Maths Anxiety: Integrating Theory and Practice

What We Hope To Achieve Today

● Raise awareness and understanding of

maths anxiety

○ Causes and interrelatedness

○ Impact

● Introduce practical strategies to address

maths anxiety

Defining Maths Anxiety

● “The panic, helplessness, paralysis, and mental disorganization that arises among some people when they are required to solve a mathematical problem” (Tobias and Weissbrod, 1980)

● “Feelings of tension, apprehension, or even dread that interferes with the ordinary manipulation of number and the solving of mathematical problems” (Ashcraft & Faust, 1994)

Some Maths Anxiety Questions…

1. How can/should it be measured?

2. How does it develop?

3. What mechanisms underpin the relationship between maths anxiety and performance?

4. How can it be reduced?

Measurement

1. Self-report scales

2. Brain function, e.g. fMRI

3. Psychophysiological reactivity, e.g. blood pressure and heart rate

4. Performance under pressure

5. Behaviours reflecting attentional processes, e.g. eye-movement or hypervigilance

Prevalence

● Only 7% of adults reported only positive classroom maths experiences from kindergarten through to college (Jackson & Leffingwell, 1999).

● According to Burns (1998) 2/3 of Americans fear and loathe maths.

● In a study of over 9000 students, Jones (2001) found that 25.9% had a moderate to high need of help with maths anxiety.

● 59% of 15 year-olds often worry that it will be difficult for them in maths classes (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2016).

● “a fair amount” to “much” maths anxiety in UK UG students (Hunt et al. 2011)

● “some” to “moderate” maths anxiety in the general US adult population (Hart & Ganley, 2019).

Prevalence

OECD data (2012) : Maths Anxiety in Boys and Girls aged 15

Correlates

● Maths attainment

● General and test anxiety

● Maths self-efficacy

● Maths attitudes

● Mathematical resilience

● Brain functions

● Gender

● Home numeracy environment

Risk factors

● Maths attainment

● General and test anxiety

● Maths self-efficacy

● Maths attitudes

● Mathematical resilience

● Brain functions

● Gender

● Home numeracy environment

● Numerical ability

● Dyscalculia

● Genetics

● Individual differences in working memory

● Teachers

● Schools and pedagogy

● Socio-economic position

● Cultural and social factors

● Other individual differences, e.g. cognitive appraisal and meta cognition

What comes first?

● Deficit model

● Debilitating effects model

● Bi-directional model

A masking effect

Negative affect & attitudes

Avoidance & poor engagement

Poor attentional control & panic

Low maths attainment

Early Development (Petronzi et al. 2017)

● 11 reception; 18 year 1; 12 year 2 children from 3 schools in England

● (13 boys, 28 girls)

● Children discussed day-to-day numeracy experiences

● Focus groups

Early Development (Petronzi et al. 2017)

● Those who were secure with numeracy expressed a desire for success and were motivated by reward. Teacher’s presence was motivating.

● In contrast, apprehensive children had a pronounced fear of failure and punishment; some teachers seen as a figure of punishment; numeracy was seen as competitive and hierarchical.

Strategies to Reduce Maths Anxiety

● Individual nature and context of maths anxiety.

● One size does not fit all (Stoehr, 2017).

● Class vs. individual strategies.

● Time and resources.

● Impact of current pandemic.

Use of Language

● Giving instructions - how do you describe a task?

● Avoid negative messages and debunk myths.

● Reward effort, not outcome. Purposeful mistakes help emphasise this.

The Nature of the Task

● How do children interpret and understand the task?

● Reflect on low threshold - high ceiling tasks.

● Use a graded approach and regularly recap prior learning.

● Embed active participation (Smith et al., 2000) and discussion (Klips, 2007).

Improving Attainment

● Truly understand the individual and focus any additional support on particular skills or content.

● How can you embed support within the school day?

● Supekar et al. (2015) conducted 1:1 sessions. (3 x 45 minutes) a week. Improved attainment and also reduced Maths Anxiety.

Relaxation Strategies

● What makes the individual feel calm?

● Encourage focused breathing (Bruyne et al., 2013).

● Create opportunities and activities to encourage mindfulness.

Expressive Writing

● Improve concentration and focus on Mathematics through removing worry from the working memory (Ramirez et al., 2013).

● Give the opportunity to write about thoughts and feelings prior to mathematical situations.

● Is there an option for a Mathematics journal?

Having a Growth Mindset

● Growth mindset vs. fixed mindset (Yeager & Dweck, 2012).

● Develop Mathematical Resilience (Lee & Johnston-Wilder, 2017)○ Having a growth mindset○ Knowing that Mathematics can have a personal value

(Wang et al., 2015)○ Knowing how to work at Mathematics○ Knowing how to find support

Future Directions

● The Mathematics Anxiety Research Group - crash course in maths anxiety. www.marg.wp.derby.ac.uk

● Focus on parent-child interactions informing interventions.

● Interventions based on cognitive appraisal.

● Supporting teachers through raised awareness and collaboration.

Any Questions?

References

Ashcraft, M. H., & Faust, M. W. (1994). Mathematics anxiety and mental arithmetic performance: An exploratory investigation. Cognition and Emotion, 8, 97–125.

Brunyé, T. T., Mahoney, C. R., Giles, G. E., Rapp, D. N., Taylor, H. A., & Kanarek, R. B. (2013). Learning to relax: Evaluating four brief interventions for overcoming the negative emotions accompanying math anxiety. Learning and Individual Differences, 27, 1-7.

Burns, M. (1998). Math: Facing an American phobia. Math Solutions Publications.

Hart, S. A., & Ganley, C. (2019). The nature of math anxiety in adults: Prevalence and correlates. Journal of Numerical Cognition, 5, 122-139.

Hunt, T. E., Clark-Carter, D., & Sheffield, D. (2011). The development and part-validation of a U.K. scale for mathematics anxiety. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 29, 455.

Jackson, C., & Leffingwell, R. (1999). The role of instructors in creating math anxiety in students from kindergarten through college. Mathematics Teacher, 92, 583-587.

Jones, W. (2001). Applying psychology to the teaching of basic math: A case study. Inquiry, 6, 60-65.

Klips, M. J. (2007) Math Anxiety Interventions. Unpublished Masters Thesis. The College at Brockport.

Lee, C. and Johnston-Wilder, S. (2017) ‘The Construct of Mathematical Resilience’ in Xolocotzi, E. U. (ed.) Understanding Emotions in Mathematical Thinking and Learning. Oxford: Elsevier, pp. 269-291.

References

Petronzi, D., Staples, P., Sheffield, D., Hunt, T. E., & Fitton-Wilde, S. (2017). Numeracy apprehension in young children: Insights from children aged 4-7 years and primary care providers. Psychology and Education, 54, 1-26.

Preis, C., & Biggs, B. T. (2001). Can Instructors Help Learners Overcome Math Anxiety? Australian Teacher Education Association Journal, 28, 6-10.

Ramirez, G., Gunderson, E. A., Levine, S. C. and Beilock, S. L. (2013) ‘Math Anxiety, Working Memory, and Math Achievement in Early Elementary School’, Journal of Cognition and Development, 14(2), pp. 187 - 202.

Smith, C. L., Maclin, D., Houghton, C. and Hennessey, M. G. (2000) ‘Sixth-Grades Students' Epistemologies of Science: The Impact of School Science Experiences on Epistemological Development’, Cognition and Instruction, 18(3), pp. 349 - 422.

Stoehr, K. J. (2017) ‘Mathematics Anxiety: One Size Does Not Fit All’, Journal of Teacher Education, 68(1), pp. 69 - 84.

Supekar, K., Iuculano, T., Chen, L. and Menon, V. (2015) ‘Remediation of Childhood Math Anxiety and Associated Neural Circuits Through Cognitive Tutoring’, The Journal of Neuroscience, 35(36), pp. 12574 - 12583.

Tobias, S., & Weissbrod, C. (1980). Anxiety and mathematics – an update. Harvard Educational Review, 50, 63-70.

References

Yeager, D. S. and Dweck, C. S. (2012) ‘Mindsets That Promote Resilience: When Students Believe That Personal Characteristics Can Be Developed’,Educational Psychologist, 47(4), pp. 302 - 314.

Wang, Z. Lukowski, S. L., Hart, S. A., Lyons, I. M., Thompson, L. A., Kovas, Y., Mazzocco, M. M. M., Plomin, R., & Petrill, S. S. Is math anxiety always bad for learning? The role of math motivation. Psychological Science, 1-14.