Math Anxiety

Abstract

The United States is currently not producing enough graduates in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields to meet the demands of a technology-dependent society. Although there are many efforts in place to improve STEM education in the United States, most notably, President Obama’s Educate to Innovate campaign, these efforts focus mostly on innovating the teaching of math content and less on the role of affective factors in math achievement. Here we discuss a phenomenon known as math anxiety (i.e., negative feelings of tension and fear that many people experience when engaging in math) and the implications math anxiety carries for math success and STEM engagement. We begin by highlighting the most recent findings from research in psychology, education, and neuroscience on math anxiety. We then discuss the consequences of math anxiety as well as likely causes and promising remediations. We suggest that the initiatives currently underway to improve STEM involvement and achievement would benefit from educating current and future teachers, parents, and even students about math anxiety, its causes, consequences, and possibilities for amelioration.

A Framework for Studying the Heterogeneity of Risk Factors in Math Anxiety

“…Although it is currently unfeasible to fully describe the origins and outcomes of math anxiety, we present an initial model focusing on the development and dynamic interplay between causal factors. Continuing previous important reviews of the antecedents of math anxiety and its developmental trajectory (e.g., Maloney and Beilock, 2012; Beilock and Maloney, 2015; Dowker et al, 2016), our current model highlights and visually illustrates dynamic and developmental perspectives claiming that heterogeneous symptoms of math anxiety result from the interplay between individual predispositions and one’s surroundings. The model predicts that the exact math anxiety symptoms at a particular time in life will be affected by factors that have positive or negative effects on the development of symptoms.…”

“…Others have shown that there may be unidirectional relations between math anxiety and poor math performance (e.g., Ashcraft and Moore, 2009). Math anxiety can have a direct effect on math performance (Ashcraft and Kirk, 2001; Beilock and Maloney, 2015), but also an indirect effect through avoidance behavior (Hembree, 1990; Ashcraft and Ridley, 2005).…”

A Meta-Analysis: The Effects of CBT as a Clinic- & School-Based Treatment on Students’ Mathematics Anxiety

“…These interventions include but are not limited to cooperative and small grouping (Duffy & Furner, 2002;Lee, Capraro, & Bicer, 2019), use of manipulatives and technology-based instruction (Bicer et al, 2018), the identification of problem areas and use of proactive positive approaches (Fotoples, 2000), and incorporation of journal writing and bibliotherapy (Duffy & Furner, 2002). These interventions have reduced students' 2 / 14 http://www.iejme.com mathematical anxiety, and eventually improved their mathematics achievement (Beilock & Maloney, 2015;Hembree, 1990;Ramirez, Chang, Maloney, Levine, & Beilock, 2016;Zakaria, Zain, Ahmad, & Erlina, 2012). One of the most effective interventions focused on reducing the level of anxiety in children is Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT).…”

Trait Emotional Intelligence and Mathematics Achivements among Undergraduates in Higher Learning Instituition of Sarawak

“…Mathematics anxiety among students is a common reported problem among students both in foreign and local contexts (Beilock & Maloney, 2015;Khairiyah, Ismail & Yusof, 2016). There were also several suicide cases over the past years seemingly related to poor performance in mathematics (Goh Yi Wen, 2018).…”