Classroom Intervention Helps Shy Kids Learn

Sep 22, 2014

A program that helps teachers modify their interactions with students based on an individual’s temperament helps shy children to become more engaged in their class work, and in turn, improves their math and critical thinking skills.

Led by NYU’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, the study offers an evidence-based intervention to help shy children, who are often at risk for poor academic achievement. The findings appear in the journal School Psychology Review.

Shy children are described as anxious, fearful, socially withdrawn, and isolated. In the classroom, they are less likely to seek attention from teachers and to be engaged with their peers. As a result, research shows that they may have difficulty in school, and teachers may perceive them as being lower in academic skills and intelligence than their more outgoing classmates.