Math Anxiety and A Safe Classroom

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Math AnxietyandA Safe Classroom

• By
• Joanne Lauterbur

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In my four years as a teacher of math to adults,
there always have been students who either
disliked or were afraid of math.
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I always wonderedWhat could I do to lessen
their fear?
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• I hoped being a positive, enthusiastic teacher
  would change their attitudes about math!!!

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This thinking led to my research question

• Does a safe classroom environment alleviate math
  anxiety?

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There seems to be an agreement among experts
about the reasons that math anxiety affects such
a wide range of people.
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It is commonly accepted that math is a difficult
subject that many people have a hard time
comprehending.
Math is my worst subject!
Me Too! I Hate It!!
I have a terrible time with math
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People who enjoy and are proficient at math are
thought of as not normal.
I LOVE MATH!!!!
What A FREAK!!!!
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• Students are taught to memorize things that they
  could not understand so when they reach the math
  classes in which they have to understand concepts
  they just quit.

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• We are inclined to believe that genetics is
  responsible for our ability to do math and this
  belief is passed on from generation to
  generation!
• Girls have been told for years that math just
  isnt something girls do!

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• There might have been a teacher who humiliated
  the student or just did not teach well.

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• Each individual has their ownsituation that
  caused them to develop math anxiety.
• Some individuals have had bad experiences at home
  where they were punished for not understanding or
  they had a sibling who was a math whiz and they
  could not compare to them.

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Research PlanPurposeMy goal is to figure out
what I can do to change the students negative
attitudes into more positive attitudes.
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My Research Question.

• Does a safe classroom decrease a students
  anxiety?

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• SUBQUESTIONS
• What caused these anxieties for the student?
• Did the women feel that math was a male subject?
• What impact does the teachers attitude have on
  the students attitude?
• What strategies can I use to help these students?
• In what ways does a safe classroom environment
  help alleviate the anxiety?

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Data Collection

• Students filled out a questionnaire the first day
  of class about their attitudes toward math.
• Students wrote weekly journals about how their
  week is going in the classroom.
• Identified the students who have a math anxiety
  problem in the classroom and interviewed them as
  a group.

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ISSUES WITH DATA COLLECTION

• Only a ten week class

• Limited opportunities for observation and data
  collection

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Results and Analysis
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Data from my students was in agreement in my
earlier research about the causes of math anxiety

• Several of the students had family members who
  were very good at math, and attempts for them to
  help the student had ended in frustration and
  failure.
• Several others had also mentioned a particular
  math teacher who had made them feel stupid for
  asking questions.
• Some mentioned other students in the classroom
  making them feel dumb for not catching on right
  away.

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Contrary to what was found in my research, all of
the women in my class did not feel like they were
steered away from math or a career in math.

• Many of my students were not very successful in
  high school, so the data sample was probably not
  representative of the general population.
• Therefore, this result doesnt necessarily
  invalidate the research findings.

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Does a teacher with a positive, enthusiastic
attitude help the anxiety?

• The students with math anxiety who were
  interviewed said that they enjoy the class, they
  are comfortable asking questions, and they are
  able to learn the material easier than they have
  in the past.

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However..

• The students unanimously felt that no matter how
  much they enjoyed the class, it was not possible
  to eliminate their anxiety, especially not in 10
  weeks. Even when they were understanding the
  material and succeeding, the anxious feelings
  still remained.

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Conclusions

• Math anxiety is a learned behavior similar to a
  phobia. It develops over many years from a
  variety of environmental factors including
  teachers, parents, and siblings who in many ways
  reduces students confidence in their ability to
  do math.

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Conclusions Continued

• A safe classroom environment (enthusiastic
  instructor, freedom to ask questions, a fun
  class) can go a long way toward making students
  who suffer from math anxiety more comfortable and
  receptive to learning.
• A safe environment alone will not significantly
  lessen math anxiety. One semester is not enough
  to make real progress in reducing a math phobia.

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Applications

• What these conclusions mean to me is that there
  is real hope in helping students significantly
  reduce their fear of math, but that it must be a
  process which is bought into by the other math
  faculty members, as well as the student.
  Teachers need to be open to creative ways of
  presenting the material and assessing student
  progress. This can be a challenge, because this
  approach takes more time and effort, and an
  instructor will need to get more personally
  involved in his/her students learning.

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Applications Continued

• A student can help alleviate their own math
  anxiety by using tips on how to study for and
  take math tests and improving their study
  habits. Giving this information and talking about
  it in class is something that I would like to
  give to the students to help them study and be
  more prepared.    

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• I feel that these study tips, coupled with
  the fun, supportive and safe environment I try
  to foster in my classroom, can go a long way
  towards beginning the process of alleviating math
  anxiety in some of my students. If the students
  confidence increases enough, it will be easier
  for them to move on to any additional math
  classes they may be required to take. For this to
  be truly effective, however, these concepts will
  need to be adopted by other faculty members
  teaching developmental and the higher mathematics
  classes.

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