And as you grow, your hatred towards math grows exponentially. Some believe mathematics is intensely maddening. And others say, “Dig deeper into anything, and you shall find mathematics.” So, even if math makes your heart race faster and palms clammy, it’s the foundation of everything – a blueprint of the universe.
Surveyors reported that 93% of adults experience math nervousness, making math anxiety a real-life problem. Evidently, students express their disdain for mathematics as the fear of calculations puts considerable weight on their shoulders. That is basically a stigma surrounding math anxiety. You can also avail math assignment help online from professional assignment helpers to reduce your headache.
And here I am, enumerating seven strategies to make ‘mysterious mathematics’ a little more bearable for you. Go through below 7 strategies & learn how to manipulate numbers, and fight against math anxiety before the fear sist as strong as an ox in your consciousness.
1. Use mixed-ability grouping
The human brain is wired to exempt activities that spawn stress or fear. Now that you have lived a life loathing mathematics, you need to debunk every myth surrounding math right away. So, if you have seen your elder brother struggle with derivation and integration, don’t let his actions set standards for your belief. Instead, join a mixed-grouping ability course.
On your enrollment in this course, you will be grouped with students of different abilities – high with low and vice versa. These groupings will encourage you to think of alternative solutions for those in ‘bottom’ groups. The same will happen with you if you have students with ‘higher math abilities in the group. So, you see, you help others to help yourself.
2. Make math fun
In a contemporary world, staying conventional is a fool’s errand. As a student, you spend countless hours searching for fad games on the Internet. So, why not use the process for learning mathematics? Sounds like a plan?
Game-based learning boosts your engagement with numbers in a fun way. In fact, when you play to learn, you don’t pay heed to setbacks but rather master the subject. And every time you drop down to the previous level of the game, you realize that more effort is required to master the skill.
Above all, does anyone hate playing games? Do you? Bringing games in math will convince students to work on mathematical facts and eventually drive fluency. All because math games activate brain regions associated with anxiety and emotional reaction, enhancing a person’s problem-solving skills.
3. Positive reinforcement
Punishment has always been a preferred teaching method. So, you now know why 82% of students are fearful of figures. They dread the humiliation faced after getting a problem wrong. Negative reinforcement has prevailed through time and tide, making students believe that mystifying mathematics is the source of their failures. Evidently, they fear mathematics.
However, the study reveals a different side of the story. When a group of students in the 6th grade had to calculate fraction problems after they received positive reinforcement, they yielded better results. On the evaluation of their brain, scientists found that the positive reinforcement significantly lowered the students’ heart rate when calculating fractions.
So, as parents and teachers, you can eliminate negative remarks and reward students for their efforts to help them go a long way in building self-confidence.
4. Don’t just memorize, understand
Reporters constantly highlighted professors valuing the faster memorizes over the late ones. This is because fast memorizes are presumably the better contributors to the technological future. Nevertheless, recent studies by PISA data revealed that the lowest achieving ones are those who used memorization strategies.
So, memorizing restricts you from using information per your preference. But, on the other hand, understanding a concept lets you use the information the way you want to. So, while memorization is temporary and limited, understanding is REAL learning.
Memorization is a growth-stunting activity that, if not replaced with an understanding-prone mindset, will produce a generation that cannot think out-of-the-box. On that note, the sooner students embolden their comprehension skills, the sooner they will develop math-solving skills.
5. Practice mindfulness
Whether you know it or not, breathing affects anxiety. By simply focusing on your inhale-exhale activity, you can improve your focus and concentration on any sort of response. For example, math anxiety stems from a student’s ‘fight or flight response that results from the sympathetic nerves becoming overactive in the name of solving mathematical problems. And whenever an anxiety-ridden student hears the name ‘mathematics,’ their first response is to flee.
However, by practicing mindful breathing, the body decreases heart rate by moving more blood to the gut and accelerating digestion. The reduced heart rate conserves enough energy to make a student feel calm. And a calm mind is all you need to put yourself in a relaxed state.
6. Express yourself
A few minutes of journalist session will help you cope with the anxiety that math shoots at you. Gerardo Ramirez, a cognitive scientist, performed mind-journalist on students who suffered from anxiety. She asked students to write down what and now they were feeling about sitting for the exam precisely five minutes before the start of the examination. When compared to the students who did not write down their feelings, those who did scored better in math.
So, if you were thinking about how journalist can affect your anxiety, please go through the study published by Gerardo Ramirez.
Math anxiety is widespread, and researchers have found that it affects a whopping eighty percent of students. So, before you get gripped by the roots of math anxiety, make sure to cut them down. Practice journalist sessions frequently to release your fears through words and scramble the paper in your dustbin.
7. Have a positive attitude
Anxiety is proportionate to the negatives of life. It may seem like a cliche to focus on the negativeness when you are anxious. It is okay to get 10 out of 15 sometimes! You can eliminate negative to enhance personal progress. It is vital to set high expectations and eventually spend sustained effort to meeting those expectations. How to do this? You can nurture a positive attitude throughout your career and blend in positive affirmations to boost your self-confidence.
Parting thoughts,
Do you remember what Albert Einstein said about mathematics? Even he had difficulties in mathematics, and in one of his interviews, he assured students not to worry about mathematics as his worries were even greater. So, if one of the notable scientists in history had math-related worries, why would you beat yourself up for not understanding everything from the get-go?
It is okay to feel dreaded for not knowing the procedure of something. But, what is not okay is to let that fear overpower your will to learn about the thing more. So, never stop learning.
Follow the mentioned hacks to make math as easy as 2+2=4!
Also Read: Step by Step Guide to Choose Theoretical Framework for Your Dissertation
