Perry Andrew Increasing Math Anxiety Summary

Math Anxiety Summary
In the article, “Decreasing math anxiety in college students,” Perry Andrew discusses high and minimal math anxiety in college students. In addition students tell their stories along with strategies from experts of analysis. The success of overcoming math anxiety is the ability to think beyond the remembered anxiety, situations and experiences, get help, and practice memory.
The symptoms of math anxiety are sweaty palms, nauseous, heart palpitations, and paralysis of thought. Eighty-five percent of Andrews college students have these symptoms from mild to extreme. Most of these physical symptoms come from the fear of failure of inadequacy. Andrew goes on to explain that most students do not have overwhelming anxiety,

This causes me to panic” (Perry, A. B., 2004). The student understood the math and felt like it would be easy, but could not take the math test without panic. Another student believes math is important, but does not like getting it wrong when there is a long problem. One little mistake makes the entire problem incorrect.
Andrews goes on to tell of students that, at a young age, experienced an insensitive math teachers, that made them feel stupid in front of the entire class. Also many teachers explain how to do the problems without teaching the students, why. The student grows into some knowledge of concepts without the why knowledge and then forgets what is learned.
Some very good solutions from students and teachers were establish throughout the article. One in particular, was that the student should be responsible for asking questions. Asking questions relives anxiety and promotes class involvement. Working together in a group helps everyone work together, It is an effort of the student to get help, after all, the teacher cannot know where the student is struggling without the student asking questions. Another helpful tactic, is for the student to acknowledge their mathematic difficulties and come up with a plan to help themselves