How teachers can address math anxiety
No one is born knowing the quadratic formula, or how to measure a triangle鈥攎ath needs to be taught.
Likewise, no one is born a 鈥渕ath person鈥濃�攐r not a math person. And no one is born with math anxiety.
鈥淐hildren don’t come with math anxiety,鈥� says Dr. Rosemarie Truglio, senior vice president of curriculum and content for Sesame Workshop and a guest on Math Teacher Lounge. 鈥淢ath anxiety is learned.鈥� That鈥檚 actually good news because it means can be unlearned, too. We can teach students (and even teachers) how to overcome it. In this post, we鈥檒l cover some helpful learning strategies, teacher tips, and supports for caregivers.
Anxiety in鈥攁nd beyond鈥攖he math classroom
First, let鈥檚 review what math anxiety is and is not.
Math anxiety is more than just finding math challenging, or feeling like you鈥檙e not a math person. Dr. Gerardo Ramirez, associate professor of educational psychology at Ball State University, defines it as 鈥渁 fear or apprehension in situations that might involve math or situations that you perceive as involving math. Anything from tests to homework to paying a tip at a restaurant.鈥� Here鈥檚 what else we know:
- Causes: Math anxiety is not correlated with high or low skill or performance. For students who鈥檝e been pressured to excel, math anxiety comes with the fear of not meeting expectations. For students who historically haven鈥檛 done well in math, the anxiety comes with the assumption they鈥檒l do poorly every time. Other triggers include a mismatch between learning and teaching styles that can lead to struggle, or false cultural messages like 鈥済irls aren鈥檛 good at math.鈥�
- Consequences: People who suffer from math anxiety may deliberately avoid math, the consequences of which are obvious and far-reaching: not learning math at all, thus limiting academic success, career options, and even social experiences and connections. ( mentions real-life鈥攁nd relatable鈥攅xamples of adults affected by math anxiety.)
- Prevalence: Math anxiety affects at least 20 percent of students, and parents and teachers can suffer from math anxiety, too. In fact, some research suggests that when teachers have math anxiety, it鈥檚 more likely that some of their students will as well. Luckily, those teachers and parents can also play a key role in helping students (and maybe even themselves) get more comfortable with math.
Addressing math anxiety in the classroom
Math anxiety can arise from the contexts and cultures in which students encounter math, so it makes sense that we can also create conditions that can help reduce it鈥攁nd even prevent it from taking hold. Here are some key strategies for helping even the most math-anxious students thrive:
- Invite explicit conversation about math anxiety. In , Math Teacher Lounge podcast co-host Bethany Lockhart Jones recommends having open and direct conversations with all students about how doing math makes them feel. 鈥淭he more you know about your students鈥� 鈥榤ath stories,鈥� the more you can help them,鈥� she says.
- Build a positive, supportive, and collaborative math community where different learning styles and incorrect answers鈥攐ften fuel for math anxiety鈥攁re considered part of the learning process. Embracing and working from wrong answers encourages students to focus on the 鈥渉ow鈥� of math. Students feel more comfortable asking questions, taking risks, and making mistakes (as well as learning from them).
How do you build a supportive environment in your math classroom?
- Cultivate a growth mindset. Create a culture where mistakes are not just acceptable, but inevitable鈥攅ven welcomed. Encourage perseverance and persistence. Emphasize that being challenged by a math concept doesn鈥檛 mean a student is inherently bad at math or just can鈥檛 do it.聽 It means only that they can鈥檛 do it yet.
- Encourage collaboration. Promote a culture of cooperation and teamwork by incorporating group activities, peer support, and class discussions into your lessons.
- Play. Game-ifying problems and introducing friendly competition builds camaraderie and helps students find shared joy in math鈥攁 win-win!
- Give students plenty of time. Alleviating the pressure of time constraints allows students to think more deeply, take brain breaks, make fewer rushed errors, and develop a sense of control and confidence. Here are some ways to build time into your math lessons:
- Allow students ample time to think when you ask them questions.
- Allow students to work on assignments in class with support and take them home to finish if they need more time.
- Consider giving tests and quizzes in two parts and allowing students to complete them over multiple days.
- Create a culture of revisions. Allowing students to revise homework assignments and tests/quizzes for partial credit will remind them that learning math is a process, not a mandate to get everything right the first time. This will help them deepen their understanding by learning from and correcting their errors鈥攁nd remind them that mistakes are part of growth.
- Use intentional language. The phrase 鈥淭his is easy鈥� might sound encouraging, but anxious students may hear it as 鈥淵ou should be able to do this.鈥� Instead, use such as 鈥淭his problem is similar to when we鈥︹�� or 鈥淭ry using this strategy.鈥�
Addressing math anxiety at home
Caregivers may be accustomed to reading to students at home, but sitting together and doing math? Probably less so. Some caregivers may even inadvertently perpetuate math anxiety鈥攐r the ideas that feed it鈥攂y repeating some of the associated stereotypes and misconceptions. (鈥淪orry, kiddo, grandpa鈥檚 not a math person.鈥�)
Teachers can address this by sending materials home to support caregivers in engaging kids in math. Math games, for example, offer a fun, accessible opportunity for home practice鈥攁nd they can even be played at , along with story time.
In general, teachers can also encourage caregivers to:
- Use and point out their use of math in the real world wherever possible.
- Help with math homework as much as possible.
- Use intentional, positive phrasing about math鈥攊ncluding about their own use of it.
Teachers have the ability to reduce math anxiety and help students unlearn the stereotypes associated with it by building a positive math ecosystem. They can build a positive community in their math classroom, set caregivers up for success in supporting students at home, and even shine a light on their own relationship to math.
To learn more, tune in to Season 5 of Math Teacher Lounge, dive into our , and read the rest of our math blog.
