student with a younger or less capable peer to enable their feelings of success or accomplishment.

12. Provide praise and recognition privately so that the student is not aware of the performance of others.

13. Urge all students to be complimentary of each other’s performance.

14. Do not criticize when correcting the student; be honest yet compassionate. Never cause the student to feel bad about themselves.

15. Talk with the student about individual differences and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of individuals the student knows. Convey that the student does not have to do the same things everyone else does.

16. Urge the student to refrain from comparing themselves to others.

17. Consider using an adaptive behavior management app. Click here to view a list of apps that we recommend.

18. Click here to learn about six bonus strategies for challenging problem behaviors and mastering classroom management.

19. Consider using a socio-emotional learning app. Click here to view a list of apps that we recommend.

20. Consider using an emotional intelligence app. Click here to view a list of apps that we recommend.

21. Consider using a school counseling app. Click here to view a list of apps that we recommend.

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