Other research has shown that mathematics anxiety causes individuals to avoid situations where they may have to do math. This can shape an individuals daily routine, career path, and life style. Math anxiety can formulate as early as 1st grade and can be transmitted from female teachers to their students. Studies show that writing about mathematics anxiety before taking a math test can reduce this anxiety. Maybe math anxiety should not be taken lightly and should be considered a phobia since its consequences are so detrimental.
What other treatment plans could we put into place to help individuals? Should teachers with math anxiety undergo intervention/treatment so it does not project to their female students. Do you think that students with math anxiety should get certain accommodations for exams that involve math? Do you think that putting an IEP in place for children with mathematics anxiety would be beneficial, detrimental, or a waste of government money? Do you think math anxiety is even real?
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121031213711.htm
I don't know if I necessarily believe that "math anxiety" is a real thing. I know that students can have test anxiety and perhaps anxiety over school related things in general, such as giving presentations, group work, tests, hard work, etc. but to narrow it down to just one subject seems a little odd to me. I think that students who have anxiety over anything should be offered some counseling to help them overcome it but I don't necessarily think that the government should spend money researching the "math anxiety" problem.
ReplyDeleteI think that "math anxiety" is a real thing but do not think that government money should be spent to research the problem. People are always going to have anxiety over something and it seems ridiculous to seriously research the problem or give students extra time on tests because they have anxiety. There are many more important things that the time and money involved in research should be devoted to. It would be reasonable for teachers to offer extra office hours or something similar to help the kids with anxiety but not for them to receive extra time of tests, unless they have a diagnosed learning disability.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if math anxiety is anything different than anxiety from doing anything you don't like to do. Maybe the pain response that they are measuring isnt as much pain as it is the result of pain: learning to not do something again. When you put a math problem in front of someone who already hates math, you would expect to get this response. It's possible that these researchers need to find out which comes first, the math anxiety or the the pain response.
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