“Oh-no, not maths” a thought that often passes through my mind when maths is mentioned. As part of my professional development this year, I have decided to tackle my ultimate fear of maths, and it starts here ! Hopefully, I can prove to myself, and you too, that maths really can be done by anyone.
To start the ball rolling, this blog focuses on the concept of maths anxiety, and how it may translate into the classroom, and our own lives as practitioners too.
When people think of maths, I am sure that some of these images come to mind:
Many people may feel that they are alone in this fear, but the concept of maths anxiety is becoming more widley recognised within education. According to the Nuffield foundation (2015) maths anxiety is “a feeling of tension and anxiety that interferes with the manipulation of numbers and the solving of mathematical problems in ordinary life and academic situations”. It can occur at anytime, and may even influence the career path that people choose to follow.
But how does this relate to the classroom envrionment? The acknowledgement of my own maths anxiety has opened my eyes to how pupils may feel within a maths class. It has also allowed me to reflect on my future practice as a practitioner, in particular how I plan to use teaching methods to engage and relate to children who may also lack confidence when engaging with maths.
I hope to do this through allowing children to have time to think about their answers, sharing thier ideas with their peers. I beleive that this can allow the child to enitially present and experiment with their idea in a safe environment. Discussing their thoughts with another person may allow them to validate the idea within themselves, building their confidence and lowering the stress that they may feel in regards to answering a question.
Splitting the children into different coloured groups and providing the children within each group number cards from one to five, may also make children feel more at ease. When asking for answers to questions, you may ask for e.g. number five from each group to give a response following discussion. In doing this the children are able to identify five other people who are in the same position as them, and this may put them at ease, realising that there are other people who may also be feeling how they are feeling.
My introduction to maths anxiety and recognising that it is something that everyone experiences in their own way, has already lowered the negaitivity that I feel towards the subject. It is okay to be anxious about mathematics, in fact it may event put you in a better position to learn it. Acknowledgement of your fear is the first step into the wonderfuld world of mathematics, and my journey starts here.
References:
http://blog.mylifetips.net/math-anxiety/
Math Anxiety. What does it look like for teens and young adults with learning disabilities and ADHD?
https://moodle.kincaidweb.com/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=260
Pictures: (In order left to right)
http://blog.mylifetips.net/math-anxiety/
Math Anxiety. What does it look like for teens and young adults with learning disabilities and ADHD?
