Many students claim not to like math. But for some, the issue extends further than simply disliking algebra or fractions. For some students, doing math can cause negative emotions which hinder performance and aid in avoidant behaviours. This is known as math anxiety. Math anxiety impacts individuals as early as the first grade by affecting their working memory. This disruption in the working memory can occur when students develop anxiety for math, which then in turn affects their competence; which can gravely affect their ability to further study and understand math concepts. But where does this anxiety come from? How do we aid in removing such anxiety in our school systems? These are both questions that I will be discussing throughout this
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Every example or question was directed towards how math was taught, discussed or addressed in our education. It seemed that math was a topic that seemed forced and had little discussion around it. Unlike other subjects like English or Biology, math seemed to be a subject dreaded even by the teachers themselves. This dread was translated into how math was taught and received by students. This can directly be seen in how math exercises are practiced. Unlike learning exercises that enhance the learning experience, math is generally taught in a way that discourages learning and creates a perfect foundation for math anxiety. Examples of these poor learning practices are: minute math, quick fire math or sticker/demerit point boards. These types of techniques do not aid in the understanding of math concepts but rather increase the lack of comprehension. But why? When we look at the work of Skinner we know that learning is a function of change in overt behavior. Changes in behavior are the result of an individual's response to events (stimuli) that occur in the environment. When we take that into consideration and apply it to an exercise like “minute math” we see that there is no change in the overt behaviour of the individual though it facilitates covert behaviours like math anxiety. It is important to note that these poor learning techniques are taught as early as the first grade,
Every example or question was directed towards how math was taught, discussed or addressed in our education. It seemed that math was a topic that seemed forced and had little discussion around it. Unlike other subjects like English or Biology, math seemed to be a subject dreaded even by the teachers themselves. This dread was translated into how math was taught and received by students. This can directly be seen in how math exercises are practiced. Unlike learning exercises that enhance the learning experience, math is generally taught in a way that discourages learning and creates a perfect foundation for math anxiety. Examples of these poor learning practices are: minute math, quick fire math or sticker/demerit point boards. These types of techniques do not aid in the understanding of math concepts but rather increase the lack of comprehension. But why? When we look at the work of Skinner we know that learning is a function of change in overt behavior. Changes in behavior are the result of an individual's response to events (stimuli) that occur in the environment. When we take that into consideration and apply it to an exercise like “minute math” we see that there is no change in the overt behaviour of the individual though it facilitates covert behaviours like math anxiety. It is important to note that these poor learning techniques are taught as early as the first grade,