Math Anxiety In America

The general belief around the country (or perhaps even the world) is that math classes will be beneficial to a well rounded student. In some cases, such as the author argued, this might be true as a recent high school graduate who hasn't had the life experiences that someone later in their life might have. The author continues to explain that in their line of previous work and general experience, they already have the general math knowledge that their degree will need.

Chapter 4 describes Tom’s school experience in Pennsylvania and Poland, and discussed the relationship between math and many American students. Tom did not like math and thought he was not good at it. When he was asked to solve a problem in his class in Poland, he tried to make an excuse to avoid going to the board to solve it, which the book hinted typically worked in his American classes. However, he was still asked to solve the problem, which he could not do. The book explained that math is a difficult subject for many American students, and that on the PISA assessment American students score pretty low. Despite the bad reputation of American students being bad at math, the state of Minnesota ranked proficient in math. Overall, the chapter explained why students struggle in math and what Minnesota did to produce high test scores (Ripley, 2013).

Mathematical understanding influences all areas of life from social to private and civil. Therefore maths education is widely believed to be the single most important aspect to establishing opportunities for young people; unfortunately, many struggle with mathematics and become indifferent as they continue to encounter obstacles with regard to engagement (Anthony & Walshaw, 2009). Knowing a

Children shouldn’t suffer from math anxiety or lack confidence in math because they should build on the child’s strength and learning styles to make learning math easier. Some people may feel that requiring young children to do overly advance work at a young age has a harmful effect on them, but I feel it prepares them for the next grade level. Achievements in mathematics and other areas from state to state. The article stated, “Children who live in poverty and who member of linguistic and ethnic minority demonstrate significantly lower levels of achievement.” I don’t agree with this statement because it’s downgrading children from low-income families. I don’t feel some low-income children begin school with much less mathematical knowledge than wealthier peers. I feel children learn among themselves. Children simply make a choice about what they want to do and it involves on them deciding on their actions and interactions. NAEYC and NCTM feel if children have a head start in math that children will a long lasting effect of understanding math. Technology is an important tool that helps improve math because its influences math and enhances students’ learning. In the article it says, “Lack of appropriate preparation may case both preservice and experienced teachers to fail to see mathematics as a priority.” In order for teachers to teach mathematic to children proficiently, teachers need to see themselves proficient in math. Teachers should have a basic knowledge of the subject, but if some schools fear the lack of preparation of math then they should consider a successful program that only early math instructors specialize in that specific area. For example, the school may designate a teacher to be responsible for teaching only math to all

When I was growing up I always did well in my math classes in comparison to my other classes. Students have said “He only does well because he’s Asian.”; others said “He’s just naturally smart compared to the other students” . In reality, I was just extremely interested in math and spent most of my time wanting to study and understand the subject compared to science and reading. Whenever I am in a math class, whether it was my Algebra I class or my AP Calculus class, I am constantly thinking to myself “How were these mathematicians able to correlate how certain numbers had some type of relationship with a figure or equation such as the Pythagorean Theorem”? When I am in another class, like my English or AP Government class, my mind tends to stray away from taking notes or doing my assignment because I am always thinking about numbers and certain equations and how they are able to be applied into the real world.

The researcher’s main concern was to investigate differences in math perception between those students scoring highly versus those students scoring poorly on national exams. The researcher thought that the solution would be due to cross-cultural differences in achievement.

The aim of the Australian Curriculum is to ensure students become confident mathematical communicators who are creatively able to investigate and interpret situation in a variety of context (ACARA, 2015). The are 6 areas of maths covered in the Australian Curriculum and discussing this paper are number and algebra, measurement and geometry, and statistics and probability. Through the curriculum students are guided to an increased understanding of the “concepts and fluency with process” as well as pose and solve problems (ACARA, 2015). This paper discusses my personal experience, strengths and weakness when working with each of the 6 mathematical areas, as well how my confidence and anxiety influences my attituted toward working in each area.

Concerning the readings and the presentation in this week, there are several interesting elements. For instance, according to the Introduction Pointcast, Math begins with an attitude. How well one does in math is partially dependent on the mentality that he or she approaches Math. In addition, according to the pointcast, Math anxiety is a real and hurtful factor with individuals who fear math. Whenever math anxiety happens, take deep breaths, roll shoulders, and relax. Afterward, continue completing the math assignment. Furthermore, math requires diligence. According to his article, "Math Anxiety," Deb Russell provided six points that can aid in overcoming math anxiety. His first point is similar to a point that the Introduction Pointcast mentioned:

One reason why American students struggle in math is because we teach memorization instead of understanding. In the paper Autonomy as the Aim Education Envisioned by Piaget, states that “most of us who succeeded well in school did a lot of memorizing the right answer instead of understanding or caring about them (Kamii). In middle and high school I remember just learning the material for the math test and forgetting it right after. This is an awful habit to pick up because when I needed that information again I had no idea how to do it. Therefore, my teacher had to

I have experienced math anxiety in the past that had started in elementary school. I experienced the “blackboard anxiety” in the second grade. Each day we started math class with picking teams to race against one another while solving mathematical problems on the blackboard. It was extremely stressful to attempt to complete a mathematical problem on the blackboard with all of your classmates cheering you on if you completed the problem first and correctly or booing for you if you provided an incorrect answer or finished second. I also had a math teacher in middle school that my brother had previously. This teacher continued to compare me to my brother who was phenomenal and enjoyed working with numbers in math class. I recall the teacher telling me that I was nothing like my brother who completed the class without losing a point all year. I

Imagine being given a math problem, such as, 7+7. Most people would do simple mental math to get the solution fourteen. However, in American education millions of kids are required to fathom these problems with a concept known as “number bonds,” and restricting children to one way of solving is profoundly hampering innovativeness in American children (Garelick). Not only has this change in education caused anxiety in children of all ages, but also in their parents who struggle in assisting their children with their school work because they find the new concepts perplexing and divergent from the way they were instructed as children.

Tet anxiety is a very common thing among American students, especially for those whore are in higher education. This type of anxiety causes psychological tension that students experience before taking test. In the moment of test anxiety students have a strong feelings of failure that is followed by panic and stress pressure. Apparently many studies have showed that test anxiety often causes students to perform worse on the exam. "Test anxiety: Why it is increasing and 3 ways to curb it" by Valerie Strauss and " Anxiety, Self-Efficacy, and College Exam Grades" by Jennifer Barrows, Samantha Dunn, Carrie A. Lloyd are popular and scholarly articles that discuss test anxiety in US higher education and how it disadvantages students.

This all changed as I entered BC as an econ Major. I knew i still had a passion for math somewhere Inside me and I figured that by majoring in Econ I could remain tangentially involved in math while pursuing something else. I also registered for Dr. Goldsteins Calc I with integrated precalculus as a remedial way to fulfil my math core requirement. Dr. Goldstein really opened my eyes. Coming out of highschool in a less than ideal position with math I honestly believed I was just not a ‘math person’ I lost all confidence in my ability with math. Dr. Goldstein took her two semester course very slowly with us, and filled the majority of my gaps in math knowledge within the first semester. I realised there are no ‘math people’ there are only those who search for and find their passion in math. I was enabled with the knowledge and the confidence to pursue math in college; and this was by far the most liberating experience of my freshman

As a student grows older several trends begin to appear, on of which is most students do not enjoy math. In recent years it has been found that this common hatred is not one of instinct or innate nature, but has been taught from parents or other adults. From an article in the Washington Post it says “The National Mathematics Advisory Panel of the U.S. Department of Education has found that anxious students perform lower than their abilities. What’s more, there is growing evidence

Mathematics has always been a difficult subject for students. Many children have developed phobias and barriers towards mathematics, which prevail into adulthood, thus limiting their potential. This limitation implies problems of learning, resulting in the child a sense of inferiority.