Math anxiety is very real and is experienced by many students. It is
that feeling that many people get when faced with math problems or
exams. In many cases, a student may have clammy hands, increased
pulse rate, or simply ‘lose their mind’ and find that even addition is
beyond them. This anxiety does not limit itself to influencing exam
scores it incapacitates a student from grasming or even
comprehending math concepts.
So, where does this stem from? Math anxiety normally stems from
poor experiences with mathematics during early school going age. In
this case, students can easily relapse to former learning experiences
where they failed, felt embarrassed or developed a discomfort when
solving mathematical problems and therefore math becomes synonymous to stress.
Practical Strategies for Overcoming Math Anxiety
But the good news is that everybody has good and bad strategies and methods that relate with math anxiety and these can be changed thus reducing math anxiety. Here are some proven techniques that can help students feel more confident and comfortable with math:
1. Accept Rather Than Resist Negative Thought Patterns About Math
The first process to eliminate math anxiety is to alter people’s attitude towards Mathematics.) Most students assume that they are just somehow inept at mathematics, and this lies strongly in the way of progress. Negative self-talk regarding math should be replaced with more helpful thoughts to positivenly serve in constructing a new and pragmatic attitude towards the skills.
What to do:
Challenge the fixed mindset: This is important as a way of making the students have a growth mind set that mathematics ability is something that can be nurtured through practice. Substituting “math guy” with “I am learning math here and it is alright for me to get some things wrong along the way.”
Replace negative self-talk: Students should adapt ad equating thoughts: I will never do it = I can do it with the steps like I can do it step by step.
2. The third key tip is one that I personally try to implement in my everyday life- break problems into smaller steps.
Some of the reasons why student get overwhelmed with math is due to the fact that they try to address problems all at once. Deceiving an opposing effect on anxiety might be obtained when breaking the problem into more solvable and less overwhelming parts.
What to do:
Use step-by-step problem-solving: Advise students to move by one small step so that you do not overwhelm them. For instance, skip worrying yourself around the whole equation where the problem is, then just try to solve the first part and the next part without panicking.
3. Meditation and breathing exercise.
Math becomes difficult to solve since anxiety is marked by shallow or deep breathing, rapid heart beat among other symptoms. Students need to understand that they do not have to get nervous about math as there are ways that allow them to calm down and think about math with a clear head.
What to do:
Teach deep breathing exercises: You may advise students to take a few breaths before beginning a math problem or an exam. This can assist to ease them and thus decrease on anxiety feelings.
Use mindfulness practices: Using mindfulness breaks, teachers may help students to Write short mindfulness sessions into classroom or homework schedule can improve students’ concentration and decrease stress. Apps or guided meditations are helpful tools available in this case.
4. Produce Authenticity for Mathematical Exercises
Some learners experience math anxiety because they think that math is not a practical course in their daily lives. Students will not be afraid of doing math problems once they comprehend basically how the subject is going to assist them in their day-to-day lives.
What to do:
Relate math to real-world scenarios: Teachers have the ability to explain to their student where math is used in our day to day activities like in a kitchen or in managing an economy, or even in the merits stats. This assists students realize that mathematics is actually useful and they need to master the part that is taught in class.
5. Do Math Daily but in Low Stress Settings
If the students do more arithmetic, they will become more confident when doing the problems. However, conditions such as conditions where there is limited time leads to anxiety. Math skills should be exercised every day in such scenario that it is less pressurizing on students so that they are able to solve problems without the concerns of passing rates.
What to do:
Encourage daily practice: It is extremely important not to overload students with series of basically long mathematical exercises; instead, it is crucial to improve the exercises’ frequency and shorten the time for a single practice to 10-15 minutes.
Create a supportive environment: Make sure that students are not afraid to ask something and okay to get something wrong. Understanding must be top priority and not getting the problem right.
6. Make Use of Visuals as Well as Tactile Aids
To students with some form of learning difficulties especially on the area of math, objects that are model can make the concepts less abstract. They also can assist students improve their knowledge in mathematics subjects and help them to overcome anxiety.
What to do:
Incorporate visual aids: Teach math using objects, diagrams, and illustrations in form of charts, graph among others. Just looking at the problem graphically will make them understand the problem much better.
Hands-on learning: For instance, use of math’s counters for instance blocks counters or measuring tools makes it easy to interact with which makes the issues less horrible.