Time for math! –– again. Your heart starts racing, your hands starts sweating, you can feel the hollowness in your stomach, and the fear of failure are weights on your shoulders.
Math anxiety is real.
Research shows that students with high math anxiety perform worse in math tests and exams, also it will affects their ability to learn new mathematical concepts and procedures in class. In long term, the implications of math anxiety go far beyond school, they might experience difficulties in their everyday life as well such as making worse decision about their finances. Procrastination, avoidance of challenges, and low levels of confidence and self-esteem are also common among people with math anxiety. Overall, mathematics anxiety can have a strong impact on people's life success and satisfaction.
So is it possible to overcome mathematics anxiety? YES! Parents and teachers play a vital role in helping remove the stigma about maths. When students don't understand certain concepts, they need teachers who are willing to help them, and possibly need to change their teaching strategies for certain students to meet their needs.
Check out these tips to overcome mathematics anxiety:
Positive Reinforcement
Students who are coping with Mathematics Anxiety will need to hear a few words of encouragement. While you're reviewing homework with your child or student, try to point out all the questions he or she got right to remind them they did successfully overcame challenges in their math learning process, which can boost the child's self-confidence and lead to more positive attitudes and less anxiety towards maths.
Make Math Fun
Most of the students with high math anxiety think that the way math is taught in school is often boring, technology can be hugely helpful at this point. It opens up new ways for teachers to engage collaboratively with students. There are countless apps and games on different devices that can be used to meet the needs of various learning styles.
Another way is to make math relevant to our life. For example, you can connect math to the student's interest. Whether it's calculating how regularly your basketball team needs to score to win the game, or how much tax you'll have to pay for the new bag you want. It helps students to understand mathematical concepts easier.
Get a Tutor or One-on-One Help
There isn't a lot of time for students to ask questions during class, especially for students that are really struggling with understanding mathematical concepts. As students don't have chances to ask questions, their misconceptions towards math will build up which lead to high math anxiety. This is why individual tutoring can really help, students can keep practicing and ask questions when they needed.
There are many ways for people to deal with their anxiety and avoid negative outcomes. The most important tip is to change your attitude towards mathematics. Like it or not, math is involved in many parts in our life. The best way to get through is to accept it, enjoy the moment when you finally work out that math equation!
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