Reasoning Anxiety

A relative in middle school showed me his grades, posted on his android, his constant companion. A's and B's everywhere, except for math, where a "75" was posted. He said, "I know the math and have no probs with homework, but the tests kill me." His dad confirms it and adds that he just doesn't take the time or know how to reason through word problems, They make no sense to him.

I propose that what most call "math anxiety" or even "testing anxiety" is no more than lack of experience solving problems. We feel dumb when we can't reason through something. I raise my hand on that one!

What can we do to help learners feel very comfortable and successful in solving problems? Most people aren't born unable to solve problems! Do we work on reading? Vocabulary? Writing? Clearly, the issue isn't "math" but something else. Help! Leecy

Comments

Hello Leecy,

There are many strategies that can help learners get more comfortable and adept in solving numeracy/math problems. From a teaching perspective, the art is knowing for each student what kind and level of problem is challenging but still within their grasp (or as Vigotsky would have put it, in their "zone of proximal development"). Challenge -- and struggle -- is important for engagement, but so is having a repertoire of promising strategies to apply in problem solving, and knowledge of at least basic number operations, and the meaning of common numeracy problem words and terms.

Possible numeracy/math problem-solving strategies include:

1) Reading the problem out loud

2) Identifying key words that imply a mathematics/numeracy operation

3) Talking through the problem with another learner

4) Drawing the problem in two or three dimensions

5) Using manipulatives (e.g. such as Cuisenaire rods, M&Ms etc.) to indicate mathematical relationships

6) Role-playing.acting out the problem

7) Having a good grasp of numeracy/math key words and phrases such as "less than", "more than", "equal to" and many others. (I once saw a teacher who started with a list of math key words and then asked students to draw, act out, and come up with metaphors to describe each word or phrase. When students got stuck she would draw, act out, and use metaphors to describe the term or phrase. The students' "math vocabulary" notes not only had definitions but also pictures, and metaphors. One example I remember -- helpful for spelling as well as for geometry vocabulary -- is the mnemonic, "All el's are parallel." The teacher was in Brooklyn, NY, and the el's she was referring to were the rails on the elevated railway that every student was familiar with. I still use this mnemonic when I am trying to remember how to spell parallel.

I would love to hear what those who are currently teaching numeracy, and what numeracy teaching experts might add to -- or disagree with -- from what I have suggested, especially since I am not a math teacher, only an observer of how math can be taught.

David J. Rosen

djrosen123@gmail.com

 

David and Robert, thanks for sharing these wonderful and helpful resources. Anyone else? How have you addressed "reasoning" or other types of anxiety among your adult learners? Do adults experience more anxiety that younger students in educational settings? I tend to think so, but then I've seen kids fall apart in K-12 settings for the same reason: fear of failure, looking dumb, not pleasing, rejection, and more. Leecy

A good app for learning how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide mentally is "Math Workout." It works like a game and can be found in the Google Play, iTunes, and Kindle app stores. (I haven't checked the Windows store.)

I think a large part of test anxiety comes from not feeling comfortable with the subject matter. The more familiar the material is (I.e., the more you've practiced), the less intimidating it becomes, and the less likely it is to cause anxiety. However, some testing environments themselves can be anxiety inducing, even if you're not being tested.

I checked the Windows Store. It does contain an app called "Math Workout," but it's not the same app as the one in the other three stores.

Robert, words from my own mind! I totally agree that if a student were to be tested on putting together two words, like "I work," he would not be anxious. For example, if students were to be asked to solve the problem, "Don ate one apple. Judy ate two apples. How many apples did they eat together?" they would probably not experience test anxiety. But as soon as they are challenged to reason through word problems or word tasks with which they are not very familiar, they fall apart. It is my belief that we don't become anxious performing on tests if we are totally confident that we can work through problems.

So often, as I mentioned, learners know the math or the writing rules, but they don't feel confident deciding when to use those to solve problems or complete tasks such as writing a five-paragraph essay.

What do others think?