Valerie Diotte EDUC 5433: Elementary School Math Methods St.

Thomas University February 28th, 2014

Abstract The following annotated bibliography examines math anxiety in the classroom. Articles were chosen from varying years as well as on varying aspects of math anxiety so that a thorough and pertinent view of the subject could be formed. The articles by Geist and Herbert and Furner were selected so that insight on how to reduce math anxiety in the classroom might be inspected. The remaining articles provide the reader with insight into the varying factors that might cause math anxiety to present itself in certain students and not others. Additionally, the articles provide a means for teachersas well as parentsto look for those factors in order to prevent math anxiety before it becomes an issue.

Geist, E. (2010). The Anti-Anxiety Curriculum: Combating Math Anxiety in the Classroom. Journal of Instructional Psychology. 37(1), 24-31. A negative attitude toward mathematics is a growing barrier for many children in the classroom. For these children, a fear of mathematics, or what is commonly known as math anxiety, is creating a disparity between levels of achievement in mathematics and achievement in other subjects. It has been found that he students attitudes towards math are likely to shape the learning experiences that they have as they are being taught mathematics. Studies have shown that a mothers attitude, as well as their encouragement, towards mathematics is a significant factor in children having a positive attitude towards math and has been linked to positive achievement in mathematics classes. The article suggest that parents who present with less knowledge of mathematics, are less comfortable with mathematical concepts, and have a negative attitude towards math frequently impact their children by creating math anxiety and an aversion to mathematics. It has additionally been found that teachers who feel uncomfortable teaching mathematicperhaps due to a dislike of math themselvesreinforce the same dislike of mathematics in their students. Hebert, T.P., Furner, J. M. (1997). Helping High Ability Students Overcome Math Anxiety Through Bibliotherapy. Journal of Secondary Gifted Education. 8(4),164. Most secondary school math teachers' professional training does not prepare them to deal with students' psychological fears of math or the defensemechanisms and strategies young people use to protect themselves from appearing to fail in math. The following article by Hebert and Furner examines the importance of helping students learn that they are not alone in their fear of math. It additionally suggests how imperative it is to provide students with confidence building exercises and emotional support to help them overcome any previous negative experience in mathematics. This is especially important when working with gifted students whose fear of failure hinders them on a regular basis. The article provides a lesson plan for teachers to use in an attempt to help students overcome their math anxiety through the use of bibliothereapya form of expressive therapy that has individuals relate to the content of books and other written works. One of the books used in the bibliotherapy sessions is called Math Curse and focuses on the issue of math anxiety in students. It has been found that bibliotherapy is an affective discussion-generating technique offering educators appropriate affective strategies for dealing with mathematics anxiety in the classroom so that students might achieve success. Krinzinger H., Kaufmann L., Willmes K., (2009). Math Anxiety and Math Ability in Early Primary School Years. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment. 27(3), 206-225. The article by Krininger, Kaufman, Willmes examines how mathematical learning disabilities (MLDs) are frequently associated with math anxiety. However, there is little known about the connection between calculation ability and math anxiety during the elementary years. The aim of the study performed was to investigate the relationships between calculation ability,

self-reported evaluation of math skills, and level of math anxiety in 140 elementary school children from the first grade to the third grade. The students all came from middle-income families in Aachen, Germany57.1% of which were female. Using a longitudinal developmental model, the researchers found there to be a significant correlation between both calculation ability and math anxiety to self-reported evaluation of math skills. However, they found no connection between calculation ability and math anxietyin either direction. This is in contrast to what one might believe based on reports of high levels of mathematics anxiety in children with MLDs. Maloney, E.A., Waechter, S., Risko, E., Fugelsang, J.A. (2012). Reducing the sex difference in math anxiety: The role of spatial processing ability. Learning and Individual Differences. 22(3) Research consistently demonstrates that females experience higher levels of math anxietya negative affect when performing tasks that involve numerical skillsthan do their male counterparts. Although sex differences in math anxiety have been largely attributed to social stereotypes as well as propensity to report anxiety, the authors of this article suggest that the sex differences in levels of math anxiety may be in part a result of spatial processing ability. In the first study participants completed questionnaires which assessed their level of anxiety towards mathematics in addition to their aptitude for processing spatial configurations. In the second study the exact same methods were used, only this time a more diverse population of participants was used. The results of both studies suggest that relationship between gender and math anxiety is mediated by a third variablespatial processing ability. Sparks, S. P. (2011) 'Math Anxiety' Explored in Studies. Education Weekly. 30(31), 1-16. The following article discusses how Mathematics anxiety is more than just a dislike of math, that one with math anxiety feels strong negative emotions when engaging in an activity that requires numerical or math skills. In one study done by Beilock, it was found that simply suggesting to college students that they would be asked to take a math test triggered a stress response in the hypothalamus of students who has math anxiety; no such response was found in that students without anxiety towards mathematics. The lab director, Jennifer A. Mangels, tested college students in either neutral math situations or in situations designed to invoke math anxietysuch as mentioning gender stereotypes, or telling students that their scores would be used to compare their math ability to others. In non-stressful situations, the students who identified most with math (those who sought out more opportunities to learn within the schools math program) showed the highest performance. The author of the article goes on to discuss how math anxiety can become a generational problem, with adults who are uncomfortable with math passing on their negative feelings to the children or students. Many individuals may go into elementary school teaching as a means to avoid teaching higher level math, however, it was found that female first and second grade teachers with high anxiety about math affected both their students math performance and their beliefs about math ability.

Tobias, S. (1991). Math Mental Health. College Teaching. 39(3), 91. In this article, Tobias examines how most average students have all of the cognitive equipment they need to do advanced algebra, intermediate-level statistics, and college calculus. The answershe believesto why students have this ability and yet show task-specific disability in mathematics. Tobias research examining the theory behind math anxiety was not based on brain studies, but rather on behavioural difference between students who do well in mathematics and students who do not. She discusses how there are mathematical myths, myths that state that mathematics is a white male domain, that if one is good at language arts they are inevitably not good at mathematics, and that if math is done at all, it is done instantly. Tobias argues that the best way to counter these false beliefs is to bring the issues out into the open and to argue forcefully against them. In order to develop math mental health, we must create students who are hard-working, confident, experiences, and willing to take risks.