Reducing Mathematics Anxiety Research Articles

Empirical Study on Attitude towards Making Decision to Select Mathematics for First-Degree Program

Recently debatable arguments have existed regarding the perceived lack of numerical skills among the graduates from the Humanities and Social Sciences. In response to this concern, the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Faculties of Art in national universities in Sri Lanka have taken measures to more opportunities to undergraduates to bolster their numerical proficiency. This is achieved through the incorporation of mathematics course units for their degree programs along with the main subject streams. The study focuses on factors that affect the undergraduates’ attitudes towards making the decision to select the subject mathematics for their first-degree program. A sample survey was carried out using structured questionnaire and stratified random sampling technique was utilized to select a sample size of 352 from the undergraduates belongs to Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in University of Sri Jayewardenepura. The binary logistic regression model is utilized, and the study revealed that self efficacy, mathematical anxiety, and interest in mathematics are significantly affected students’ attitudes on counting mathematics course units for their degree program. The student who has self-efficacy is 1.03 times more likely to select mathematics course unit at the first academic year than other students. A unit increase of mathematics anxiety with all other factors remaining constant, the odds of a student selecting the mathematics course decreased by 11.2%. When one-unit increases in the interest in mathematics of students the odds of selecting mathematics course unit is 1.06 times more likely to than other peers. These insights suggest that educational institutes, particularly those in the humanities and social sciences, should prioritize enhancing students ‘numerical skills. This can be achieved by providing valuable consideration aimed at refining their curriculum and support mechanism, increasing awareness programmes about the importance of studying mathematics course units within their degree programmes and conducting programmes to reduce mathematics anxiety while fostering an increased interest in mathematics.

The role of technology in reducing mathematics anxiety in primary school students

Mathematics anxiety is a significant problem in education that affects students’ learning outcomes, academic success, and well-being. This systematic literature review aimed to explore the role of technological interventions in reducing mathematics anxiety and promoting positive learning experiences in mathematics learning. Our findings revealed a mixed picture, where learning mathematics through online distance education increases mathematics anxiety, especially among primary school students, while interventions such as game-based learning and digital tools show positive results in reducing students’ mathematics anxiety levels. Additionally, the results of this study contribute to ongoing discussions on effective strategies to reduce mathematics anxiety and improve mathematics education through the integration of technology, providing new understanding among educators, parents, researchers, and policymakers in creating inclusive and effective learning environments. Using technology to reduce mathematics anxiety and increase student achievement emphasizes the importance of collaborative efforts.

STUDENTS’ PERCEPTION OF PEER MENTORING AND MATHEMATICS ANXIETY AMONG SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN NIGERIA

This study examined students’ perceptions of peer mentoring and mathematics anxiety among senior secondary school students in Nigeria. The study explores students' attitudes toward participating in peer mentoring programmes. Descriptive statistical techniques were used to answer the research questions. The findings of this study revealed that a significant proportion of students strongly agreed that the mentoring programme was transformative and provided unique learning opportunities for academic performance. It was further revealed that the mentoring programme had a remarkable effect on reducing mathematics anxiety. Therefore, it was recommended that the Nigerian government should encourage the expansion and continuity of peer mentoring programmes in schools. It also suggested that there should be training and ongoing professional development for mentors.

MATH ANXIETY

Mathematics anxiety has been the subject of growing academic interest, as it can significantly impact academic performance and individuals’ relationship with mathematical content throughout their lives. This narrative review aims to understand the conceptual evolution, causes and possible interventions associated with mathematics anxiety. Using a bibliographic methodology, articles, books and reports published in renowned academic databases were analyzed. As the main theoretical framework, the cognitive-behavioral perspective was adopted, which understands mathematical anxiety as a result of interactions between cognitive, behavioral and environmental processes. The results point to a multifaceted understanding of the phenomenon, highlighting not only individual factors, such as self-efficacy and past experiences, but also external factors, such as teaching methods and teachers’ attitudes. Interventions aimed at reducing mathematics anxiety have focused on both pedagogical strategies and psychotherapeutic approaches, demonstrating the need for an interdisciplinary approach to tackle the problem. This work contributes to the literature by consolidating dispersed knowledge and indicating future paths for educational research and practice.

Effect of Systematic Desensitization on Anxiety and Achievement of Nigerian Secondary School Students in Mathematics

This study investigates the impact of systematic desensitization (SD) on mathematics anxiety and achievement among Nigerian secondary school students. Employing a quasi-experimental design with a pretest and post-test nonequivalent control group design, we selected 120 students (58 boys, 62 girls) from a pool of 3390 senior class one students using a multi-stage sampling procedure. Assessment tools included the Mathematics Achievement Test and Mathematics Anxiety Scale. The six-week intervention demonstrated significant results with moderate effect sizes, revealing that SD significantly reduced mathematics anxiety (F[1,115] = 86.66, p < .001) and enhanced academic achievement (F[1,115] = 92.458, p < .001). Gender showed no substantial influence on mathematics anxiety (F[1,115] = .365, p = .547) or achievement under SD treatment (F[1,115] = .006, p = .937). This study underscores the effectiveness of SD in reducing mathematics anxiety and improving mathematics performance among Nigerian students.

The Effectiveness of the Jigsaw and Traditional Teaching Methods on Math Anxiety, Attitude and Performance

This study was conducted to compare the effectiveness of cooperative learning on mathematics anxiety, attitudes towards mathematics, and mathematics performance of the 12th-class Private school students of Herat City by using a quasi-experimental study. The statistical population included 650 individuals who were all high school students. 40 individuals were selected in two 20-individual groups by the multistage cluster random sampling method. The Math Anxiety Scale (Baloglu &amp; Zelhart, 2007), the Mathematics Attitude Scale (Fennema-Sherman, 2000), and teacher-made tests of mathematics academic performance were used to collect data. The Jigsaw cooperative learning model was used to monitor the effectiveness of the presence or absence of cooperative learning, and the data were analyzed using SPSS software and one-way covariance analysis (ANOVA). In this study, three hypotheses were formulated, and their results indicated that there is a significant difference between the Jigsaw cooperative and traditional learning models in terms of math anxiety, attitudes towards math, and mathematics performance of the 12th-class Private school students of Herat City. It is concluded that the Jigsaw cooperative learning model can be used as one of the effective methods in schools to reduce mathematics anxiety, foster a positive attitude towards mathematics, and enhance the 12th-class Private school students’ mathematics performance.

Reducing mathematics anxiety among deaf learners through relaxation and rational emotive behaviour therapies: A randomised-control study

The effects of Rational Emotive Behavioural Therapy (REBT) and Relaxation Therapy (RT) on mathematics anxiety (MA) were examined among Deaf learners (DLs) in Oyo State in Nigeria. The randomized controlled study adopted a purposive sampling procedure to select three schools for the Deaf and Deaf learners (DLs) in Oyo State. A random sampling procedure was employed to select 60 DLs who were assigned to two experimental groups REBT (n = 25; male = 10; female = 15), RT (n = 17; male = 8; female = 9), and a control group (n = 20; male = 11; female = 9). The Mathematics Anxiety Scale (MAS) was used to screen the participants. The data gathered were analysed using the analysis of variance and descriptive charts. The findings revealed the efficacy of the two therapeutic interventions in reducing MA among DLs. The estimated mean difference between the treatment and control groups showed the following: REBT (15.66), RT (11.63), and control group (9.99). This study, therefore, concluded that REBT and RT were effective at drastically reducing Deaf learners’ anxiety regarding mathematics. Appropriate recommendations were made and implications were highlighted for practice, policy, and research, based on the findings

Reducing mathematics anxiety in the classroom

The purpose of this review was to analyse empirical studies related to reducing mathematics anxiety in the classroom. A scoping process was used to locate literature, and a thematic method was used to analyse and group the data obtained from the studies. A total of 14 articles published between 2014 and 2022, mostly using mixed-methods approaches, were analysed. The data indicated that mindfulness strategies, sustained exposure and support, and addressing affective factors, such as distractions, negative emotions, and motivation, has been shown to reduce mathematics anxiety levels of students. Possible implications for reducing maths anxiety in the classroom and opportunities for further empirical research are presented.

Infographic Development through Instagram to Reduce Mathematics Anxiety and Increase Student Learning Outcomes

Research is a descriptive research that aims to describe the product development process in the form of infographic learning media in algebra material through Instagram that is appropriate for students to use for independent learning activities. This research focuses on creating infographic media in algebra material through Instagram to reduce mathematics anxiety and improve learning outcomes. The method used in this research is development research using the Sadiman’s model. The stages in this development model are preliminary stage, prototyping stage, and final stage, which from three stages contain of nine steps, namely identification of needs, formulation of objectives, formulation of materials, formulation of success measurement tools, writing of media scripts, production, tests/trials, revisions and the final product. There were 34 students of seventh graders of junior high school participating in this study. Data was collected through interviews, observations, tests, and questionnaires. Data were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. The results of the validation test by experts show that 93% of infographics through Instagram as strengthening students' understanding are included in the valid category and are suitable for use in the learning process. In addition, as many as 88% of students experienced an increase in learning outcomes after learning to use infographics through Instagram which indicated that the level of student anxiety in learning mathematics had decreased.

Expressive writing interventions for pre-service teachers’ mathematics anxiety

Many pre-service teachers suffer from mathematics anxiety, which hinders their mathematics learning. This can cause a deficit in their mathematics content knowledge, which must be addressed to become effective mathematics teachers. The present study explored whether positive expressive writing was better at mitigating pre-service teachers’ mathematics anxiety than general expressive writing. Expressive writing is emotional writing, which was shown to be successful in medical fields to reduce anxiety and more recently in the field of education. In contrast, research on positive expressive writing has recently shown beneficial results for treating test anxiety. Therefore, the potential for positive expressive writing in reducing mathematics anxiety was examined in this mixed methods study involving 27 pre-service teachers enrolled in a hybrid (i.e., half of the instructional time was in-person, while the other half was online) mathematics for teachers course. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three writing groups (positive expressive, expressive, and neutral) and completed pre- and post- measures of mathematics anxiety using the abbreviated mathematics anxiety rating scale at time 1 (beginning of course), time 2 (mid-term examination), and time 3 (final examination). In addition, participants completed a measure of their mathematics ability at the beginning of the course and then proceeded to engage in the three types of writing at the beginning of each of the nine consecutive classes. Although results did not show a significant difference between the three writing groups (positive, expressive, and neutral) and mathematics anxiety, there was a significant relationship between pre-service teachers’ mathematical ability and measure of mathematics anxiety taken at the mid-term examination. This strong negative relationship demonstrated that pre-service teachers with low mathematics ability have high mathematics anxiety. Valuable insights were gained into mathematics anxiety effects on pre-service teachers, as well as contextual factors in terms of writing.

Perceptions of Teaching Approach and Academic Performance among Senior Two Students in Musanze: Mediating Role of Mathematics Anxiety and Career Aspiration

This empirical study sought to examine gender differences and the relationships between students’ perceptions of mathematics teaching, mathematics anxiety, career aspirations, and academic performance. The study utilized the descriptive-correlational research design coupled with the quantitative data collection process, i.e., a survey questionnaire. We deliberately sampled six lower secondary schools in Musanze district to participate in the study. A total of 415 (60 % males) senior two students (grade 8) were involved in the study. Data were analyzed using an independent sample t-test and structural equation modeling. Students’ perceptions of the teaching approach significantly influenced career aspirations, mathematics anxiety, and performances. In addition, mathematics anxiety affected the relationship between students’ perceptions of the teaching approach and performance and career aspirations. Although girls’ mathematics anxiety, mathematics performance, and perceptions of the teaching approach were higher than boys’, the differences were not statistically significant. The findings of this study revealed that students’ perceptions of the teaching approach influence their mathematics performance, mathematics anxiety, and career aspirations. Therefore, any intervention aimed at reducing mathematics anxiety and improving academic performance and career aspirations in Mathematics should consider students’ perceptions of the teaching approach.

Personas Characterising Secondary School Mathematics Students: Development and Applications to Educational Technology

Information technology plays an increasingly prominent role in our personal and professional lives. It also plays an important role in schools, and especially in mathematics education. To realise their full potential in education, technologies should be designed in a way that addresses the characteristics of the target students. In the context of learning mathematics, students often experience anxiety with regard to the content that needs to be learnt; therefore, this work considers mathematics anxiety as a characteristic that should be particularly relevant when designing technologies that assist with teaching and learning mathematics. The development of personas, i.e., prototypical and simplified user descriptions, is a widely used tool in user experience (UX) research that supports design processes. In this methodological paper, we combine this UX methodology with a grounded theory approach. This combination of methodologies could facilitate the establishment of guidelines for developing personas representing secondary school mathematics students, which constitutes the goal of this paper. We review existing persona development techniques in other fields and adapt them to the context of secondary mathematics education using qualitative secondary data. Our aim is to provide a research approach that produces a better understanding of students’ characteristics, needs, and fears. Despite limitations in terms of the amount of data included in developing and piloting this methodology, this work forms the basis for increasing the usability of educational technologies and for adapting them to individual learning styles to reduce mathematics anxiety.

Instructional Interventions to Address Mathematics Anxiety in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review (1980–2020)

Research indicates that mathematics anxiety is among the factors that contribute to poor performance in mathematics. Learners have a risk of developing severe mathematical difficulties that might impede their socio-emotional development and future mathematics careers; therefore, an understanding of instructional strategies to reduce mathematics anxiety is important. The objective of this systematic review is to summarise the existing body of research on instructional interventions for addressing mathematics anxiety in the classroom. Nine articles that met the inclusion criteria were identified. To address mathematics anxiety in learners, two of the identified articles used problem-solving, one collaborative learning, two personalised instruction, one peer teaching using a photovoice approach, one brain-based instructional strategy, and one team-assisted individualised instructional strategy, whilst one was computer-based. All nine interventions had a positive effect on reducing mathematics anxiety as well as improving performance among learners. The systematic review revealed that little has been done in terms of research on instructional strategies that reduce mathematics anxiety in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is recommended that more studies on instructional strategies that address mathematical anxiety in Sub-Saharan Africa need to be conducted.

The Use of Humour and Its’ Relation to Motivation in Teaching and Learning Mathematics

The use of humour in teaching mathematics can reduce mathematics anxiety which leads students to feel tension, apprehension, and fear of situations involving mathematics. The aim of this research is to investigate the use of humour in teaching mathematics and its relations with motivation. This study employs a mixed method design which is quantitative in the form of survey (n = 344) and qualitative in the form of an interview (n = 6). The quantitative survey used was a questionnaire to measure students’ perceptions and preferences on the use of humour by their Mathematics teacher. In contrast, qualitative data were collected based on semi-structured interviews on the impact of humour in teaching mathematics towards motivation. The quantitative findings indicate that there is a gap between students’ preferences on the use of humour and teachers’ practice of humour in class. Moreover, the findings indicate that students reported a positive correlation between humour and motivation in classroom. Interestingly, qualitative findings illustrate that humour creates a positive classroom atmosphere and generates a positive experience and emotional engagement towards mathematics. In conclusion, this study provides insight for teachers to practice the use of humour in teaching mathematics. It is proven to be a very effective learning tool that can enhance students’ motivation.

Do Technology-based Approaches Reduce Mathematics Anxiety? A Systematic Literature Review

The student’s attitude towards Mathematics and their achievement is affected by Mathematics anxiety. Mathematics anxiety may lead to avoidance of Mathematics or poor performance in Mathematics and subjects related to or depending on Mathematics. For students to perform well in Mathematics, Mathematics anxiety must be reduced in students. This systematic literature review examines the impact of technology-based approaches on Mathematics anxiety. The strategy used to perform the search for this study consisted of both a discipline-specific journal search and a database search where generalised results about the positive effect of technology-based approaches and their disadvantages were found. 35 papers published between 2002 and 2022 were included in the study and only peer-reviewed articles were included in the search. The study found that using technology-based approaches to teaching Mathematics leads to students showing a positive attitude toward the subject and reduces the level of their anxiety. And when students are confronted with any problem while using technology, in resolving the problem the students develop problem-solving and, in the process, develop their confidence in Mathematics. This study suggests that when incorporating technology into the Mathematics classroom, it is crucial to identify which learning activities benefit the most from technology as some parts of Mathematics may still be best mediated through traditional teaching approaches, such as encouraging class discussion about how to apply mathematical ideas, correcting exercises involving complicated calculations or drawings, and spotting simple arithmetic errors when solving mathematical problems.

Is project-based transdisciplinary assessment effective in reducing the Mathematical anxiety of pre-service Biology teacher?

Mathematical anxiety is a constant obstacle experienced by pre-service Biology Teachers in developing their quantitative abilities. Project-based transdisciplinary assessment is one type of transdisciplinary application that has not been widely explored to solve this problem. Project-based transdisciplinary assessment in form of mini-research with the topic “Data Collection on local wisdom in each area”. The aim of this study is to determine the impact of implementing project-based transdisciplinary assessment on reducing mathematics anxiety among 23 pre-service biology Teachers. This study used a pre-experimental method with a pre-test and post-test design with one non-randomized group. The pre-test and post-test were carried out using the AMAS (Abbreviated Math Anxiety Scale) questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Wilcoxon signed ranks test. Statistical results of this study show no significant difference in mathematics anxiety before and after the implementation of the project-based transdisciplinary assessment with a z value of-0.163 and a p-value of 0.87. Based on the aspect of mathematics anxiety, there is also no significant difference in mathematics learning anxiety and mathematics evaluation anxiety when compared before and after the implementation of project-based transdisciplinary assessment with each z value = -0.664, p = 0.506 and z = -0.931 and p = 0.352. The implication of this research is the need for a continuous, collaborative and institutional effort in the transdisciplinary application so as to improve the quantitative abilities of pre-service Biology Teachers.

Mathematics and academic integrity: institutional support at a Canadian college

Academic integrity at our small Canadian college is informed by several key frameworks and centred around teaching, learning, and proactive education. Mathematics assessments were quickly moved through various learning environments over the past year, showing that some assessment design strategies were no longer feasible if they instead centred on potential academic misconduct. Other strategies commonly used in text-based fields, however, seem to have the potential for improving both academic integrity and learning in mathematics courses. While there are some legitimate uses for digital mathematics tools and apps in STEM fields and mathematics courses, students may use them, along with ‘homework help’ sites, for cognitive offloading. Connection to future careers at the assessment, course, program, and institutional levels will help students contextualize the importance of academic integrity. From the perspectives of students studying mathematics, wellness may be affected by the reactive or punitive use of academic misconduct identification methods such as e-proctoring. Instructional practices focused on increasing student self-efficacy and reducing mathematics anxiety may also help students to learn with integrity.

TINJAUAN SISTEMATIS: STRATEGIS SCAFFOLDING PADA PEMBELAJARAN MATEMATIKA

This scientific article presents the results of a literature review on scaffolding strategies in mathematics education (2015-2020). The literature review was based on 32 scientific publications that met the inclusion criteria and were included in the final analysis with a total sample size of 1368 students (participants). In theory, this literature research aims to provide an empirical picture of the latest literature on the application of scaffolding strategies and analyze teacher-student interaction patterns when scaffolding is implemented in mathematics learning. The results of this literature review indicate that the pattern of teacher-student interaction when scaffolding support follows an approach: one-to-one scaffolding, peer-scaffolding, and computer-based scaffolding. here are three categories of teacher tendencies in providing scaffolding support, namely: cognitive scaffolding, affective scaffolding, and metacognitive scaffolding. The results of the literature review also concluded that the application of scaffolding strategies in mathematics learning was effective in terms of reducing mathematics anxiety, motivating and increasing student achievement

No Excess of Mathematics Anxiety in Adolescents Born Very Preterm.

To assess whether adolescents born very preterm (VP; <32 weeks' gestation) have an excess of mathematics anxiety compared with their classmates born at term. This cohort study included 127 adolescents born VP (51% male, mean age 13.9 years, SD 0.7) and 95 term-born classmates (56% male, mean age 13.7 years, SD 0.7) who completed the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test Second UK Edition and the Mathematics Anxiety Scale-UK at the age of 11 to 15 years. Self-reported trait anxiety was assessed using a composite of 3 items from the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Adolescents born VP had significantly poorer mathematics attainment than adolescents born at term (difference in means: -0.64 SD; 95% confidence interval -0.95 to -0.34). However, there were no between-group differences in self-reported mathematics anxiety or trait anxiety. There were significant moderate associations between mathematics anxiety and mathematics attainment for adolescents born VP (rho: -0.45) and at term (rho: -0.54), after controlling for trait anxiety. Adolescents born VP do not have heightened mathematics anxiety compared with their term-born classmates, despite poorer attainment in mathematics. Improving domain-general cognitive skills and scaffolding learning in the classroom may be more promising avenues for intervention than attempting to reduce mathematics anxiety.

Towards the successful game-based learning: Detection and feedback to misconceptions is the key

In recent years, digital game-based learning models with suitable teaching strategies have proved to be of great educational benefit. Two-tier tests are an effective diagnostic tool and can be used to diagnose misconceptions of students. This study therefore designed an educational game with two-tier testing mechanism to detect the misconceptions of students in the game and provide different kinds of feedback for the misconceptions. In addition, we used lag sequence analysis to analyze the behavioral patterns of students exhibited during gameplay to understand the influence of different types of feedback content and reading time on learning effectiveness. The results indicate that digital game-based learning with two-tier testing and general digital game-based learning exert no significant effects on learning effectiveness. However, we did find out from the results of the lag sequence analysis that students who are willing to spend time reading feedback for the misconceptions are likely to achieve better learning effectiveness. Furthermore, incorporating two-tier testing into digital games can effectively reduce mathematics anxiety and help learners learn well.