Math anxiety is a bit more than being afraid of math itself. It is also known to be linked with testing anxiety, affecting many people who are likely equipped with poor ability within mathematics from school- specifically starting in young students (according to researchers) and gradually developing into adulthood if the anxiety is not resolved.
“When engaged in mathematical problem-solving, highly math-anxious individuals suffer from intrusive thoughts and ruminations,” according to Daniel Ansari, the principal investigator of the Numerical Cognition Laboratory located at the University of Western Ontario. Math anxiety additionally causes distress, dislike and/or avoidance of math-related tasks, and can even block the brain’s working memory.
This anxiety can develop from early experiences within education and other factors. Sian Beilock, a psychology professor from the University of Chicago, discovered that math anxiety present in female teachers affected their students’ math performances as well as their own beliefs.. A study was conducted upon a group of first and second grade teachers along with their students. At the start of the year, researchers did not detect any change within both boys’ and girls’ performances in math. However, girls began scoring lower versus boys in math from being taught by a teacher with math anxiety.
Additionally, adults not confident in math could potentially pass on their math anxiety to their children. With other similar studies conducted, both Beilock and Ansari concluded that parents and teachers should be informed on how to overcome their math anxieties to avoid passing that fear down to other children.
“For my students who struggle with math anxiety, I try to help them make a plan for tests,” Maria Davis, a math teacher at Cabin John Middle School, had said. “Some tools that help include reading over every question at the start, marking up the directions to make sure they know what each question is asking, knowing that they can come up to my desk to ask a question even if I’m not allowed to tell them the answer, and flagging a question to come back later if they feel stuck. Sometimes just having a plan helps students feel less anxious!” Davis had personally shared her experience growing up, about how she convinced herself that she “wasn’t a math person” which contributed to her anxiety while test taking. “I know that many people, adults and kids alike, fear math in particular and think that only certain people are able to succeed based on their innate abilities or intelligence. I have spent a lot of time trying to convince teachers of other contents and administrators that it’s not okay to say ‘I’m not a math person’ to kids because it reinforces the idea that some people are just bad at math… students can get in their heads when it comes time to prepare for or take an assessment and convince themselves that they aren’t smart enough to succeed.”
Emily Liu, an eighth grader from Eastern Middle School shared her opinion about math anxiety: “[S]chool is a place for learning and not torture. It’s not meant to be something that makes people scared or anxious, so… the system should be improved so that students actually want to learn.”
Overall, math anxiety is a real issue that affects many students, teachers, and other adults. This could be linked to educational experiences when growing up. Although, there is still much to learn about math anxiety, such as how it develops. However, it is important to gain a better understanding of what it is in general to aid others that struggle with this issue.
Written by Qwyen Le of Cabin John Middle School
Photo by May Pham of Walter Johnson High School