Mathematics Anxiety: The Root Cause of the Problem

Mathematics is not for one type of person: not only for the nerdy and weird outcasts, not only for the white male, not only for those who are not targeted by the stereotypes prevalent in the field. Mathematics is not dry, nor boring, nor focused on inane solutions never to be used after the discovery. Mathematics is not what people think it is; it is not one field, one theme, one subject. Mathematics is everything. Look around, with clear eyes, and you will see the art of mathematics everywhere. Dr. Diana Gu, the founder of MTY Academy, an extremely successful institute in the Austin community, and long-time, inspirational professor at the Texas State University, looks at the world and sees numbers. She sees passion and dedication and motivation. She sees intensity and zeal and excitement. Explaining that mathematics is essential for everyone, she emphasizes an idea: innate skill matters little, while practice is what defines you.

Mathematics anxiety has been studies for the past “50 years” (McMahon 2015), because it is a problem that affect many Americans. With all of the studies done, there is still much to be known about it and its effect on students. Mathematics anxiety has been defined by Vahedi and Farrokhi (2011) as “negative cognitions, avoidance behaviors, and feeling pressured and inadequate in performance that combined interfere with solving math

Based on the example of Juanita, there are strategies that could be used to help reduce her anxiety that she is experiencing due to having to take a math test. Test anxiety can negatively affect Juanita’s academic performance on the test so it is important for the counselor to be able to provide her with strategies that can help her to cope with the anxiety (Parsons, 2007). Different strategies to help Juanita could include teaching coping skills, study skills, and relaxation techniques (Capuzzi & Gross, 2014; Parsons, 2007). Also, to normalize the strategies the counselor can provide guidance lessons for all students using the same relaxation techniques and provide an overview for teachers and parents so that the same techniques could be used

I learned first and foremost is that the United States has more young high school graduates than any other nation and have a large population of those enrolling in post-secondary as well. I do believe that this is true because in order to succeed in the US we must have some sort of degree. Other nations teach a trade which is amazing because those are the ones who we contract to fix our homes and businesses. No, most do not have a degree but a certificate in their field of trade. Math anxiety is the feeling of nervousness towards Math and it’s problems during classes and or exams. It normally begins when we are a child and escalates throughout life. By the time we are adults and have not dealt with it, we feel dumb when approached with an issue involving possibly the simplest numbers. Due to this many of us stay within our comfort zone which is away from numbers as long as it’s in a form of a paycheck. Math anxiety is not just a problem in our heads, it can cause us to discontinue taking math classes beyond the requirements. This tends to limit our choices with regard to college or career opportunities. Because we've had a bad past experience we avoid Math at all cost, just like myself. Most people tend to leave school feeling like a failure due to Math. There were many words I came across in the reading which described me and those are:

I have experienced math anxiety in the past that had started in elementary school. I experienced the “blackboard anxiety” in the second grade. Each day we started math class with picking teams to race against one another while solving mathematical problems on the blackboard. It was extremely stressful to attempt to complete a mathematical problem on the blackboard with all of your classmates cheering you on if you completed the problem first and correctly or booing for you if you provided an incorrect answer or finished second. I also had a math teacher in middle school that my brother had previously. This teacher continued to compare me to my brother who was phenomenal and enjoyed working with numbers in math class. I recall the teacher telling me that I was nothing like my brother who completed the class without losing a point all year. I

In Language Proficiency and Mathematical Learning article explains about how important mathematics is to success for every student. It gives an explanation of how important is language when learning mathematics. It also explains about the achievement gap that exists between native language students, from foreign student due to language barriers. “Finding from recent studies suggest that peoples arithmetic processing in the brain is shaped by

Banishing Math Anxiety article had some good examples on how to lower the anxiety that some one has. Being active in math, you can master the skill for solving any problem that comes your way. Use math when you are dealing with real life experiences and this will help you have a better understanding why math is important class to take. Take the time to explore your calculator they can do some many things it is a great tool to have.

There are cases in which math anxiety was linked into poorer academic performances among women than in male. Although, there are findings that anxiety is greater in girls than boys as it’s showing its evidence as it was twice as powerful in women and there are concepts in where the girls are failing when it comes to academic matters because of their anxiety based from other studies. Anxiety findings gave a significant negative correlation on male with accuracy on tasks and academic matters. There are girls who identified themselves having big worries based on their high brain activity especially when they are making mistakes during the task or in vice versa, they are worrying on future events and thinking about negative possibilities on the certain circumstances. However, these females performed performance in line with the same as others on simple tasks but need to work hard and harder. As the occasion became harder, these women tend to perform worst and failing to do the task

Maths is ubiquitous in our lives, but depending on the learning received as a child it could inspire or frighten. If a child has a negative experience in mathematics, that experience has the ability to affect his/her attitude toward mathematics as an adult. Solso (2009) explains that math has the ability to confuse, frighten, and frustrate learners of all ages; Math also has the ability to inspire, encourage and achieve. Almost all daily activities include some form of mathematical procedure, whether people are aware of it or not. Possessing a solid learning foundation for math is vital to ensure a lifelong understanding of math. This essay will discuss why it is crucial to develop in children the ability to tackle problems with initiative and confidence (Anghileri, 2006, p. 2) and why mathematics has changed from careful rehearsal of standard procedures to a focus on mathematical thinking and communication to prepare them for the world of tomorrow (Anghileri).

Mathematics has always been a difficult subject for students. Many children have developed phobias and barriers towards mathematics, which prevail into adulthood, thus limiting their potential. This limitation implies problems of learning, resulting in the child a sense of inferiority.

The struggle that is seen a lot with students as young as first grade deals with the fear of math. In general, math seems to be the number one fear in the eyes of students who in the past have had bad experiences in the subject. It can seem strange for those who have never felt the anxiety and pain it brings. For most people, numbers come natural in figuring out when solving and following step by step functions to get the answers correct. There is hope in finding ways to better cope with math anxiety.

This analysis of anxiety is based purely on test anxiety and how learners respond in exam conditions. It is because of this type of anxiety that students end up performing poorly for exams and tend to drop out of their education, i.e.; Anxiety = poor results=lack of will to continue.

This units has improved my mathematical competency and my disposition towards mathematics. I now feel a lot more confident in many specific mathematical areas and in mathematics in general. Also, I am much more aware of the progress in my mathematical understanding as I have identified my current strengths and weakness as well as created solid plans to improve the weaker areas. A negative disposition or anxiety towards mathematics, can hinder improvement. Students who are anxious, bored, fearful, or simply believe that mathematics is unimportant, are likely to avoid the study of mathematics (Metje, Frank, & Croft, 2007). This then becomes the real challenge of mathematics classes as the main emphasis is diverted from teaching the mathematics content to giving the students confidence in their mathematical skills. A reoccurring notion throughout this unit is the ‘big ideas’ of mathematics. A big Idea is an idea that is central to the learning of mathematics and a statement that links numerous mathematical understandings into a coherent whole (Charles, 2005). Charles (2005) believes that these big Ideas should be the “foundation for one’s mathematics content knowledge, for one’s teaching practices, and for the mathematics curriculum”. This is because grounding one’s mathematics content knowledge on these big ideas establishes a robust, in depth and advanced understanding of mathematics.

Mathematics is the one of the most important subjects in our daily life and in most human activities the knowledge of mathematics is important. In the rapidly changing world and in the era of technology, mathematics plays an essential role. To understand the mechanized world and match with the newly developing information technology knowledge in mathematics is vital. Mathematics is the mother of all sciences. Without the knowledge of mathematics, nothing is possible in the world. The world cannot progress without mathematics. Mathematics fulfills most of the human needs related to diverse aspects of everyday life. Mathematics has been accepted as significant element of formal education from ancient period to the present day. Mathematics has a very important role in the classroom not only because of the relevance of the syllabus material, but because of the reasoning processes the student can develop.

Getting accepted into a University is one of the most exciting experinces that someone can have. However, along with much joy one is often over come with fear and anxiety. Being a college student comes with many obligations, all of which revolve around getting good grades. One of the most anxiety provoking classes that a student can take is math. Although, if you hold yourself to some strict guidelines and plan for success, by having good time management skills, always taking notes, and keeping your self confidence up when your confused. These will make mastering math much easier and you will give you a higher success rate.