Math Anxiety in the Early Years

As someone who struggled with math anxiety in my grade school years and identified as someone who was bad at math, I have been deeply interested in looking into ways that I as an aspiring teacher can help my students change the way they view math. After taking a course in my undergraduate program, I began researching math anxiety and the short and long-term implications it has on students learning. One key finding that stuck out to me was how it is common for teachers and parents who have experienced mathematics anxiety themselves to want to ensure that their children do not experience this anxiety. Although, without an effective plan to alleviate their own math anxiety, teachers and parents may inadvertently pass their fears on to their students, preventing them from fully embracing mathematics as well as limiting future opportunities that require strong mathematics backgrounds. With that being said, here is a key resource that can help educators, parents, and students combat math anxiety. 

Educators often over-rely on repetition, timed tests, and other assessment-based approaches, undermining the child's natural thinking process and reinforcing negative attitudes toward mathematics in the early years of life. Instead of improving children's fluency and problem-solving, these approaches have produced students who are more reliant on memorization and have increased the level of anxiety in young children by making mathematics a challenging and quick activity. In my future work with children, I will mathematize by designing informal and formal learning experiences with mathematical exploration, making everyday experiences connect to meaningful mathematics engagement as well as making math fun and engaging. 

Courtesy of Erika M @NU-OTECF