OUTTAKE

“EVERYONE IS A
MATH PERSON”
How Findings of Positive Math
Identity Derailed My Study but
Enhanced My Teaching

Stephanie B. Purington
Marist College

I am a math teacher-educator focusing on elementary preservice teachers

(PSTs). In my previous life, I provided mathematics professional develop-
ment to many elementary teachers in my area. I found that most teachers
had severe math anxiety, which impacted their confidence in teaching
math. As a high school teacher, I knew that my students had often been
affected by the math avoidance of their elementary teachers, which was a
driving force for me to leave the classroom and pursue my PhD. I wanted
to teach elementary education majors before they arrived at the point of
interacting with students; I wanted to improve both their content knowl-
edge and their math identities.
On the path to my dissertation, I needed to conduct a pilot study to show
proof of concept and research skills. Wanting to tackle the issue of math
anxiety in teachers and how it affected students, I planned to study how
PSTs thought their math anxiety might impact their teaching and their
students. My dissertation would then involve developing an intervention

Curriculum and Teaching Dialogue,

Volume 25, Numbers 1 & 2, pp. 297–299
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298   S. B. PURINGTON

to reduce math anxiety and educate the PSTs on the negative impact that
anxiety could have on future students.
For my sample, I chose a group of students enrolling in an elementary
certification program at a large university in New England. I had worked
with the prior cohort in their Mathematics Methods course and noted that
most students reported having math anxiety, so this cohort seemed like
an excellent group to investigate. Previous research has also shown that
elementary PSTs have the highest levels of math anxiety among college
majors (Hembree, 1990), so I was expecting that at least half of the group
would have math anxiety that would rise to the level of concern. During
the week of their orientation for the program, I presented my study to the
group and asked for volunteers. Twelve of the 13 cohort members agreed
to be part of the study.
In the initial interview, the first participant expressed no math anxiety
and felt ready to teach math. The same happened with the second partici-
pant and then the third. Concerned that I was not getting the expected
results, I added some questions to the interview about what had led them
to not have math anxiety given its prevalence in society. Still, I was sure the
next participant would express math anxiety. I was wrong.
To my surprise, none of the participants indicated having math anxiety.
They all reported feeling comfortable teaching math, believed that every-
one was a “math person,” and that every student could learn math. In fact,
they were much more nervous about teaching literacy. I worked with the
participants in their Mathematics Methods course the following semester,
and they did not show signs of math anxiety.
With those results, the second part of my questioning—how they thought
their anxiety would affect their teaching and their students—became moot.
Thankfully, I had pivoted quickly to asking questions about what they
believed to be the source of their self-efficacy in mathematics. I also con-
ducted further interviews with a few students who had expressed that they
used to have math anxiety, to explore more deeply how they came to have
more positive math identities. Asking these additional questions allowed
me to have findings that went beyond discovering that no one had math
anxiety.
I found that all but two participants had taken the same two required
math content courses from the same professor during their undergraduate
program at the university. These courses are intended to review elemen-
tary math concepts while also giving students the opportunity to look at
the material from a teacher’s perspective. What are common errors and
misconceptions? What are multiple strategies for solving a type of prob-
lem? What manipulatives or representations might help address different
mathematical concepts?
 “Everyone is a Math Person”   299

The students credited the professor of these courses with allowing them
to reconstruct their mathematical experiences and understandings in a way
that made them feel much more confident in their abilities. They worked
collaboratively, did a plethora of hands-on activities, and were expected to
explain their thinking and reasoning at every step. The professor relent-
lessly stated that everyone could be a math person, and the students began
to believe it for themselves. While several of them still had gaps in their
mathematical knowledge, they were confident that they could work to fill
those gaps before needing to teach those topics.
My pilot study was, in some ways, a total failure, as I no longer had a
group of students with math anxiety that I could study. It was too late to
try to recruit another group, ascertain their math anxiety, and gain access
to their courses—so I had to pivot. In the end, my dissertation focused on
math knowledge for teaching, which was a study also motivated through
my work with the methods classes.
While my pilot study did not lead where I had intended, it was successful
in other ways. I could report that a group of students who said they used
to have math anxiety had been given an experience that allowed them
to overcome it. This finding gave me hope as someone who planned to
teach math content and methods courses to elementary PSTs. I met with
the professor who made such a difference to the math identities of my
participants, and we talked through his syllabus, methods, and beliefs. As
I have started my college teaching journey, I use those resources as inspira-
tion for my courses. I focus on helping my students to build new positive
math identities by having them work collaboratively, create concrete and
drawn representations, and explain their thinking. Through this process,
my students are able to gain stronger conceptual understanding, which
gives them more confidence in their readiness to teach math in the future.
While I may have grumbled about how the math professor my partici-
pants worked with had derailed my study, I am glad that I was able to meet
with him and learn about how he made such an impact on his classes. I
hope that I am making the same kind of difference for my students.

REFERENCE

Hembree, R. (1990). The nature, effects, and relief of mathematics anxiety. Journal
for Research in Mathematics Education, 21(1), 33–46.
 About the Authors   343

Purington, Stephanie B.
Stephanie B. Purrington is a professional lecturer of education at Marist
College in Poughkeepsie, New York, where she teaches STEM methods
courses.

Reinhardt, Rebecca
Rebecca Reinhardt is a doctoral student at the University of Northern Col-
orado and an occupational therapist at Colorado State University.

Sage, Mallori
Mallori Sage is a doctoral student at the University of Northern Colorado
and a third-grade teacher in Rockford Public Schools.

Samuels, Amy
Amy Samuels is an associate professor of instructional leadership at the
University of Montevallo, who researches critical multiculturalism and cul-
tural responsiveness.

Samuels, Gregory
Gregory Samuels is an associate professor of secondary education and
Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at the University of Montevallo.

Shulsky, Debby
Debby Shulsky is an associate professor and Coordinator of Curriculum
and Instruction at the University of Houston-Clear Lake.

Smith, Jess
Jess Smith is an affiliate clinical assistant professor at Baylor University
and researches the intersection of mentorship and teaching reading and
writing.

Sokol, Mariana
Mariana Sokol is a professor and head of the foreign languages depart-
ment at Ternopil Volodymyr Hnatiuk National Pedagogical University,
Ukraine.

Southall, Aubrey Brammar

Aubrey Brammar Southall is an associate professor and chair of secondary
education at Aurora University.

Strong, Emily
Emily Strong is a doctoral student at the University of Northern Colorado
and a school counselor at a Denver Lab School.
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Further reproduction prohibited without permission.