Hello, there! In this post, we present an article written by Dr Mariuche Gomides and Dr Flavia H. Santos, which was published on Maths Week Ireland Newsletter.
Success in maths depends on what we think and feel about this discipline. Of course, our cognitive abilities, such as attention, intelligence, memory and visuospatial skills and the quality of teaching, schools and resources are also important.
Positive thoughts, beliefs and emotions keep us motivated to learn maths at home or in the classroom. In turn, unpleasant experiences can lead to a feeling of fear and discomfort about maths that could interfere with maths performance in everyday life and academic situations. This nervousness toward maths is known as maths anxiety (1).
Maths anxiety can have negative consequences. For instance, maths anxiety is associated with poor performance in maths, being common in children with maths learning difficulties. Surprisingly though, maths anxiety exists at all levels of maths ability, even talented mathematicians can present it (2, 3). Usually, when a child shows maths anxiety it will cause avoidance of maths. Consequently, the child with maths anxiety may engage less in opportunities to enhance their math skills, such as doing math homework or asking questions in the classroom. As a result, they may learn less content and become more maths anxious, starting a vicious cycle (4, 5).
Maths Anxiety is seen even in first graders and tends to progress. At the end of high school, maths-anxious teenagers usually avoid majors and careers that rely heavily on maths, such as STEM careers (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) (2, 6). In fact, on the Leaving Certificate, the probability of choosing a course in STEM increases with maths grades and decreases with English grades (7). Poor performance in maths can have a harmful impact on adulthood life, such as lower income and employment prospects (8, 9), and other concerns such as a higher risk for depression or getting in trouble with the law (8, 10).
Fortunately, family members can contribute to a better scenario by increasing opportunities for their child to learn maths in an environment free of nervousness towards maths. Parents are role models for children, that is, your child learns what think and feel about maths by observing and interacting with you. For instance, a child who has a parent with high maths anxiety may show higher maths anxiety (11), and perform worse in maths, because the child will likely get less homework assistance (12) and capture the parent’s tension. Even without saying a word, facial expressions and gestures are communicating emotions such as fear, anger, or contempt (13). This context will influence the quality and quantity of maths instruction provided in the home environment and general attitudes towards maths (14).
Furthermore, parents convey their beliefs about maths to their children, such as its value and importance and the types of people who are good at it (14). For instance, high math-anxious parents hold lower expectations for their children's abilities (15) in comparison to low anxious parents. Besides, parents treat boys and girls differently and tend to encourage boys more than girls to learn maths and science. In fact, mothers and women teachers tend to underestimate girls' performance in maths (16).
So far, you have learnt that maths anxiety is a serious problem and is linked to a cascade of drawbacks. As a parent, how can you help your child to deal with maths anxiety? We draw on show some strategies you can use.
1. Use positive reinforcement
Highlight your child's achievements and strengths. Recognise how much effort they put into their maths learning, with words, caring and sometimes small rewards. Encourage perseverance! Anyone can be becoming a “maths person” with practice!
2. Talk about the value and importance of maths
Talk about how maths is part of our daily lives. Engage your children in maths daily activities such as measuring the proportions of a recipe, and calculating the change, counting. Show them how maths applies to a wide range of careers. Show that maths can be fun. Play maths games together! Yes, together. If a parent does not get involved, the child will think that this is not important.
3. Validate their emotions and offer alternative thoughts
Fear is not always a bad thing, and everyone experiences anxiety once in a while. Our body uses this state of apprehension to prepare us in advance to handle stressful or threatening situations. Therefore, fear is there to protect against any experience one can feel is dangerous or cause insecurity. The other side of fear is “excitement” which also causes heart racing, such as riding a rollercoaster or watching a movie from the Jurassic Park series. Parents can help their child to give a new meaning to this emotion, and more importantly a new use for it. For example, a child that is feeling fear about an upcoming exam might use this feeling in their favour by increasing their study time to feel more confident about doing the exam.
4. Teach strategies to deal with maths anxiety
When a child is anxious it is difficult to focus on learning, so first help your child to relax. A quite simple strategy, which should not be overestimated, is breathing exercises. Also, talk to them about their feelings, usually, the child thinks that nobody else feels that way. Writing or talking about one's feelings and worries a few minutes before starting homework or a classroom exam may offload negative emotions and reduce anxiety. But be careful, as the intention is not to reinforce negative views about maths! Then focus on overcoming it!
Be supportive: The child can learn it if they practise more and keep trying. Help your child plan and organise their study time. Do not let the child struggle alone, help them step by step with the exercises. If you cannot do the homework with them, make sure to find someone that is willing to. Nowadays the way of teaching has changed, and you may not feel confident or understand the tasks the teacher is requiring on the homework. There are safe websites, for instance, those indicated in Maths Week Ireland, where you can search for useful content in mathematics to help you to support your kids if you do not remember or never learnt how to do certain maths activities. Do discuss the issue with the teacher to ensure that in the classroom the child will find encouragement and support.
Also note that if the anxiety is causing harm, for instance, if your child cannot sleep, is not enjoying school or is becoming more and more afraid of it. Make an appointment with a psychologist that will help them to develop strategies to deal with distress. To know more about maths anxiety read our paper published by the Geary Institute for Public Policy.
The present article was developed under the Arithmós Project, awardee of the Collaborative Alliances for Societal Challenges (COALESCE) funded by the Irish Research Council. The Arithmós Project is a collaborative partnership between University College Dublin and Technological University Dublin, which aims to transform maths education through the engagement of children, teachers, families, and policymakers. It includes the Maths Anxiety workshop for teachers presented at the MathsMeet 2022 and at the Institute of Physics. Access our website to learn more about our project.
The authors:
Dr Mariuche Gomides is a psychologist and neuropsychologist. She is a post-doctoral researcher under the Arithmós Project at the University College Dublin, School of Psychology. She is a member of the UCD Music and Math Cognition Lab. She advocates for the implementation of evidence-based practices and pedagogical methodologies to help include children with learning difficulties.
Dr Flavia H. Santos is a neuroscientist, Assistant Professor and Ad Astra Fellow at University College Dublin, School of Psychology. Member of the Irish Children’s Research Network and Director of UCD Music and Math Cognition Lab. She is the principal investigator of the Arithmós Project. Dr Santos advocates for women in STEM, she is featured as a Rising Star by the UCD Institute for Discovery and Cambridge Mathematics.
HOW TO CITE THIS ARTICLE: Gomides, M. and Santos, F. H. (2022). How can I help my child deal with maths anxiety?. Maths Week Ireland Newsletter. Available on: https://www.mathsweek.ie/2022/helping-with-maths-anxiety/
References
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