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Math Anxiety
Math anxiety is a form of PERFORMANCE ANXIETY
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Math Anxiety: General
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Math Anxiety: General
Reduce the stress in your body
◦DEEP BREATHS – Hands behind back, thumbs forward Touch middle fingers at spine Breathe SLOWLY in Breathe so middle fingers move apart Breathe SLOWLY out Middle fingers come together
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Math Anxiety: General
Reduce the stress in your body
DEEP BREATHS –
PRACTICE slowly four times whenever you sit down to do a lesson
PRACTICE every time a commercial comes on TV
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Math Anxiety: General
Reduce the stress in your body
◦RELAX MUSCLES in neck and shoulders - Raise shoulders to touch ears (feel tight) Drop shoulders down (feel loose) Puppet string from top of head pulling you “tall” Feel straight back Drop shoulders; feel loose arms and hands
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Math Anxiety: General
Reduce the stress in your body◦RELAX MUSCLES
PRACTICE 3 times every day
PRACTICE at set times –◦Before class◦On the bus◦During TV commercials◦Before going to bed
HAVE SOMEONE READ THE STEPS TO YOU
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Math Anxiety: General
Calm your emotions
Fear rises up when you don’t know or understand something.
As you understand math better, you will fear it less.
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Math Anxiety: General
Calm your emotions◦Reduce the fear of the unknown
◦POSITIVE SELF-TALK
“I will answer what I do know. I can come back to this later.”
“I don’t know this, but I know a lot.” “I am not afraid of this because it is new.”
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Math Anxiety: General
Calm your emotions◦Reduce the fear of forgetting
GROUP INFORMATION (7 +/– 2 rule)
EXAMPLE: Multiplication facts◦Four at a time (start at “x 1” and “x 5”)◦Repeat in rhythm 4 to 6 times per set◦Hand motions to remember “how many times ___”
Muscles produce BDNF when moving BDNF aids neuron growth
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Math Anxiety: General
Calm your emotions◦Reduce the fear of forgetting
◦Math Vocabulary: FLASHCARDS Symbol on one side, Words on the other
Example: Front: 73
Back: Exponent Multiply 7 x 7 x 7
DIFFERENT COLORS for different topics
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Math Anxiety: General
Calm your emotions◦Reduce the fear of forgetting
◦Link with something familiar
7 x 7 is San Francisco 49ers Denominator is DOWN Percents to decimals:
position of D and P in alphabet
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Math Anxiety: General
Calm your emotions◦Reduce the fear of forgetting
◦Link with something familiar
DATA: mean, mode, median, range RANGE: wide open spaces (Home on the…) MODE: sounds like “most” MEDIAN: the middle of the highway
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Math Anxiety: General
Calm your emotionsReduce the fear of forgetting
◦Link to something familiar
EXAMPLE: Multiplication facts SING to a familiar tune (or say in rhythm)
◦7s Happy Birthday◦3s Star-Spangled Banner (to 3 x 8)◦4s Jingle Bells (to 4 x 8)
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Math Anxiety: General
Calm your emotions◦Reduce the fear of forgetting
◦Link a physical action to the information
• EXAMPLE: Number of degrees in anglesCircle arms 360˚ “circle”Arms out 180˚ “straight angle”One arm out, one up 90˚ “right angle”Hands on top of head, elbows out 180˚
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Math Anxiety: General
Calm your emotions◦Reduce the fear of forgetting
◦MNEMONICS Word or phrase Uses first letter of each word in a list
GERMDAS Guys, Excuse – REALLY – My Dear Aunt Sally GROUPS Expon ROOT Mult Div Add Sub
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Math Anxiety: General
Calm your emotions◦Reduce the fear of failure
◦Acknowledge your fear
◦“What is the worst that could happen?”
◦A math test is not a fatal disease.
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Math Anxiety: General
Calm your emotionsReduce the fear of failure
Talk to someone. Teacher, friend, classmate
Someone you trust
Someone who will give honest, positive support
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Math Anxiety: General
Calm your emotionsReduce the fear of failure
ROLE PLAY With a partner – One is the fearful student
One is the supportive friend
Write down comments you found helpful as the student.
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Math Anxiety: General
Focus on your success
Pretend you have already passed the test
Keep that “up” feeling as you visualize your day
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Math Anxiety: General
Focus on your success
Getting up◦Feel good◦See your smile◦Plenty of time◦Feel relaxed
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Math Anxiety: General
Focus on your success
Nourishing breakfast (protein)Not much caffeine or sugar
Dress in a great outfit◦(something comfortable that makes you feel
good about yourself)
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Math Anxiety: General
Focus on your success
Picture yourself leaving for schoolSee the streets and buildingsFeel comfortableFeel proud and confident
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Math Anxiety: General
Focus on your success
Closer to school –◦Your stomach acts up
BREATHE DEEPLY & RELAX (Do it now.)
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Math Anxiety: General
Focus on your success
See yourself◦Entering the building◦Walking toward the classroom
BREATHE DEEPLY & RELAX (Do it now.)
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Math Anxiety: General
Focus on your success
See yourself◦Entering the classroom◦Greeting classmates and teacher◦Sitting in your desk, ready to go
BREATHE DEEPLY & RELAX (Do it now.)
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Math Anxiety: General
Focus on your success
See yourself Taking the test◦Scan for easy questions; do those first◦Build confidence: you know these◦Come to a confusing question:
BREATHE DEEPLY & RELAX (Do it now.)
Look at the question again. You can do it now!
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Math Anxiety: General
Focus on your success
See yourself Taking the test◦Stay calm, not rushed◦Can answer most of the questions easily◦Stay focused◦Have time left to check your work!!
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Math Anxiety: General
Focus on your success
See yourself AFTER the test◦Smiling◦Confident you did your best◦Feel that confidence through your day –
And your life!
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Math Anxiety: General
Focus on your success
Practice visualization by having someone else read the script to you.
Reader coaches person to “breathe, relax” when reader sees tension.
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Math Anxiety: Life Experiences
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Math Anxiety: Life Experiences
Youngest in Your Grade
◦Bedard & Dhuey: “The Persistence of Early Childhood Maturity”
◦Tony Kushner: Screenplay for Lincoln “I’m innumerate.”
JULY birthday
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Math Anxiety: Life Experiences
Youngest in Your Grade
2nd grade: Younger students’ brains not mature enough to grasp part-whole concept (needed to understand subtraction)
Student awareness of “relative age” effect can immediately reduce math anxiety
(i.e., smart in everything else, never liked math)
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Math Anxiety: Life Experiences
Family moved frequently
Curriculum topics in different order from state to state, district to districtMulti-digit multiplication in 3rd grade one place, 4th
grade in another
Stress of new rules, new friends, etc.
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Math Anxiety: Life Experiences
Emotional upheaval at home
Divorce/death/deployment of parentSubstance abuse/addictions of adultsParent in prison
Student unable to focus, misses concepts
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Math Anxiety: Life Experiences
Undiagnosed hearing problems
Multiple ear infections – no health insurance
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Math Anxiety: Life Experiences
Parent Talk / Teach Talk
Negative comments about math
Parent (or teacher) has math anxiety
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Math Anxiety: Life Experiences
Parent Talk / Teach Talk
Negative talk about student
TALK BACK!! ROLE PLAYING ◦Student talks to pillow (or picture of person), is
open about emotions and long-term effects of the “put-downs,” expresses confidence in own abilities
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Math Anxiety: Tools for Tests
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Math Anxiety
TEST ANXIETY MYTHSStudents are born with it
It cannot be reduced
Any level of test anxiety is bad
From Dr. Paul NoltingNADE presentation, Denver 2013
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Math Anxiety
TEST ANXIETY MYTHSStudents who are well-prepared don’t have
it
Intelligent students don’t have it
Attending class and doing homework should reduce it
From Dr. Paul NoltingNADE presentation,Denver 2013
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Math Anxiety
TEST ANXIETY MYTHSBeing told to relax will make you relaxed
Doing nothing about it will make it go away
Reducing test anxiety guarantees better grades
From Dr. Paul NoltingNADE presentation,Denver 2013
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Math Anxiety: Tools for Tests
Dumbo’s magic feather
Teacher’s belief/verbalization can help◦Honest – “This is what you do understand.”◦Repeated – praise whenever possible◦Consistent – similar language
Student will “hear” positive during test
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Math Anxiety: Tools for Tests
Physical Action
Breathing and conscious relaxation◦Grab the seat of your chair with your hands;
Pull your body into the seat as strongly as possible
Push down with your feet as legs as hard as possible◦Relax your muscles
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Math Anxiety: Tools for Tests
Physical Action
PUSH the anxiety away from your body◦New body cue makes new brain pathway◦20 minutes of piano practice reorganizes brain
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Math Anxiety: Tools for Tests
Different location/physical sensation
Take test standing at whiteboard◦Work all problems on board◦Copy to test paper◦In another room
Longer term: wean away in steps to take test in class at seat
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Math Anxiety: Tools for Tests
Different location/physical sensation
Stand/walk between problems◦Seat student in back facing away from class
At seat, write problems on small dry-erase board, copy to test paper◦Different look (symbols larger, colored markers)◦Different feel (markers larger than pencils)
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Math Anxiety: Tools for Tests
Different location/physical sensation
Use colored pencils
Say every step of the problem out loud as someone else writes down EXACTLY what the student says
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Math Anxiety: Tools for Tests
Thanks for attending.