In the maths input given the other day I learnt about the effects maths anxiety has on people. Tara expressed how important it was to not pick on people during our math lessons as this can cause them to feel uncomfortable in front of their peers and cause them to develop maths anxiety. She suggested that we let them discuss their answers in pairs before sharing it with the class as this can give them more confidence. This is something I will bare in mind when on placement as I remember how it felt to have to say an answer out loud in class.

In maths it is also important not to repetitively tell a pupil that they are wrong. Instead, you should ask them to tell you step by step how they got to the answer. That way you can see what part of the problem needs work. Normally they get the majority of the work correct but make a silly mistake that is easily fixable. By doing this they can see that they almost got it right and should hopefully not feel anxious. Tara said that they can normally find the mistake themselves when breaking the problem down and that this is also a good learning opportunity for them.

I think the tone of your class environment is also very important when it comes to maths lessons. You want the pupils to feel comfortable expressing their concerns or difficulties without fear of embarrassment. This will take careful planning and techniques but is something that is important to get right.