What’s So Scary About It? :
A Study of Math Anxiety
By Julianne Hickman
Introduction
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Definition of Math Anxiety
Why?
Mental Insecurities
Pressure to perform quickly
Educators at any level
Goals
Today, we will discuss
 Possible
Causes
 Methods of Alleviation
 My Goals as an Educator
Chapter 1 - Possible Causes
Educators are the most
discussed cause of math
anxiety.
Elementary Level Teachers
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Enthusiasm/Attitudes
Time
Lack of Knowledge
How to teach instead of what to teach
Secondary Level Teachers
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Reliance on drill
No real life applications
Too much competition
Other Factors
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Family Life
Working Memory
Emotional Aspects
Chapter 2 - Methods
Methods can be broken
down to:
Teachers
Students/Parents
A Teacher’s Role
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Personal Education
–
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How do they feel about math?
Mannerisms and Principles
Lesson Plans
A Parent’s Role
Encouragement
A Student’s Role
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Relax
Think Positively
Practice
Chapter Three
My Plan of Action
Introduction
Learning from Past Experiences
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Minute Math
Calling Out Students
Competition
Step One: Identify the Problem
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Questionnaire
Talk Individually with Students
Step Two: Modify the Instruction
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Different Environment
Away from Direct Instruction
Hands on Projects and Visuals
Step Three: Hope for the Best
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Another Questionnaire
Make Improvements from there
Future Research
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Personal Classroom Experiences
See what works
Sources
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Conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education 2 (2004), 2532.
C. Arem, Conquering Math Anxiety, Brooks Cole, 2002.
A. Barnes and L.P. McCoy, Investigating the Causes of Math Anxiety in the High School Classroom,
Wake Forest University Education Report (2006), 13-18.
C. Breen, In the Serpent's Den: Contrasting Scripts relating to Fear of Mathematics, Proceedings of
the 28th Conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education 2
(2004), 167-174.
G. Burton, Getting Comfortable with Mathematics, The Elementary School Journal 79 (1979), 129135.
L. Cullipher, Awareness of Pre-Algebra, The Educator's Reference Desk, (1994), 1-3.
L. S. Fuchs, The Prevention, Identification, and Cognitive Determinants of Math Difficulty, Journal of
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B. Glaessner, S. Salk, S. S. Stodolsky, Student Views about Learning Math and Social Studies (in
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(1991), 89-116.
H.Ho, et al, The Affective and Cognitive Dimensions of Math Anxiety: A Cross-National Study, Journal
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