Math Department, Mission College, Santa Clara, California

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This paper was written as an assignment for Ian Walton's Math G - Math for liberal Arts Students - at Mission College.= If you use material from this paper, please acknowledge it.

To explore other such papers go to the M= ath G Projects Page

Anhtai Huynh

= MATH = G

Professor Walton=

27 April 2010

T= he Perils of Math Anxiety

What is math anxiety?

At first, I thought math anxiety only happened to other people and not me, but= as I continued on thinking about it, I realized that it is a lot more sophisticated yet complicated than I initially thought. As I was sitting at= my desk working out a couple of problems from the midterm take-home assignment= in = MATH = 00G, I began to hit obstacles – things that did not make sense to me. Some of the questions, such as arithmetic and the Venn diagram problems, were straightforward; however, when I got to problems such as the linear program= and cardinality, I could not process and analyze the information. I could not answer the problem the way Professor Walton wanted the class to answer it. =

N= ow it might seem simple and easy for me to say just that much, but in actuality it was extremely frustrating. I knew that this midterm take-home assignment ha= d an effect on my grade (like 15% of my grade), and if I did not complete it and= get a high score on it, my grade would be lowered. To my understanding, a lower grade equates to leaning closer to failing, which is not an option for me s= ince I need the course to transfer over to San Jose State= University = in the fall of 2010. This created even more pressure for me to make an effort to answer these problems, since I do not want to spend any more time in commun= ity college.

W= hen I tried working out the unsolved problems, the first thing that came to my mi= nd was, “What the hell do I do here?” Most of the problems were discussed in class, and I had thought I understood the material, but in reality, I did not have experience working them out. I began to wonder whet= her I really knew the material or not, because often times, we are suppose to do our own study and reading to supplement what we learn in class. I did not exactly do this while we discussed the topics in class. As the stress conti= nued to build, I looked at the paper with a blank stare, trying to start somewhe= re such as looking up what “cardinality” means, referring to the s= teps in linear programming or even the basic rules of arithmetic – I could= not find what I was looking for. After some hours of trying and getting nowhere= , I gave up and decided to settle for a low score of 20/55. It was not worth the trouble or the stress to get a passing grade.

T= his is what math anxiety looks like. It can happen to anyone at any point, but in general, it is defined as “an intense emotional feeling of anxiety th= at people have about their ability to understand and do mathematics,” an= d in extreme cases, people develop what is known as math phobia (Math Anxiety). People who are math anxious tend to doubt themselves in their ability to do math with confidence, because math is generally understood to have only one answer, and if they do not come to that answer, logically to them it means = they are incapable. Although I did not technically feel that I was incapable as a person because of some math problems, I had intense feelings of anxiety, an= d it had stressed me out and put me in a bad mood. This was when I realized that= I too could experience math anxiety.

What causes math anxiety?

Through my anecdote and definition, we now have a better understanding of how to identify whether someone is experiencing math anxiety or if we are personal= ly experiencing it. But what exactly causes math anxiety? Who experiences math anxiety? Can it be solved? How do we approach math anxiety from a pedagogic= al point of view? These are some of the questions that I will be discussing in this paper, and perhaps it will provide a better, worldwide view of the subject.

On that note, I found it very interesting that – on attempt to find sour= ces – many of my findings were about conquering math anxiety, as if I was looking for a guidebook that might help me conquer mines. In fact, even two= of my book sources from the Mission= College library were about tackling math anxiety, which focused on methods and approaches on dealing with it.

Common Beliefs about Math

One of the starting points of trying to understand where math anxiety stems fro= m is the fact that there are myths about math, myths that are not true. One of t= hese myths is that to be good at math, you have to be born with a “math mind” or be mentally adept in order to handle math (Arem 16). This is= not true at all, because we all have the mental capacity to understand and work things out, especially in everyday life where basic arithmetic is essential. Those that believe this myth assumes that because they cannot solve a certa= in problem, they are one of the few that are born without a math mind and beli= eves that they are inferior, weak, and incompetent (Hackworth 1). Not only is th= is issue about math anxiety, it creates other issues such as low self-esteem.<= o:p>

Another myth: math has a best way, or one method, to solve problems, and that the correct answer is the only thing that matters (Coping with Math Anxiety). T= his is not true, because math is more about understanding concepts and being ab= le to apply that knowledge than getting the right answers 100% of the time. Th= ere are many different approaches solving a problem, and a student should not be limited to one style just because that is how their instructor handles a problem (Arem 16). Individuals are different in the way that they learn, bu= t as long as they keep practicing and seeking help, a light of understanding will eventually reveal itself and moments of “eureka!” will occur.

As kids and even teenagers, we might also experience the myth that we should be able to do math in our heads as opposed to using our fingers – if we cannot, people point out our “stupidity”. While it might increa= se efficiency to be able to do math in our heads, using our fingers and other tools indicate that we grasp the concept of arithmetic (Math Anxiety). It d= oes not matter the tools that we use as long as we have an understanding of wha= t is asked, and we are able to utilize whatever tools we have to get to that destination. Nobody should be put-down because of a decision to use fingers= to count. It is all about using whatever methods that works.=

One last myth to mention is that men are better than women in mathematics (Arem 16). We can understand this on a more logical point of view, because women = have only recently achieved recognition and independence among their male counter-points – within a century or two – and so naturally, so= me women may still feel that men are superior at certain things. However, over= the centuries and even today, there are growing numbers of women who are well versed with mathematics, such as “Hypatia to Amalie Nöther to thousands of contemporary women in school and university math departments around the globe” (Coping with Math Anxiety). Studies show that women have the same capacity and potential to be good in math just like men, however; this does not always turn out to be the case. There is someth= ing holding women back in some ways, and the reason – and solution – has on= ly started surfacing in the 21^st century. What are some of those reasons?

Gender Context

Women did not always receive education throughout time until the time of the Enlightenment, where public education is promoted through the writings of J= ohn Locke (Thickpenny). Women were not known to be intellectually proficient according to tradition, both secular and religious, and so girls are brough= t up feeling inferior to men – especially in a difficult subject such as m= ath. Even as the century goes by and women are becoming more and more independen= t, society today still has the traditional belief that women do not need math.= As a result, girls – especially at the young ages – do not focus on their math and logical development of the brain, which causes them to be ma= th anxious later on when certain math is required in college or in the future. This creates an on-going cycle – the more you avoid math, the more you become math anxious.

Socially, girls may also avoid math in fear of being associated with the term “geek,” which often have a negative connotation to the word (Co= ping with Math Anxiety). We can stem this back to the days when women were only raised to take care of the family and to get married. This creates a lot of pressure, even at a very young age, for women to “court” themse= lves so that they could have a possible spouse and mate for life. Even in today’s society, many teenage girls focus their time and energy in so= cial matters instead of academics. Biologically, girls in this age are undergoing hormonal growth called puberty, where boys are beginning to be prominent on their minds and vice versa. Impressing boys and avoiding bad reputations, a= mong other things, becomes one of their primary behaviors and focus. Psychologically, it is undesirable= to be a “geek” or a “nerd.” Without the understanding that being a “geek” is actually okay and irrelevant to how the court= ing process works these days, girls will inevitably avoid math, increasing the anxiety as more and more math is pushed towards them as a requirement for higher education.

Cultural Aspects

Living in America = today, one of the more obvious cultural perceptions of math is that it is a hated subject due to its difficult nature. People just avoid it altogether becaus= e, of course, growing up as a child they questioned whether math has a useful application or not, or that math is just “not for them.” Society also has an impact in this aspect, because math is constantly given a bad n= ame not just in the media, but in the family environment as well. Children do n= ot get the proper positive exposure to math that some other children do in oth= er countries, such as Japan (Geist).

Comapred to Japan, American culture has a higher level of math anxiety that spur in young children, but to narrow in on a specific group, there is evidence sug= gesting that families at the poverty level suffers worse from math anxiety. Psychologist Eugene Geist found from research and studies that families wit= h a lower income have a tendency to score lower on tests dealing with mathemati= cs. Not only does Geist finds lower scores in families with lower income, he al= so finds a correlation to the child’s math anxiety with the parent’= ;s attitudes towards math and the highest education achieved. He used a standa= rd USDA free or reduced-cost lunch program to determine where the “gap” lies, and found that students enrolled in this program did worse in scores. The diagram = in the following page illustrates what Geist has found in this study.

<= o:p>

As we observe this diagram, we can see the three distinct groups that were pol= led in this study: the group that was eligible (the lower line), the group with= out information (middle transparent line), and the group who were not eligible = (the highest line). This graph represents the amount of students who are enrolle= d in the free lunch program as the highest group, which shows approximately how = many students are at the poverty level (Geist). According to Geist, “child= ren who are eligible for the USDA's free or reduced cost lunch program, regardl= ess of ethnicity, scored 13 points below the national average and 22 points bel= ow those students that did not qualify for the program” (Geist). This provides statistical data on where children stands on their mathematical achievement, and hints at math anxiety existing in these children in famili= es at the poverty level.

I= n terms of education, data suggests that a father’s education has a gre= at impact on all groups in or above the poverty level. We can examine this in = the diagram in the following page, which is also provided by Geist.<= /span>

<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'>

The data can be interpreted in the way that suggest that the college-degree par= ents are more likely to promote a positive math environment and encouraging for their children to do well in math (Geist). Parents who lack a college degree have a tendency to view math negatively, which results in children picking = up similar attitudes that creates math anxiety in the future. This is generally related to the father’s education, which I stated before about having= a greater impact on the family. However, Geist also suggests that even though= a family can be at the poverty level, the attitudes of mothers towards math c= an actually have a stronger impact in how a child develops and maintains the m= ath anxiety that may appear. This is suggested by the fact that a child is more emotionally attached to their mothers, who provide all the emotional and motivational support in a child’s endeavors (Geist).

We know that math anxiety exists, and that it is much worse in families who ha= ve low-income, but how does everything tie in together? Other than social influence, why does math anxiety occur in great levels?

Pedagogical Blame

We can take it to the root problem – teaching styles. Traditionally, mat= h is thought to be a subject where only one method and one answer is the correct approach to teaching math, however; more studies are suggesting that this approach hinders math abilities and create math anxiety. These studies sugg= est that everybody has the capacity and potential to learn, but that the road m= ap towards learning greatly varies in people. “Studies have shown studen= ts learn best when they are active rather than passive learners,” which Marilyn Phillips suggests – students learn better by engaging the material. This does not mean engaging in the sense that students must conti= nue study to learn through memorization and repetition – also known as the rote style of learning. This means constantly engaging the material in thou= ght and allowing mistakes to happen.

Even though today we have an understanding that math classes – like many o= ther liberal arts classes – are most effective when engaging students, we still have many institutions nation and worldwide practicing the rote proce= dure (Phillips). What is the rote procedure exactly? It is simply these three ba= sic steps: first, a problem set is introduced; second, a solution technique is introdu= ced; third and lastly, the problems are practiced and repeated until it is completely memorized and “mastered” (Mathematical Anxiety). This method limits students in terms of creative thinking in order to solve the problems, so as a result, the greater amount of students with different learning abilities experience difficulty when attempting to understand mathematical concepts. For the students who do exceptionally well on the te= sts, this method does not guarantee that the students fully understand the conce= pts. For all we know, they could coincidentally have a great capacity for memorization. As a result, when asked to explain, the students struggle to provide any real meaning behind the math, and instead provide formulas and methods as opposed to complete understanding (Mathematical Anxiety). <= /o:p>

Other than the conventional method of teaching, students that taught by math anxi= ous instructors have a higher tendency to develop math anxiety. Often times, the instructor’s fears and lack of comprehension of math passes onto the students, because the students never learned how to deal with difficulty in math in these classes (Mathematical Anxiety). As a result, the rote style becomes a stubborn method of choice, since many of these instructors are af= raid of being called-out by the students. Not only is math anxious teachers afra= id of being wrong due to their lack of understanding, they are also afraid of = the embarrassment of ignorance. Ultimately, the students become more math-anxio= us – some of which that may go on to be math teachers, which creates an endless cycle unless something is done about it (Phillips).

Techniques and Approaches

Today more and more organizations worldwide are advocating the push of changing t= he teaching style – but still; many classes follow the rote procedure. W= hile we cannot do much to change the style of curriculum individually, we can fo= cus on the way we personally approach math and math anxiety. For example if we = are math anxious, chances are we do not have a solid understanding of our basic arithmetic, which includes PEMDAS, fractions, multiplication, etc. A good s= tart would be to sit down with workbook that focuses on math anxiety, like Conquering math anxiety: A self-help workbook, or Math anxiety, and work out the problems using creative and logical thinking (Math Anxiety). Having a better understanding of the foundation of mathemat= ic increases the learning efficiency when moving on to higher math, such as Algebra or Calculus. Think of it as a pyramid, where arithmetic sits at the base. Learning math terms also contribute to success in future, higher-level math.

= &= nbsp; Another important aspect to consider when tackling math anxiety is being completely aware of one’s feelings and thoughts when it comes to solving math problems (Math Anxiety). Because anxiety can often interfere with train-of-thoughts and create distraction and frustration, it is necessary t= hat there is an understanding of what is going on psychologically and physiologically. From there, math anxious students can practice using relaxation techniques, such as taking deep, relaxed breaths, taking a break= to recompose, asking for help as much as they need to, and practice positive thinking (Phillips). Positive thinking will take a student a long way becau= se, since self-esteem may be an issue – as long as the troubled students continually tell themselves that they can do this math, they, in fact, will= be able to do the math. We can relate this information back to the study that Geist had done, who contribute to the children’s math anxiety to the father and mother’s lack of positive reinforcement of the math that t= he child might be struggling. Having a positive mindset proves to be an essent= ial tool in handling not just math anxiety, but anxiety in general.<= /span>

= &= nbsp; In conclusion, we have come to understand that society’s influence and cultural myths have contributed to the detrimental forces of math anxiety t= hat exists in many people today. As a society, we need to be able to tackle this issue not just in the study room, but also collectively as an institution of teaching styles. Give the stu= dents a break when they are struggling. Reexamine the approach in how the students are taught and are learning. And most importantly of all, create an adaptab= le environment that cater to all students with different learning capabilities, and advocate the use of positive thinking.

W= orks Cited

Arem, Cynthia. Conquering math anxiety: A self-help w= orkbook. Belmont:=
Wadsworth, Inc., 1993. Print.

"Coping with math anxiety." Platonic realms. Math= Academy Online, n.d. Web. = 25
Apr. 2010.

Geist, Eugene. "The anti-anxiety curriculum: combating math anxiety in the classroom." Journal of Instructional Psychology 37.1 (2010): 24+. InfoTrac Psych= ology Collection. Web. = 27 Apr. 2010.

Hackworth, Robert D. Math anxiety reduction. = Clearwater: H&H Publishing Compant,
Inc., 1985. Print.

"Math anxiety." <= /span>Texas state university. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2010.=

"Mathematical anxiety." Wikipedia.= N.p., 4 May 2010. Web. 6 May 2010.

Phillips, Marilyn Curtain. "The causes and prevention of math anxiety." Math
go= odies. Mrs. Glosser's Math Goodies, Inc, 12 Feb. 2010. Web. 27 Apr.
2010.<= /p>

Thickpenny, Helena. "T= he Enlightenment." Humanities 1B. Mission= College, W2-302.
= 27 Apr. 2010. Lecture.