Mathematics
is not terrifying, yet it tends to cause anxiety in the group, that needs it
the most, ‘students.’
The term Mathematical anxiety is defined
as the feeling of anxiety, in which one cannot perform efficiently in situation
that involves the use of mathematics. During this the student feels tension and
worry that interfere with the manipulation of numbers and the solving of
mathematical problems in academic sessions as well as in ordinary life situations.
Normally, the principles of mathematics
are understood by children at an early stage. Preschoolers understand counting,
and by kindergarten it is common for children to use counting in a more
sophisticated manner by adding or subtracting numbers. Around six years of age
children begin to perform addition and subtraction mentally. And, by eight
years of age they can retrieve mathematical answers from memory. Thereafter, with
proper training normally functioning children acquire these basic mathematical
skills and are able to solve more complex mathematical problems with more
sophisticated training. Truth is not as simple. It is however, correct that
children learn certain mathematical skills by certain ages, but with these
mathematical expertise students often develop mathematical anxiety in school,
from teachers who are themselves anxious about their mathematical
abilities.
Stress which comes from anxiety is bad
for one’s health as well as for one’s performance, in the area causing the
stress. A severe anxiety may lead to phobia, such as mathematics phobia, where
it is common for students to make statements like – I can’t do math or I hate
math. Mathematical phobia is chronic disorder characterized by excessive, long
lasting anxiety and worry about mathematical situation such as test and general
mathematical performances. Neurophysiologic; the branch of physiology and
neuroscience that is concerned with the study of the functioning of the nervous
system, studies suggest that, mathematical anxiety brings out emotions and pain
related activation during and before mathematical activities, and the negative
emotional response to mathematical anxiety weaken processing efficiency. The
birth of mathematical anxiety can be traced back to the period where the
fundamental aspects of mathematics are taught. At the time, a set of negative
experiences are created around the subject that heightens the fear of mathematics
in children or student, that builds up throughout life, and may trickle into
adulthood, when the student is pursuing higher education.
Mathematics is usually taught as a right
and wrong subject. In contrast to most subjects, mathematics is often taught as
if these were a right way to solve the problem and any other approaches would
be wrong, even if students got the right answer. While in learning,
understanding the concept should be paramount, but with right or wrong approach
to teaching, students are not encouraged to experiment and take risks. By the
use of the standardized teaching method, student who have different learning
pattern tend to be ignored, this leads to their falling behind the class. And,
this indifference to mathematics only increases the pressure on students to do
well by their parents and teachers, leading to the development of anxiety.
A student with mathematical anxiety
doesn’t necessary lack ability in mathematics; rather they cannot perform to
their full potential due to the interfering symptoms of their anxiety. This
anxiety manifests itself in many ways like physical, psychological and
behavioural symptoms. Mathematical anxiety also affects working memory, when
solving mathematical problem, a large portion of this capacity is dedicated to
problem solving. However, in students with mathematical anxiety, much of this
space is taken up by anxious thoughts, thus compromising the individual’s
ability to perform. Research have shown that student’s mathematics ability
differs across countries, for example, students of India, Korea and Singapore
show higher mathematics solving capabilities. The reason is that people who
develop a growth mindset believes that everyone has the ability to grow their
intellectual ability, learn from their mistakes and become more resilient
learners. Parents in these countries tend to set high expectations and standard
for their children. Mathematics is often labelled as a masculine ability; as a
result girl students often have low confidence in their mathematical ability. This
gender stereotype can reinforce low confidence in girl student and can cause
mathematical anxiety.
The primary aim of education is to serve
as an equalizing instrument for society. So to develop student’s interest in
mathematics teachers and parents need to adopt certain measures that will help
them in engaging the students to mathematics in a more attractive manner. A
major complaint that students have about mathematics is the inability to see it
in action in everyday life. So, by infusing real world examples with
mathematical concepts teachers can help students view mathematics from an
entirely different point of view, for example, fraction can be taught by
physically showing the division of a chocolate bar, geometry can be linked to
the drawing students make in their art class etc. The teacher needs to adapt
multi format teaching method, as students respond differently to different
teaching methods. So, when it comes teaching mathematics concepts, teachers
should adapt varied aids to combine visual, auditory or physical learning
methods. This process can enable teachers to customize their teaching methods
to suit each student and connect mathematical concepts to relatable objects
that students encounter in their everyday life. Another reason for the fear of
mathematics for students is their inability to understand the problem. This
occurs because of the lack of holistic and multi faceted exposure to different
concepts of mathematical concepts taught to students in schools in their
childhood. Students must be taught to
consider each problem as a collection of individual elements. And, by
understanding each element separately, students can be taught to look at a
problem as a combination of concepts that are present in other problems also.
It is also important to teach each student that mathematics is a language of its
own. And, if students can’t speak the language fluently, they don’t really
understand the fundamental concepts. For example, using a sentence structure
such as, A ____ has four sides and four corners, or one metre is equal to _____
centimeters, etc. during warm-ups allows students to develop fluency in
mathematics vocabulary, which will help the students in a attaining a deeper
understanding of different mathematical concepts. One of the easiest ways to
reduce the student’s mathematical anxiety is for the parents to be involved in
their child’s education. This is because parent’s perception on mathematics
influences their child’s perception and achievement in mathematics. This means
that, if a parent makes it apparent that they do not enjoy mathematics, this
can influence the way child views mathematics.
Teachers and parents need to remember
that children are curious by nature, so it is alright to except questions,
like, why do we do it this way, and not that way? It becomes better if both
parents and teachers respond positively to these sorts of questions, and use
them to help the children and students deepen their understanding of
mathematics by examining alternative methods, so the students can chose for
themselves which they prefer.
A little change in attitude will make
the student love mathematics and build self confidence knowing that the student
has passed over and reached the mathematics loving community.
