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Transcript of Mathematics Anxiety
UNIVERSITI PENDIDIKAN SULTAN IDRIS (UPSI)
35900 TANJONG MALIM
PERAK DARUL RIDZUAN
SME 3023: Trends and issues in education for mathematical sciences
Task:
Mathematic Anxiety
NAME NO MATRIC PROGRAMME
KOON YOKE SHAN D20081032394 PENDIDIKAN EKONOMI
LIM SIEW YONG D20081032407 PENDIDIKAN EKONOMI
LIM ZI SHAN D20091034562 PENDIDIKAN PERAKAUNAN
VIANAH TOH D20091034568 PENDIDIKAN PERAKAUNAN
UNG HUI WENG D20091034579 PENDIDIKAN PERAKAUNAN
LECTURER:
PROF. DR MARZITA PUTEH
KOON YOKE SHAN (D20081032394)
1. What is Mathematics anxiety?
Answer: Mathematics anxiety has been defined as feelings of tension and anxiety that interfere
with the manipulation of numbers and the solving of mathematical problems in a wide variety of
ordinary life and academic situations. Mathematics anxiety can cause one to forget and lose
one’s self-confidence. People who suffer from mathematics anxiety feet that they are incapable
of doing activities and classes that involve mathematics. Some mathematics anxious people even
have a fear of mathematics or mathematics phobia. Mathematics anxiety is an emotional rather
than intellectual problem. However, it interferes with a person’s ability to learn mathematics and
therefore results in an intellectual problem.
The prevalent problem that the Malaysian Education System is facing concerning
mathematics and review some of the literature that will provide a theoretical basis for the
discussion of the construct, namely mathematics anxiety. Lindquist (1981) described
mathematics anxiety as involving feelings of tension and anxiety that interfere with the
manipulation of numbers and the solving of mathematical problems in a wide variety of ordinary
life and / or learning situations. He further states that mathematics anxiety can prevent students
from doing their best, from passing fundamental mathematics courses or from pursuing advanced
courses in mathematics or the science.
2. Why does Mathematics anxiety happen?
Answer : Mathematics anxiety happen because not serious in producing the qualities of teachers
that is personally, professionally and socially balanced, and, that, is unable to uphold the goals
that had been set in the Philosophy of Teacher Education in Malaysia. Mathematics is often
considered to be difficult and unpleasant by many students. Solving mathematical problem
seems to be an impossible and frightening task to many students. Mathematics anxiety happen
ones related to the personality or disposition of the individual, the situation or the environment of
the individual in the past. The dispositional antecedents include confidence in one’s ability to do
mathematics, doubt about self as a person, need for approval, need to achieve, attitudes towards
mathematics, factors related to intellectual functioning and self blame. Situational antecedents
include the way mathematics is taught, personality of the teacher, classroom or school factors
and antecedents of test anxiety. Finally environmental antecedents include sociological factors
such as socio-economic status, parental factors and sex role socialization (Byrd,1982).
Mathematics anxiety is also caused by a lack of understanding of mathematics. Innate
disability; instrumental learning / relational learning; sharp discontinuity between arithmetic and
algebra; language of mathematics, teachers, rigidity of mathematics; the affective domain;
learning styles; developmental lag; relevance of mathematics; memory; divergent thinking and
social rationale is the variable that contributed to mathematics anxiety.
3. Who has Mathematics anxiety?
Answer : Mathematics anxiety among men and women is not uncommon. Mathematics anxiety
occurs in both males and females and care must be taken not to add mathematics anxiety to the
stereotype view that females are less capable in mathematics than males, just because females
have a known tendency to be more willing to report their feelings than males (Lindquist, 1981).
This might be a factor to take into account in interpreting the finding of English (1989) quoted
above, that female teachers are more likely to exhibit higher mathematics anxiety. Mathematics
anxiety is considered to be a common characteristic among many students and adults (Buxton,
1981). Student has Mathematics anxiety. Adult educators must become fully informed of
mathematics anxiety if the particular and specific learning needs of the under-educated adult
student are to be met. Adult instructors must be able to identify the student with a fatalistic
attitude (Lazarus,1974).
Even though mathematics anxiety is related to other types of anxiety, many capable
people who are not generally anxious are anxious about mathematics (Richardson and Suinn,
1972). A study by Betz (1978) suggests that mathematics anxiety is a problem for many college
students, including even those in advanced mathematics classes, whose majors require an
extensive background in mathematics. Another study done by English (1989) on in-service
teachers reveals that teachers exhibiting higher mathematics anxiety levels were more likely to
be female, more likely to have a lower attitude toward mathematics, less likely to have
performed well in mathematics course, more likely to have completed fewer mathematics
courses, more likely to have chosen to teach in the lower grades and less likely to have felt
competent in teaching mathematics. The report of the Cockcroft Committee (1982) mentioned
earlier, found that anxiety toward mathematics was common among secondary school students.
Primary school teachers are often found to suffer most acutely from mathematics anxiety
(Briggs, 1993; Briggs and Crook, 1991), possibly because of the lack of a firm foundation in
mathematics, coupled with the nature of the subject itself. Teacher or teacher trainees also has
mathematics anxiety.
4. When does Mathematics anxiety occur?
Answer : Math-avoidance can be caused by the fear experienced from contact with mathematical
activity. A large number of students’ minds go blank momentarily even when a simple
mathematical calculation is called for. Mathematics anxiety occur when someone has the signs
such as sweating palms, queasy stomach, panic, fear, clenched fists, cold sweat, helplessness,
tension, distress, dry mouth, unpleasant, tremor, heart palpitation and breathing difficulty, shame
and an inability to cope and so on. Both physically and psychologically these are the feelings that
many experience when confronted with any mathematical situation. A teacher who is in love
with a subject tends to infect students with a similar enthusiasm, whereas a teacher who hates
and fears mathematics will influence students negatively. Passing on negative attitudes towards
this important field of knowledge is potentially harmful.
5. What create Mathematics anxiety?
Answer : Teacher-students relationship, teachers’ style of teaching, examination pressure,
parental and peer group influences were identified as the main factors contributing to the
Mathematics Anxiety. Lazarus (1974) argued that mathematics anxiety results from poor
instruction and poorly designed mathematics curricula. It is related to the abstract nature of
mathematics (Burton, 1979; Brush, 1981; Ferguson, 1986). Poor spatial skills (Tobias, 1976)
make mathematical comprehension difficult for many people. From the affective perspective,
Brush (1991) commented that mathematics anxiety arises from a climate in which negative
attitudes and anxiety are transmitted from adults to children. McMillan (1976) found that
teachers’ attitude and enthusiasm toward a subject had greater impact on student attitudes than
did instructional variables. More specifically, teachers with mathematics anxiety transmit their
anxiety to their students (Kelly and Tomhave, 1985; Bulman and Young, 1982 and Lazarus
1974). Furthermore Lazarus (1974) and Wilhelm and Brooks (1980) added that negative parental
attitudes may be transmitted to their children and that parents often reinforce their children’s
mathematics anxiety. Mathematics anxiety obviously develops in some persons during the early
years of schooling (Brush, 1991). Puteh (1998) found that the causes of mathematics anxiety
were related to teacher personality and their style of teaching, public examinations and their
effect, affective domain such as personality, feelings, worries, difficulties, parental expectations,
peer group influences and relevance.
Some students who do well in other subjects are convinced that they cannot do
mathematics due to poor experiences in past mathematics classes. They have developed a
fatalistic attitude, fully expecting to fail in any attempts at mathematics (Morris 1981). The
fatalistic attitude of these students becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, reinforcing their
convictions that they cannot do mathematics. Atkinson (1989) reveals that there is a meaningful
correlation between mathematics anxiety and confidence in learning mathematics, test anxiety,
motivation, perception of teacher attitudes and perceived usefulness of mathematics. However,
the research further concludes that only the first three variables are significant predictors of
mathematics anxiety. Lindquist (1981) found that the level of mathematics studied strongly
influences how a college student will feel about mathematics. This study also found that the level
of mathematics anxiety is related to scores on a standardized mathematics achievement test. The
meaningful study of any subject depends in part on the learner’s interest and this interest is in
turn affected by attitude and ability in the subject.
6. How did you (teacher) reduce Mathematics anxiety?
Answer : Teachers or teacher trainees aware of the existence of mathematics anxiety might be a
starting point for them to help their students reduce their mathematics anxiety at the same time.
A discussion or a contemplation of the events in our past that have formed the basis for our
feelings about and attitude towards mathematics today should help focus our feelings. Feelings
and attitudes are a part of what we are and we should recognize them and try to identify their
origin. Then we are able to do something constructive about them. Teacher may have been kind,
but the discussion of emotional response was not seen as part of the teaching process. Loathing
mathematics is an emotional response and the first step in overcoming it is to appraise one’s
opinions about mathematics in a spirit of detachment. Teacher played their part in creating the
feelings that they have towards mathematics. Teacher should contribution to positive feelings
such as praise students when students able to solve a mathematical task. Teacher should show
confidence when teaching mathematics.
7. How did you (Teacher) eliminate Mathematics anxiety?
Answer : It is all but impossible to avoid mathematics in daily life or in teaching. So anxiety
about mathematics must be addressed. The mathematical progress of many trainees was clearly
undermined by their teacher’s way of handling them in the classroom. Teacher-students
relationships seemed to have affected their attitudes positively. Teacher should take initiative in
an interaction woth students when they think students have difficulties with the mathematics.
Teachers’ habit of blaming the students for not understanding what was being taught have to
change because it will created a barrier between the teacher and the student relationship.
Trainees should request their teacher’s assistance. The way the teachers ridiculed the students
also seemed to play an important role in the respect. Teacher should encourage students ask
question. Many expressed their fear of strict and fierce teachers and associated this phenomenon
with negative feelings towards mathematics. Teacher should be nice and smile with students
when mathematics class and teacher must show the interest to mathematics first before teacher
teach. It is because Aiken (1976) reported more generally that the attitudes of teachers
themselves towards mathematics have an influence on their pupils’ attitudes and also an
influence on the style and methods that they will then adopt in imparting the knowledge and
skills of mathematics in their turn. Teacher should not force and even a certain degree of
violence in the hope of making the students learn mathematics or even excel in mathematics. The
teachers of mathematics begin teaching in the way they themselves were taught, mainly by
telling, showing, modeling, leading and asking, as stated by Maher (1988, p 4.) and its teaching
seemed to imply the need for an authoritative teaching style in which the teacher is responsible
for explaining things clearly and helping students to find the right answer. Teacher should show
interest in teaching the students and concerned with students’ needs, so that students tend to learn
mathematics.
Qualities in teachers such as patience, gentleness, caring, encouragement, kindness,
helpfulness, guiding, always being concerned, giving lots of attention to the student’s individual
needs and listening to the students problems regarding mathematics are some of the most
prominent qualities that the students valued and treasured. These qualities that were shown by
their teachers were perceived as a contribution to their liking of mathematics. Teacher who were
very concerned, guiding and showing patience, seemed to win the students’ attention. The caring
and encouraging attitudes that their teachers showed had a large positive effect on the students.
Teacher shouldn’t using an old fashioned way of teaching mathematics such as memorizing,
rigidity and practice, chalk and talk, figuring the numbers by hand, rigidity in the way the lesson
was conveyed.
LIM SIEW YONG (D20081032407)
Question 1: What is Mathematics anxiety?
Mathematics anxiety is a kind of negative feeling or attitude towards Mathematics. The negative
feeling stated means tension and fear of the manipulation of numbers and solving problems
involving mathematics in daily life and academic. Sherard (1981) define Mathematics anxiety as
a fear of mathematics or an intense, negative emotional reaction to mathematics. People who
cannot take part in activities and classes which related to Mathematics are those who suffer from
Mathematics anxiety. People who always avoiding themselves from Mathematics also been
categorized in Mathematics anxiety problems. This usually happen when someone do not
understand mathematics well.
Furthermore, mathematics anxiety is a kind of problem that must be reduce and eliminate
as soon as possible because it will affect someone’s performance in mathematical problems.
Those who had mathematics anxiety usually cannot perform well in their examinations because
they believe that they are weak in mathematics.
Question 2: Why does Mathematics anxiety it happen?
The main reason that causes Mathematics anxiety to happen is because the negative experiences
involving mathematics. For example, the students get poor result in the examination although he
or she has work really hard for it. This may lead them to avoid mathematics and they feel that
they will not be able to perform well in Mathematics.
Besides that, Mathematics anxiety might happen because the victim are lack of
confidence towards themselves in mathematics. Victims who had Mathematics anxiety usually
give up easily, always blame themselves because they cannot perform well in mathematics and
feel dislike to being challenged.
Mathematics anxiety might also happen when students teach by their teacher who are
also a victim of Mathematics anxiety. This is because teachers who face Mathematics anxiety
could not teach Mathematics well. Furthermore, students are scare of the teachers attitude for
example the teacher are not understanding and fierce also may cause Mathematics anxiety to
happen.
Less of encouragement and motivation from the family, teachers and friends may also
leads to Mathematics anxiety. Students who have supportive family that always spend time with
them and teach them mathematics, study group with peer groups and supportive teacher are less
likely to face mathematics anxiety.
Question 3: Who has Mathematics anxiety?
There are two groups of people that facing Mathematics anxiety. Firstly is the student
themselves. Mostly the students for instance the secondary students who had low grades in their
Mathematics examination will get Mathematics anxiety. This is because they will develop a
fatalistic attitude and expect they will not success to perform well in the Mathematics subject
(Morris, 1981). Lower secondary students who are going to the Upper Secondary students are
most likely to has Mathematics anxiety due to the reason that the subject Mathematics in Upper
Secondary are much more tougher than the Lower Secondary. In Upper Secondary level,
students need to solve mathematics question with logical steps required. College students will
also facing the same problem even though they are major in Mathematics.
By reviewing the research making by researcher, not only students are fear to
Mathematics but the teacher themselves also facing Mathematics anxiety problems. English
(1989) found out that mostly female teachers and those teachers that did not do well in
mathematic courses got Mathematics anxiety problems. Not only that, teachers who are not well
competent and not motivated enough to teach has Mathematics anxiety.
Question 4: When does Mathematics anxiety occur?
By referring to the previous research, Mathematics anxiety may occur in different situation. The
first situation is when ones related to the personality or disposition of the individual. This is due
to ones attitude towards Mathematics. For example, if they always blame themselves because
they are poor in mathematics, mathematics anxiety had occur.
Besides that, when ones related to the situation involving the methods of mathematics
being teach, the teacher’s personality and attitude, classroom and school factors, the problem
Mathematics anxiety may also occur. For instance, the teacher are not creative and motivated
enough to teach, the impatience and fierce teachers and many more will make the students to feel
moody to learn mathematics and fear of mathematics. Examinations may also created a
Mathematics anxiety among students.
Lastly, Mathematics anxiety also occur when ones related the environment of individual
in the past. This include the sociological factors. In a situation that a student is does not get any
encouragement from their family may cause them to face Mathematics anxiety.
Question 5: What /Who created Mathematics anxiety?
Mathematics anxiety is created by the poor basic of the students in Mathematics. If the student
do not have a strong foundation in Mathematics, they will found out that it is hard for them to
study deeper about Mathematics and this slowly will created Mathematics anxiety among the
students because they cannot perform well in their examinations.
Next, the teacher also may create Mathematics anxiety among the students. The teacher
themselves who are afraid and had negative attitude towards Mathematics will also influence the
students to dislike Mathematics as well. Furthermore, the teacher’s teaching style may also affect
the students whether will caught by Mathematics anxiety or not. Teachers should attract the
students by using different kinds of ways so that the student will always have a good perception
on Mathematics and will not cause mathematics anxiety problems.
The transfer from Lower Secondary to Upper Secondary level may also created
mathematics anxiety among the secondary students. Besides that, examinations especially
National Examination Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah, Penilaian Menegah Rendah and others
will cause Mathematics anxiety.
Question 6: How did you reduce Mathematics anxiety?
There are variety ways to cope with the Mathematics anxiety problems. Firstly, the adult
educators must read more about Mathematics anxiety so that they had a wide knowledge about
Mathematics anxiety. Next, the adult educators must aware of their students who are more likely
to face Mathematics anxiety problems so that they can help to overcome their problems. William
(1972) said that the adult educators must know the ways to transform anxiety to an effective
motivator by combating it. The teachers should also create an effective and proper environment
for the students to study Mathematics.
Besides that, the teacher should always be sincere, well prepared and motivated to teach
the students the subject, Mathematics. For example, the teacher must be creative enough to teach
Mathematics. This is to encourage the students to show interest on the subject and slowly
overcome the fear of the students in Mathematics. The students who feel enjoy and fun in
Mathematics will most likely to perform well in their examinations because the do not face
mathematics anxiety problems. Before the teacher try to reduce the Mathematics anxiety facing
by the students, the teacher themselves should also avoid themselves from this problem.
The research had shown that the peer influence and family attitude had a strong
relationship with Mathematics anxiety. So, the encouragement from family and friends play an
important role to reduce Mathematics anxiety as the students spend most of their time with their
family and friends. For example, the parents or siblings should spend more time with the
students to accompany and teach them about Mathematics. Furthermore, the students themselves
should like the subject Mathematics and put more effort in it for example they can formed a
study group among their friends. This can be proven base on the research made by researcher
where the students admit peer group discussion advanced them in the way to solve mathematic
problems.
Question 7: How did you eliminate Mathematics anxiety?
The intervention programmes and math clinics can eliminate the Mathematics anxiety problems.
Some of the universities for instance Wesleyan University in Middletown, Harvard University
and others had take action to eliminate mathematics anxiety by forming a math clinic. The
objective of this programme is to transform build a positive attitude towards the subject
mathematics among the students.
The teachers should also create a supportive classroom atmosphere and always give
positive math experience to the students so that they will not face Mathematics anxiety. for
example the teacher should make sure the students understand the concept and had a strong basic
on each topic before they go deeper and deeper about a topic.
Besides that, the teacher who had a positive personality also can help to eliminate
mathematics anxiety. The research shows that caring teachers may help to overcome
mathematics anxiety because the characteristic of a caring teacher for example always listen and
concern about the problems facing by the students, patience and many more may attract the
students attention and boost their interest to learn mathematics. This is because teacher best
influence the students attitude towards Mathematics. The teacher also can do more group
activities in class rather than asking the student to solve mathematics question per person on the
blackboard in front of the class.
Teachers should be trained by attending courses or programmes related with mathematics
anxiety may also help to eliminate mathematics anxiety. By the knowledge gain by the teachers
during being a teacher trainee in training college can help the teacher to teach the students how
to reduce mathematics anxiety faced by them.
Other than family encouragement given to the students from time to time, the distribution
of grades weighted in National Examinations should change to 50:50 among the written
examination and the on-going appraisal may help to eliminate the Mathematics anxiety problems
as examination is also a factor that contributes to mathematics anxiety.
LIM ZI SHAN ( D20091034562)
1. What is it Mathematic Anxiety?
According to Tobias (1978), mathematics anxiety has been defined as feelings of tension and anxiety that interfere with the manipulation of numbers and the solving of mathematical problems in a wide variety of ordinary life and academic situations. It can be considered a phobic response, in that the person avoids math and avoids situations where such aspects might be encountered, and feels anxious when such situations cannot be avoided. It interferes with a person’s ability to learn mathematics and therefore results in an intellectual problem.
2. When has it happen?
According to Lazarus (1974), mathematics anxiety results from poor instruction and poorly designed mathematics curricula. Poor spatial skills also make mathematical comprehension difficult for many people. Besides that, Brush (1976) said that mathematics anxiety arises from a climate in which negative attitudes and anxiety are transmitted from adults to children. Either parent, teacher or both. From the research of Puteh (1998), it was found that the causes of mathematics anxiety were related to :
Teacher personality and their style of teaching. Public examinations and their effect Affective domain, such as personality and perception. Feelings, worries, difficulties. Parental expectations. Peer group influences. The usage of mathematics in everyday life.
3. Who has it?
Students who have the below characteristics is consider to facing Mathematics Anxiety : Low confidence. Easily giving-up Self blaming for the poor mathematics performance Dislikes of being challenged. Slow learner and low self esteem. Avoid themselves to do mathematics.
4. When does it occur?Mathematic anxiety occur when a person has a sign such as sweating, panic, queasy stomach, fear, clenched fists, cold sweat, helplessness, tension, distress, dry mouth,
unpleasant, tremor, heart palpitation and breathing and difficulty. Mathematic avoidance can be caused by the fear experienced from contact with Mathematics activity.
5. Who create it?
The creators can be teacher and parent of student. The teacher-student relationship seemed to have affected their attitudes negatively.
i. They fear to asking teacher when they don’t know how to solve the mathematics problem. They feel shy when ask. As a result, they keep silent and let their brain blank for the question.
ii. Teacher blaming student for not understanding. It was create a barriers between teacher and student relationship.
iii. Teacher ridiculing students.
iv. Teacher’ strictness and fierceness. It will cause student think negative towards mathematic.
v. The use of threats and force by teacher.
vi. Teacher not showing interest in their student.
6. How do you reduce it?
There are several ways to reduces tension towards Mathematics Anxiety:
1. Play the leading role in promoting best practices by setting the tone for the school
with teachers, students, and parents;
2. Distribute copies of the NCTM standards and any other pertinent local, state or
regional standards documents in order to educate the principal and his/her staff;
3. Hold Family Math Nights to educate parents;
4. Include in the budget monies for professional development;
5. Encourage the use of math manipulative and supplies;
6. Encourage teachers to use a variety of assessment methods;
7. Encourage teachers to share and network with each other regarding ideas that work
for them, as well as provide in-service workshops for colleagues.
7. How do you eliminate it?Here are some ways we can help our students avoid stress about math.
i. Play math games. Whether you play math games online, get out some number-centric board games such as Monopoly or Double Shutter, or use some common kitchen items to play with numbers, playing games that are math and numbers oriented is an excellent way to make math fun and get children interesting in doing math.
ii. Be aware of your own attitude toward math. Have you ever said things such as, “I’m not good at math,” or “I just don’t like math”? If so, consider changing your attitude, or at least not voicing such negative ideas about math out loud. Your child is watching and learning from you, and if you express negative feelings about math rather than talk about the fun and important aspects of math, then you are doing your child a disservice.
iii. Help student shake off mistakes. One of the best things you can do as you help them develop math skills and learn other academic and life lessons is to assure him that mistakes are something that will happen and that they are learning opportunities. If you can help them put math mistakes into perspective and reminds him that they are what will ultimately help him learn, your child will be less likely to develop anxiety about math.
iv. Ditch the idea that some people are not good at math. This is a particularly important message for girls, who may pick up the misconception prevalent in the world today that boys are better at math than girls. While some experts have asserted that a math gender gap no longer exists, other researchers have argued that it does; the reason for those differences are likely complex and varied, including parents’ and educators’ failure to nurture girls’ confidence in math, societal pressure for girls not to succeed in math, and parents’ and teachers’ failure to spot girls’ early struggles with math, which can then worsen over time.
VIANAH TOH (D20091034568)
1. What is the mathematics anxiety?
- Math anxiety is a phenomenon that is often considered when examining students’
problems in mathematics. It has been defined as feelings of tension and anxiety that
interfere with the manipulation of numbers and the solving of mathematical problems
in wide variety of ordinary life and academic situations. Mathematic anxiety cause
one to forget and lose one’s self- confidence (Tobias, 1978). It determined that math
anxiety is related to poor math performance on math achievement tests and that math
anxiety is related to negative attitudes concerning math.
2. Why does it happen?
- Math anxiety is often developed as a result of a student’s prior negative experience
when learning math in the classroom or at home. Teachers and parents often
exacerbate a child’s level of anxiety by imposing their personal views about math.
Each negative experience is transferred into the thoughts of any future math work and
ultimately causes a lack of understanding of mathematics. Traditionally, students
have been taught to memorize mathematical concepts without actually working
through problems and comprehending the reason behind the math skill. This along
with being unprepared greatly contributes to a child’s increased level of math anxiety.
The existing attitudes towards mathematics came mainly from:
The experience of learning mathematics
The teachers’ personality and style of teaching
The system and examination pressure
Parental and peer group pressure
3. Who has it?
- Students who are involved in situation such like gets anxious at just the thought of
making that required math class, worry about having to figure out everyone’s bill
when have lunch with their friends or trying to avoid from activities or other classes
that may involve mathematics are student who suffering from Mathematics Anxiety.
While the actual symptoms of math anxiety can differ from person to person, there
are behaviors and feelings commonly associated with it, such as lack of confidence,
paranoia, panic and passive behavior.
4. When does it occur?
- Math anxiety can occur when participating in class, listening to a lecture, while doing
a math related problem, or during a test. Moreover, such anxiety can happen on
elementary school children, high school and college students(Tobia, 1993). It is
important to know that it can happen to anyone at any age no matter of their
mathematical ability.
5. What/ who create it?
- There are many interrelated factors contributed to the formation of mathematics
anxiety and especially among teacher trainees is not uncommon as previous studies
have already indicated (Haylock, 1995).
- The relationship between teaching style and mathematics anxiety depends on how the
teacher behavior and techniques. The most significant contributions to the formations
of negative attitudes and mathematics anxiety appear to be (Puteh,2002)
Students’ fear of asking for help
Teacher blaming students for not understanding
Teachers ridiculing students
Teachers’ strictness and fierceness
Use the threats and force by teachers
Teachers not showing interest in their students;
A teaching style which emphasizes the transfer of information and routines
with attention to the little attention to the learning of the individual.
Mathematics anxiety also could occur from family and parental influences
towards mathematics and peer group influences.
Parents affect the child’s attitude and performance in three ways according to
Poffenberger and Norton (1959), which is:
i. By parental encouragement
ii. By parent’s own attitudes;
iii. By parental expectations of child’s achievement.
The lack of support and concern from families for their performance in
mathematics seems to have contributed a lot to the negative attitudes. On the other
hand, peer group influences is depend on the group of friends these trainees were
in, either positive or negative effects on their attitudes to mathematics.
6. How do you reduce it?
To reduce math anxiety, teachers should focus on the importance of classroom
design. They should strive to create a space that encourages each individual’s
strengths and successes. Math lessons should be prepared to address a variety of
learning styles. Studies have shown that students learn best when they are active
rather than passive learners (Spikell, 1993). Marilyn
Curtain-Phillips (1999) identified that students today have a need for practical math.
Therefore, math needs to be relevant to their everyday lives. Students enjoy
experimenting. To learn mathematics, she stated that, students must be engaged in
exploring, conjecturing, and thinking rather than engaged in only role learning of
rules and procedures. It is recommended that all teachers incorporate technology,
cooperative learning, and math manipulatives into their math lessons for all students.
Teachers are encouraged to use cooperative learning by placing students in pairs or
larger groups where all of the students maintain an equal role. The students will learn
to share in the group’s successes and accomplishments. These successes will
contribute to the students overall (positive) feeling about the work. During group
activities, it is the teacher’s responsibility to promote the groups successes, by
praising even the smallest accomplishments.
7. How do you eliminate?
These are suggested constructive techniques and strategies to prevent math anxiety among
students, the techniques that can be used are;
Create a positive
Supportive classroom atmosphere
Stress understanding the thought process
Dispel the math mind myth
Provide new positive math experiences
Use concrete materials to teach content
Make sure each concept is understood before continuing
Reduce tension and pressure in mathematics classes
Give positive feedback on written tests and be sensitive but determined.
UNG HUI WENG (D20091034579)
1. What is Mathematics Anxiety?
Math anxiety is a phenomenon that is often considered when examining students’ problems in
mathematics. It is a feeling of tension, apprehension, or fear that interferes with math
performance. For the most part, math anxiety is the fear about doing the math right, our minds
draw a blank and we think we'll fail and of course the more frustrated and anxious our minds
become, the greater the chance for drawing blanks. Added pressure of having time limits on
math tests and exams also cause the levels of anxiety grow for many students.
2. Why does it happen?
Panic - A student experiences feelings of helplessness. They cannot do better no matter
how much effort they put forth.
Paranoia - A feeling that everyone knows the answer except them. Students will even feel
they have been faking doing math for a long time.
Passive - A student will not take action becuase they feel they either have a math brain or
they do not.
Lack of Confidence - A math anxious student will not trust their intuition. They memorize
rules instead of learning concepts.
When a student begins to panic there is not only a psychological effect but also a
physiological effect. Adenaline runs through their body and they enter "flight of fight"
mode. The brains higher ordered thinking is no longer working effectively. One is reduced
to a very primitive level of thinking. Higher ordered think is neccessary for doing
mathematics!
3. Who has it?
In fact, s person who has high math anxiety may actually be unable to perform well on test,
and may be unable to learn in a mathematics classroom. Math anxiety also directly contributes
to avoiding mathematics (Tobias &Weissbrod, 1980, p.63). It is logical to avoid situations
which bring on anxiety reactions.
4. When does it happen?
Math anxiety can occur when participating in class, listening to a lecture, while doing a math
related problem, or during a test. Moreover, such anxiety can happen on elementary school
children, high school and college students
5. What/ who created it?
Mathematics anxiety results from poor instruction and poorly designed mathematics curricula. It
is related to the abstract nature of mathematics. Poor spatial skills make mathematical
comprehension difficult to many factors which are interrelated with one another and hence it is
difficult to pin point it’s actual roots. Math anxiety arises from a climate in which negative
attitudes and anxiety are transmitted from adults to children. Besides that, teacher’s attitude and
enthusiasm toward a subject had greater impact on student attitudes than did instructional
variables more specifically, teachers with mathematics anxiety transmit their anxiety to their
students. Apart from that, negative parental attitudes may be transmitted to their children’s
mathematics anxiety.
6. How do you reduce it?
A positive attitude will help. However, positive attitudes come with quality teaching for
understanding which often isn't the case with many traditional approaches to teaching
mathematics.
2. Ask questions, be determined to 'understand the math'. Don't settle for anything less
during instruction. Ask for clear illustrations and or demonstrations or simulations.
3. Practice regularly, especially when you're having difficulty.
4. When total understanding escapes you, hire a tutor or work with peers that understand the
math. You can do the math, sometimes it just take a different approach for you to
understand some of the concepts.
5. Don't just read over your notes - do the math. Practice the math and make sure you can
honestly state that you understand what you are doing.
6. Be persistent and don't over emphasize the fact that we all make mistakes. Remember,
some of the most powerful learning stems from making a mistake.
7. How do you eliminate it?
Teachers treat students' error as a kind of learning opportunity.
Teachers encourage various ways of thinking and multiple solutions, including students'
informal strategies as long as they are reasonable.
Try to incorporate some real world situations into a math class. This will help the student to
see that there is a need for what they are learning. If they see where math is applied they
may be more willing to try. Attempt to make it fun!
As a teacher it is our job to make sure the student understands that we know not everyone is
"good" in math. If the student can see that the teacher understands math is challenging they
will open up more. If a teacher simply says "I don't see why you are not getting this" the
student will close up and withdraw from math entirely.
Have the teacher give the student a practice exam with the same time constraints as the
original test. Becoming familiar with the format and adjusting to pacing will help the
student ease their anxiety.