The Causes And Effects Of Math Anxiety

As a student grows older several trends begin to appear, on of which is most students do not enjoy math. In recent years it has been found that this common hatred is not one of instinct or innate nature, but has been taught from parents or other adults. From an article in the Washington Post it says “The National Mathematics Advisory Panel of the U.S. Department of Education has found that anxious students perform lower than their abilities. What’s more, there is growing evidence

It is crucial to develop in children the ability to tackle problems with initiative and confidence…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, 2006, p.2).

Van de Walle, J, Karp, K. S. & Bay-Williams, J. M. (2015). Elementary and Middle School Mathematics Teaching Developmentally. (9th ed.). England: Pearson Education Limited.

The general belief around the country (or perhaps even the world) is that math classes will be beneficial to a well rounded student. In some cases, such as the author argued, this might be true as a recent high school graduate who hasn't had the life experiences that someone later in their life might have. The author continues to explain that in their line of previous work and general experience, they already have the general math knowledge that their degree will need.

This text proposes to display the results of a study that was conducted by selecting a random sampling of students. Information was gathered and scored about their study habits and their anxiety levels at exam time. The goal was to determine whether or not there was a significant level of correlation between the numbers of hours that students studied in relation to the level of anxiety that the students experienced at exam time. As researchers the aim was to disprove the null hypothesis that states there is no correlation between the two variables and to prove the alternate hypothesis that states that the anxiety at exam time is directly

Children enjoy moving playing games and taking every chance to playing outside. However, many school administrators do not consider physical education an essential part of the academic curriculum. According to Satcher’s article “Healthy and Ready to Learn” (2005), there are an estimated 20 percent of all elementary schools in the United States have dropped recess in favor of more classroom time, 9 million children are overweight, childhood weight problems can lead to elevated blood pressure and joint problems, these problems often continue into adulthood. At the same time, many children have such a hard time learning math which is one of three foundation classes. Children with math anxiety are so worried about doing math that it lowers

Children shouldn’t suffer from math anxiety or lack confidence in math because they should build on the child’s strength and learning styles to make learning math easier. Some people may feel that requiring young children to do overly advance work at a young age has a harmful effect on them, but I feel it prepares them for the next grade level. Achievements in mathematics and other areas from state to state. The article stated, “Children who live in poverty and who member of linguistic and ethnic minority demonstrate significantly lower levels of achievement.” I don’t agree with this statement because it’s downgrading children from low-income families. I don’t feel some low-income children begin school with much less mathematical knowledge than wealthier peers. I feel children learn among themselves. Children simply make a choice about what they want to do and it involves on them deciding on their actions and interactions. NAEYC and NCTM feel if children have a head start in math that children will a long lasting effect of understanding math. Technology is an important tool that helps improve math because its influences math and enhances students’ learning. In the article it says, “Lack of appropriate preparation may case both preservice and experienced teachers to fail to see mathematics as a priority.” In order for teachers to teach mathematic to children proficiently, teachers need to see themselves proficient in math. Teachers should have a basic knowledge of the subject, but if some schools fear the lack of preparation of math then they should consider a successful program that only early math instructors specialize in that specific area. For example, the school may designate a teacher to be responsible for teaching only math to all

Imagine being given a math problem, such as, 7+7. Most people would do simple mental math to get the solution fourteen. However, in American education millions of kids are required to fathom these problems with a concept known as “number bonds,” and restricting children to one way of solving is profoundly hampering innovativeness in American children (Garelick). Not only has this change in education caused anxiety in children of all ages, but also in their parents who struggle in assisting their children with their school work because they find the new concepts perplexing and divergent from the way they were instructed as children.

Math is all around us. Everywhere you go there is some sort of math involved consciously or subconsciously. Even though math is all around us, and everything we do involves math, I myself must say I dislike math. Research has shown there are many more people that dislike math compared to those who do like it. A survey done by a nonprofit organization named Change the Equation asked 1,000 middle school kids in 2010 whether they would prefer to eat broccoli or do one math problem, surprisingly more than half answered they would eat broccoli. Throughout the years, there have been many different strategies created on how to introduce and/or teach math to children.

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

The aim of the Australian Curriculum is to ensure students become confident mathematical communicators who are creatively able to investigate and interpret situation in a variety of context (ACARA, 2015). The are 6 areas of maths covered in the Australian Curriculum and discussing this paper are number and algebra, measurement and geometry, and statistics and probability. Through the curriculum students are guided to an increased understanding of the “concepts and fluency with process” as well as pose and solve problems (ACARA, 2015). This paper discusses my personal experience, strengths and weakness when working with each of the 6 mathematical areas, as well how my confidence and anxiety influences my attituted toward working in each area.

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.