Math Attack How to Reduce Math Anxiety

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Math Attack!How to Reduce Math Anxiety

• Brenda I. Mejias
• Academic Coordinator
• Student Support Services

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Can You Relate?

• Math is too hard for me.
• I will never learn math.
• I panic when I think about taking a math class.
• I freeze on math tests and cant remember
  anything.
• I hate math!

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What is Math Anxiety?

• A feeling of intense frustration or helplessness
  about ones ability to do math.
• Feelings of tension that interfere with the
  manipulation of numbers and the solving of
  problems in a wide variety of ordinary life and
  academic situations.

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Math Anxiety is...

• about feelings, not ability.
• a learned feeling that can be unlearned.
• is very real and occurs among thousands of
  people.

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What are the Symptoms ofMath Anxiety?

• Blocking out
• Tension
• Panic
• Paranoia

• Tune out
• Guilt
• Physical reactions
• Avoidance

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Where DoesMath Anxiety Come From?

• Early intense reaction
• Unhappy encounter with a particular teacher
• Singled out or humiliated in math class
• Methods of teaching
• Pressure from parents, teachers and peers
• Event that caused you get behind

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Math Myths and Misconceptions

• The math mind or math brain
• Gender and Race
• Uselessness of Math
• Math is logic, uncreative
• Only important to get the right answer

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What Changes Can YOU Make?

• Face your anxiety
• Free yourself from the past
• Positive attitude - Set math goals
• Effective Math Study Skills (future workshop)
• Know your learning style
• Relax, its only Math!
• Try, try again. Dont accept failure.

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Why Study Math?How Can It Possibly Help Me?

• To keep career options open
• To be a careful consumer
• savings, credit, shopping
• To keep up with future trends
• interpret graphs and charts, probability theory
• To get personal satisfaction
• home decorating, cooking, help w/ homework

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How Do YOU Changethe Way YOU Feel?

• Discuss your feelings
• Math is an important part of the world around us.
• Math teaches us how to think.
• Math is not for the magical few.
• Confronting problems and working to solve them
  greatly improves our self-esteem.

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Why Set Goals?

• Goals create purpose.
• Purpose generates plans.
• Plans produce actions.
• Action builds habits.
• Good habits create SUCCESS!

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Resources and References

• Curtain-Phillips, Marilyn, M.Ed.. Math Attack
  How to reduce math anxiety in the classroom, at
  work and in everyday personal use. (1999).
• Martin, Donald. How to be a successful student.
  (1991).
• Oxrieder, C. Ann and Ray, Janet P. You Numbers
  Up a calculated approach to successful math
  study. (1982).
• Sembera, Angela and Hovis, Michael. Math, a four
  letter word! A math anxiety handbook. 2nd
  edition. (1990).
• Tobias, Sheila. Overcoming math anxiety. (1994).
• Zaslavsky, Claudia. Fear of Math How to get over
  it and get with your life. (1994).
• Web Sites
• LeMoyne College - Academics Support
• www.lemoyne.edu/academics_support_center/
• Coping with Math Anxiety
• www. mathacademy.com/platonic_realms/
• Overcoming Math Anxiety
• www.staff.albion.edu/math/qsc/mathanx.htm