Unit Coordination
Good News About Math Anxiety
There have been many studies done about anxiety and mathematics to the extent that it has become a well-known phenomenon. I have personally struggled with math anxiety, and it still comes on at times, which can be a challenge working among very educated math professionals at the AIMS Center. This anxiety can be more than just feelings of nervousness or butterflies in the stomach when doing math tasks. Some people suffer more severe effects such as elevated blood pressure, sweating, reduced ability to think, and even nausea.
For teachers who struggle with math anxiety, there can be an additional level of anxiety. Namely, anxiety about teaching mathematics to students. This type of anxiety can affect teachers of any grade level. The impact of these types of anxieties on students has been unknown. However, a recent study by Kristin Hadley and Jim Dorward has revealed some good news.
The first piece of good news about math anxiety is that it does not affect student performance in math. That is, if a teacher is anxious about their mathematical understanding, this does not usually translate into poor math performance by their students. This realization can be freeing, as it can release a teacher from any associated feelings of guilt that dwell with their math anxiety.
When a teacher with math anxiety first begins their career, it is not surprising that there is a high likelihood that they will also have anxiety about teaching mathematics. The Hadley study shows that this type of anxiety does negatively affect student math performance. To clarify, a teacher’s anxiety about their own math does not lower student math performance, but their anxiety about teaching math does have a negative effect.
However, there is good news here as well. Hadley’s study reveals that there is no permanent or causal relationship between the two types of anxiety. That is, having anxiety about math does not necessitate anxiety about teaching math. Many teachers who are anxious about their teaching practices decide to improve and overcome their anxiety in a variety of ways such as attending workshops, reading educational journals or blogs, or recruiting a coach to improve their math education practices. These measures, in turn, benefit their students and increases their math performance.
As we continue working with math educators, I have the joy of being able to share with them the good news that we are, together, seeking to improve our math education practices and therefore improving the lives of students with which we regularly come in contact. I would love to hear about your experiences with math anxiety and anxiety about teaching math. Please comment or send an email. How has math anxiety affected you or your teaching? What have you done that might be helpful to other teachers?
Who’s Prior Knowledge?
“To teach mathematics well, you need to be an expert who is able to recover what it’s like to think like a novice” – Brent Davis, 2017 When students enter our classrooms, they come to us with a wide range of pre-existing knowledge, skills, beliefs, and attitudes, often referred to as prior knowledge. In the… Continue Reading
Re-present!
Usually one would see that exclamation as “Represent!” and it conjures up images of fans in team colors, a spirited school group or some other proud group member. The individual (or individuals) is recognized as a part of the larger group, and while the whole group is not present, this individual should perform or act… Continue Reading
Counting is Fundamental to Mathematical Reasoning
As I write this, The AIMS Center for Math and Science Education is in the final stages of planning and preparing for the kick-off of our pilot program with Kindergarten through Grade 2 teachers. We will start with a week of professional learning this summer. In the midst of synthesizing all that we have been… Continue Reading
Down the Rabbit Hole
“The rabbit-hole went straight on like a tunnel for some way, and then dipped suddenly down, so suddenly that Alice had not a moment to think about stopping herself before she found herself falling down a very deep well.” ― Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland Alice had it easy. In a recent colleague’s blog,… Continue Reading
From Theory to Practice
Do you remember back in school when you were given a research project at the beginning of the year and told that it wouldn’t be due until the end of the year? I do. I wasn’t sure whether I should be happy or terrified. On the one hand I felt relief since I didn’t have… Continue Reading
Putting the Cart Before the Horse (Mathematically Speaking!)
In my experience as a teacher, I had many students that were learning English as a Second Language (EL). Maybe this is your experience as well, or you may have had the experience of trying to learn a second language yourself. When introducing new vocabulary around a concept, I would tap into to students background… Continue Reading
Counting with the Alphabet
It should be no surprise that, after working at AIMS for nearly two years, my co-workers still have the ability to inspire deeper learning in me. One of the things that the research and working with children have taught me is that their counting is very ordinal rather than cardinal at the beginning of their… Continue Reading
Pointing Towards Finger Usage
“Sixteen!” My grandson shouts, sitting on the floor smiling, fingers extended. We had been playing with his toy cars. He counted out nine, gave them to me, and I put them behind me out of his sight. He then counted out seven more, gave them to me also, and I hid them under a nearby… Continue Reading
Recognizing Is Not The Same As Understanding
My previous blog post, “Sharing can be Rigorous Work!”, I shared that part of the work we have been doing in the last few months investigates how students develop fractional reasoning based on the work of Dr. Les Steffe. When I taught 2nd grade under the previous California Standards it included exposure to fractions where… Continue Reading
