In this chapter, an important part of theories on learning and
instruction is presented: the state of the art of research about help
seeking of learners in academic settings is outlined. It is argued that
help seeking is a demanding part of learning activities, should it be
used adequately. Both learner-related factors and context-related
factors impact help seeking. Although context-related factors are
discussed as well, most parts of the chapter are devoted to present
research about the three most important learner-related factors: goal
orientations, epistemic beliefs, and learning strategies. While many
studies on help seeking were performed in school contexts, higher
education contexts might pose even more challenging questions. Learners
are increasingly working in virtual environments, and there they are
faced with the requirement to contribute to complex collaborative
learning processes. Therefore, two studies are presented, which
investigated in such learning contexts the impact of goal orientations,
epistemic beliefs, and learning strategies on help seeking. In study 1
cluster analyses helped to categorize students into adaptive help
seekers and help avoiders, based on their profiles of goal orientations,
epistemic beliefs, and learning strategies. Study 2 tested
instructional consequences drawn from these results.