Math Anxiety and Learning:
What thoughts and emotions do you have when using math?

This lesson will explain how math anxiety affects your learning.

Learning Stories:

Below are 2 stories about student attitudes and learning. These may be students just like you. Read on to learn about how their math anxiety might affect their learning.

What do you think?

1. Do you identify more with Alex or more with Jordan?
2. Do you think Alex and Jordan will be successful on the geology test?
3. What are the reasons Alex and Jordan may have different outcomes on their practice geology test?

How does math anxiety impact your learning?

Having extreme negative reactions to thinking about or doing math in geology or any time in life is called math anxiety. Math anxiety is more than not liking math, it includes physical and emotional responses, and it can affect your learning. If you have math anxiety, you feel fear and apprehension while doing any kind of math problem. Those feelings can make it difficult for you to concentrate and solve math problems, which can decrease performance and grades on tasks that involve math. Since most science disciplines use math, having math anxiety can negatively impact your learning (and grades) in science.

Math anxiety has nothing to do with your intelligence or ability. Doing math uses a lot of brain resources and requires that you think about numbers, recall a math formula, and compute the problem to arrive at a solution. Those are a lot of things for your brain to think about and all that thinking about math can bring on anxiety for some students.

Students with high math anxiety:

• think they are "bad at math" and/or say things like, "I don't see the point of math."
• dislike doing math and may avoid doing math problems at all.
• give up easily when a math problem is hard.
• dislike math teachers more than other teachers.
• get lower grades on math tests compared to their actual ability or skill.
• steer clear of classes, majors, and careers that they perceive as "math-heavy".

Let's explore the Learning Stories

How would you describe Alex's and Jordan's math anxiety? What kinds of things do the two students think or say related to math anxiety? How does Alex's and Jordan's math anxiety impact how they prepare for their geology test? Who do you think is going to do better on the test, Alex or Jordan?

Why does math anxiety occur?

Feeling anxious about math causes students to avoid math which leads to lower performance which leads to higher anxiety. Math anxiety is developed through a combination of experiences throughout life.

Previous personal experiences:

Past experiences in math are a really important influence on if you develop math anxiety and on your level of anxiety. If you previously did poorly in math, then remembering that experience can make you feel more anxious. If you increased your grade in math, then remembering that experience can make you feel less anxious.

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Alex

• Alex didn't do well in high school math: "I'm just not good at math. I barely passed my high school math classes." Remembering those past experiences can trigger math anxiety as Alex prepares for the upcoming geoscience test.

Jordan

• Jordan had a math teacher that recognized math anxiety and advised: "You can learn math if you relax and try." Jordan also remembered a different way to think about the math equation. Remembering those past experiences can help Jordan feel capable of overcoming (or at least reducing) math anxiety.

Interpretations of your emotional and physical status:

If you have math anxiety, doing math problems in geology can lead to a racing heart, shortness of breath, negative thoughts, and irrational fear. If you interpret those physical and emotional reactions as nervousness and fear then your math anxiety increases and performance decreases. Alternatively, if you interpret those physical and emotional reactions as excitement then your math anxiety decreases and performance increases.

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Alex

• Alex feels "panic" and like a "nervous wreck". Alex's heart is racing and they are sweating and can't catch their breath. These feelings of panic interfere with Alex's ability to think clearly and to focus. "How can I solve for "V" if I can't even think clearly?"

Jordan

• Jordan has a pounding heart and is stressed out. But Jordan remembers that anxious feelings are reminders that they are excited to learn: "Ok, pounding heart, you're telling me that it's time to learn." This interpretation helps Jordan reduce their anxiety.

Verbal comments:

Somebody making a negative comment about your ability to do math can increase your math anxiety. Alternatively, somebody making a positive comment about your ability to do math can help reduce your math anxiety.

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Alex

• Alex's high school teacher said they didn't think Alex was a math person. Alex agrees and sees it as reinforcement of their dislike, anxiety, and perceived inability in math.

Jordan

• Jordan's high school teacher said they could learn math if they relaxed and tried; this encouraged Jordan to take a deep breath, focus, and continue practicing math.

You can decrease your math anxiety (and the barriers to learning science)!

You can decrease your math anxiety just like Jordan did. Implementing strategies to feel less anxious will help you increase your success in science. Decreasing your math anxiety takes some focused effort, but here are some ways you can get started:

Practice relaxation techniques

Math anxiety is a form of anxiety with real emotional and physical effects that can make it hard to learn. Techniques like deep breathing and listening to calming music can decrease your anxiety and slow your heart rate and racing thoughts.

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1. When you begin to feel anxious, sit up nice and tall. If you're in a chair, place your feet flat on the floor. Roll your shoulders down your back and unclench your jaw.
2. Close your eyes and focus your mind on your breath. Breathe in and out normally a few times, trying not to think about anything but your breath.
3. After a few breaths like that, place your right hand over your heart and left hand just above your belly button.
4. Take a deep breath in through your nose until your lungs are full. The deeper you breathe, the more your stomach will press into your left hand.
5. Slowly breathe out (in a long sigh) through your mouth until your lungs are empty. Your stomach will relax.
6. Repeat the slow breath - in through your nose, out through your mouth - three times.
7. Note how you feel now. Do you feel less anxious? Practice this regularly.

Write about your math anxiety

It can be helpful to take a break and write about your feelings when you are anxious. If this is not possible during class or lab, you can take a few minutes before class starts to write about how math makes you feel.

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1. Take 5 minutes and write about your thoughts and feelings about math.
2. While writing, let yourself go (you are the only one who will see this) and explore your emotions and thoughts about math.
3. Describe previous experiences or similar situations you had with math.
4. After 5 minutes, stop writing and continue with the math task (or attend class, if you did this before class).

Improve your math confidence

Because math anxiety and low confidence often occur together, increasing your confidence can help you feel less anxious. It can be hard to feel confident in something that makes you anxious, but convincing yourself that you are capable of learning math can be done.

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1. Set small and attainable goals for your math learning, like to complete practice problems for 10 minutes every day, to help increase your confidence.
2. When you reach those goals, celebrate that victory! Tell yourself that you are working hard.
3. Say nice things to yourself. When you reach your goals, say to yourself, "I worked really hard." If you struggle or get a bad grade, say to yourself, "It's okay, I can work hard to figure this out."
4. Practice these steps regularly.

What have you learned about math anxiety and learning?

1. Math anxiety is more than just not liking math; it includes physical and emotional reactions to doing or thinking about math.
2. Math anxiety can interfere with your learning in science.
3. Math anxiety develops through a combination of experiences throughout your life.
4. You can take steps to reduce your math anxiety.

I am ready to PRACTICE!

If you think you have a handle on all of the things listed above, click on this bar to practice!

Glossary of Terms

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These affective domain modules were authored and edited by faculty, researchers, and graduate students at University of Colorado Boulder, University of Northern Colorado, and University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. The modules are designed to help students learn about their own learning and were funded by NSF grant DUE-1834666 and NSF grant DUE-1949737.

Project leads: Julie M. Sexton, Molly M. Jameson, Jennifer M. Wenner.

Module authors: Julie M. Sexton, Molly M. Jameson, Dina London, and Jennifer M. Wenner

Copyright: these modules may be distributed freely, with attribution, under a Creative Commons License.

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