Overcoming Math Anxiety

In the selected journal article “Never Say Anything a Kid Can Say!” the author, Steven C. Reinhardt summarizes and promotes encouragement on his position with questions about teaching styles, teachers who use the direct-instruction, and the teacher-centered model that is used too often. Reinhart also discusses how this instruction does not fit well with the in-depth tasks and problems that he was using. He gathered information that he thought could change the way math is taught to students and that explaining mathematic strategies to students should be an engaging and comfortable environment. Research was done by Reinhart to move from the traditional way of instruction and use a more student-centered, problem-based approach to help students gain a better understanding through him by being the listener and the students the explainers, if they are to ever really learn mathematic skills and standards correctly. This would include the implementation of using strategies such as, creating better plans, sharing with the students the reasons for asking questions, teaching for better

Often enough teachers come into the education field not knowing that what they teach will affect the students in the future. This article is about how these thirteen rules are taught as ‘tricks’ to make math easier for the students in elementary school. What teachers do not remember is these the ‘tricks’ will soon confuse the students as they expand their knowledge. These ‘tricks’ confuse the students because they expire without the students knowing. Not only does the article informs about the rules that expire, but also the mathematical language that soon expire. There are multiple examples and graphs within the article to demonstrate why and how these rules and mathematical vocabulary expires. “13 Rules that expire” will also notify the teachers on how they can teach student math long term instead of short

In Mathematical Mindsets by Jo Boaler, current and future educators learn all about the different outlooks children have on math and ways their adult piers put unknowingly force that upon them. The author, Joe Boaler, is a mathematical teacher who has had the opportunity of teaching elementary students. She has a doctorate degree from Stanford and has done studies of her own classroom taking a deeper look into how math is most effective in the classroom. Americans tend to have a skewed perspective that math consists solely of equations and rules that must be followed (Boaler 34). Kids are praised for being smart and gifted in math when in fact “…there is no such thing as a ‘math brain’ or a math gift’ as many believe. No one is born know math, and no one is born lacking to ability to learn math” (Boaler 6). This is important to keep in mind as future educators. Every single student that walks through the door is

In a child's formative years, their parents are often time the most influential and important person in their lives. Children quickly pick up traits and life lessons taught, unknowingly, from their parents.These often times

One disadvantage of skill theme approach is that since teachers need to observe students as to plan and design task for next relevant learning stage. It must be very time consuming to make specific and informed observation for each individual student. These assessment of skills is also dependent on fatigue and interest. For students who are observed and assessed towards the end of lesson, due to time constraint, their performance could be influenced by fatigue (Pickup & Price, 2007). Therefore, to rush to conclusion that a student doesn’t have a skill will be

Ofsted’s 2012 report ‘Made to Measure’ states that even though manipulatives are being utilized in schools, they aren’t being used as effectively as they should be in order to support the teaching and learning of mathematical concepts. Black, J (2013) suggests this is because manipulatives are being applied to certain concepts of mathematics which teachers believe best aid in the understanding of a concept. Therefore, students may not be able to make sense of the manipulatives according to their own understanding of the relation between the manipulative and concept. Whilst both Black, J (2013) and Drews, D (2007) support the contention that student’s need to understand the connections between the practical apparatus and the concept, Drews,

support in your child/young person’s education will help them progress because of their parents /

The percent of a given amount (when percent is in a decimal form, e.g. 5.5%)

Learning about grit and what a growth mindset is allowed me to realized that grit and a

"Without mathematics, there's nothing you can do. Everything around you is mathematics. Everything around you is numbers."~Shakuntala Devi. In "Teaching Kids Why Math Matters", Cindy Donaldson builds an argument that math will be in our lives for as long as we know it. The author presents examples such as personal reasons to learn math, patriotic reasons to learn math, and practical reasons to learn math so she can strengthen the logic and persuasiveness of her argument.

In the journal article The Intersection of Mathematics and Language in the Post-Secondary Environment: Implications for English Language learners the authors describe the challenges English Language Learners (ELLs) face in mathematics courses at a post-secondary level. In addition, they determined four key features of the English language that can hinder ELLs. They determined that these 4 aspects of language can greatly influence how ELLs students perform on math examinations (Choi, Milburn, Reynolds, Marcoccia, Silva, & Panag, 2013, p.73). Furthermore, this article conducts an assessment to determine if performance on a math exam is related to English language proficiency. Sixty students volunteered to participate in the study, twenty-eight

Honestly I have had my ups and downs about math. When I came to this school I liked math, then I didn’t, and now I have come to understand it. I am very stubborn and don’t like listening to what adults have to say about stuff. I like to put my guard up and just never change, but eventually we will change. Math to me has been a roller coaster ride. One day you are making major strides and the next you hate the idea of math, and questioning why it exists in the first place. All of this is to say that I have come really far.

Children need a wealth of practical and creative experiences in solving mathematical problems. Mathematics education is aimed at children being able to make connections between mathematics and daily activities; it is about acquiring basic skills, whilst forming an understanding of mathematical language and applying that language to practical situations. Mathematics also enables students to search for simple connections, patterns, structures and rules whilst describing and investigating strategies. Geometry is important as Booker, Bond, Sparrow and Swan (2010, p. 394) foresee as it allows children the prospect to engage in geometry through enquiring and investigation whilst enhancing mathematical thinking, this thinking encourages students to form connections with other key areas associated with mathematics and builds upon students abilities helping students reflect

The reason why they hate Math is they think their teachers are not teaching them really well. If their teachers do not teach them well so most of the children scared Math, because of the teacher the most of the students hate Math. That many math problems have correct and wrong answers is a problem for people who feel inconvenient about making mistakes. About 70% of the students in our do not like Math, The children who hate Math started from the teachers who poorly taught their students at lower grades. These causes the students to get lower grades at Math, even the teacher themselves don’t want to teach Math. Some students feel like math is a new language. When students fail to work in a math class they may feel scare and try to ran away math as much as possible in the future. Some math teacher doesn’t know the beauty of math. Many students think that they do not need math in future for example some want to be a footballer but they thought they don’t need math of course even football need math like having angles. Some of the students aren’t patience of wronging so they try to avoid math as much as possible. Even the teachers don’t know the true meaning of math. There are

When I think about myself, as a math learner one thing that I know is very important is low stress. Growing up during Elementary school, Middle school and high school I always enjoyed math and found it to be a very interesting and relaxing subject. Once I began taking AP Calculus during my senior year of high school I saw my stress level start to raise and my retention of information and my engagement with understanding the material versus just getting the right answer drop. I became fixated with having the right answers even if I did not understand how the math worked. This is a sad reality for many high school math students they are obsessed with the right answer. I find that the beauty of math is in the process, and if students learn to care more for that instead I think they will understand more math.