MATH ANXIETY: Taming the Monster

1. MATH ANXIETY:Taming the Monster Dorothea Steinke, presenter Dorothea@numberworks4all.com

2. Math anxiety is a form of PERFORMANCE ANXIETY Math Anxiety

3. Math Anxiety: General

4. 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 Math Anxiety: General

5. 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 Math Anxiety: General

6. 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 Math Anxiety: General

7. 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 Math Anxiety: General

8. Calm your emotions • Fear rises up when you don’t know or understand something. • As you understand math better, you will fear it less. Math Anxiety: General

9. 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.” Math Anxiety: General

10. 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 Math Anxiety: General

11. 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 Math Anxiety: General

12. 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 Math Anxiety: General

13. 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 Math Anxiety: General

14. Calm your emotions • Reduce 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) Math Anxiety: General

15. Calm your emotions • Reduce the fear of forgetting • Link a physical action to the information • EXAMPLE: Number of degrees in angles Circle arms 360˚ “circle” Arms out 180˚ “straight angle” One arm out, one up 90˚ “right angle” Hands on top of head, elbows out 180˚ Math Anxiety: General

16. 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 MultDiv Add Sub Math Anxiety: General

17. 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. Math Anxiety: General

18. Calm your emotions • Reduce the fear of failure • Talk to someone. • Teacher, friend, classmate • Someone you trust • Someone who will give honest, positive support Math Anxiety: General

19. Calm your emotions • Reduce 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. Math Anxiety: General

20. Focus on your success • Pretend you have already passed the test • Keep that “up” feeling as you visualize your day Math Anxiety: General

21. Focus on your success • Getting up • Feel good • See your smile • Plenty of time • Feel relaxed Math Anxiety: General

22. 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) Math Anxiety: General

23. Focus on your success • Picture yourself leaving for school • See the streets and buildings • Feel comfortable • Feel proud and confident Math Anxiety: General

24. Focus on your success • Closer to school – • Your stomach acts up BREATHE DEEPLY & RELAX (Do it now.) Math Anxiety: General

25. Focus on your success • See yourself • Entering the building • Walking toward the classroom BREATHE DEEPLY & RELAX (Do it now.) Math Anxiety: General

26. 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.) Math Anxiety: General

27. 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! Math Anxiety: General

28. 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!! Math Anxiety: General

29. Focus on your success • See yourself AFTER the test • Smiling • Confident you did your best • Feel that confidence through your day – And your life! Math Anxiety: General

30. 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. Math Anxiety: General

31. Math Anxiety: Life Experiences

32. Youngest in Your Grade • Bedard & Dhuey: “The Persistence of Early Childhood Maturity” • Tony Kushner: Screenplay for Lincoln • “I’m innumerate.” • JULY birthday Math Anxiety: Life Experiences

33. Youngest in Your Grade • 2ndgrade: 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) Math Anxiety: Life Experiences

34. Family moved frequently • Curriculum topics in different order from state to state, district to district • Multi-digit multiplication in 3rdgrade one place, 4th grade in another • Stress of new rules, new friends, etc. Math Anxiety: Life Experiences

35. Emotional upheaval at home • Divorce/death/deployment of parent • Substance abuse/addictions of adults • Parent in prison • Student unable to focus, misses concepts Math Anxiety: Life Experiences

36. Undiagnosed hearing problems • Multiple ear infections – no health insurance Math Anxiety: Life Experiences

37. Parent Talk / Teach Talk • Negative comments about math • Parent (or teacher) has math anxiety Math Anxiety: Life Experiences

38. 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 Math Anxiety: Life Experiences

39. Math Anxiety: Tools for Tests

40. TEST ANXIETY MYTHS • Students are born with it • It cannot be reduced • Any level of test anxiety is bad Math Anxiety From Dr. Paul Nolting NADE presentation, Denver 2013

41. TEST ANXIETY MYTHS • Students who are well-prepared don’t have it • Intelligent students don’t have it • Attending class and doing homework should reduce it Math Anxiety From Dr. Paul Nolting NADE presentation, Denver 2013

42. TEST ANXIETY MYTHS • Being told to relax will make you relaxed • Doing nothing about it will make it go away • Reducing test anxiety guarantees better grades Math Anxiety From Dr. Paul Nolting NADE presentation, Denver 2013

43. 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 Math Anxiety: Tools for Tests

44. 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 Math Anxiety: Tools for Tests

45. Physical Action • PUSH the anxiety away from your body • New body cue makes new brain pathway • 20 minutes of piano practice reorganizes brain Math Anxiety: Tools for Tests

46. 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 Math Anxiety: Tools for Tests

47. 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) Math Anxiety: Tools for Tests

48. 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 Math Anxiety: Tools for Tests

49. Thanks for attending. Math Anxiety: Tools for Tests