Books about Math Anxiety

Here are some links to books about Math Anxiety. They are good resources for helping kids  deal with this anxiety.

• http://www.amazon.com/Overcoming-Math-Anxiety-Sheila-Tobias/dp/0393313077 - The new edition retains the author's pungent analysis of what makes math "hard" for otherwise successful people and how women, more than men, become victims of a gendered view of math. It has been substantially updated to incorporate new research on what we know and don't know about "sex differences" in brain organization and function, and it has been enlarged to include problems, puzzles, and strategies tried out in hundreds of math anxiety workshops Tobias and her colleagues have sponsored.
• http://www.amazon.com/Math-Attack-Joan-Horton/dp/B0046LUIO2 - Each time her teacher asks, “What’s seven times ten?” a young girl experiences a severe case of arithmetic strain. “Numbers flew out of my head by the score. They stuck to the ceiling; they bounced off the floor!” Soon, exploding numbers are taking over her classroom, her school – then the entire town!
  Ebullient verse and ingenious collage illustrations full of hilarious escalating antics make this kid-centric romp through the dreaded times tables a read-aloud gem. Clever endpapers feature a multiplication table.
• http://alpha2.suffolk.lib.ny.us/record=b2196434~S63 - When a teacher tells their class that they can think at almost everything as a math problem, one student acquires a math anxiety that becomes a curse.  

Math

Mathematics, as a field of study, has features that set it apart from almost any other scholastic discipline. On the one hand, correctly manipulating the notation to calculate solutions is a skill, and as with any skill mastery is achieved through practice. On the other hand, such skills are really only the surface of mathematics, for they are only marginally useful without an understanding of the concepts which underlie them. 
Consequently, the contemplation and comprehension of mathematical ideas must be our ultimate goal. Ideally, these two aspects of studying mathematics should be woven together at every point, complementing and enhancing one another, and in this respect studying mathematics is much more like studying, say, music or painting than it is like studying history or biology.
         In view of mathematics’ unique character, the successful student must devise a special set of strategies for accomplishing his or her goals, including strategies for lecture taking, homework, and exams. 

Taken from http://www.mathacademy.com/pr/minitext/anxiety/#strat

Math Anxiety Symptoms

Hi, everyone that suffers from Math Anxiety experience some symptoms. Some of this symptoms are physical and some are mental/emotional


Here are some physical symptoms for you to help identify

• nervousness;
• pounding heart;
• rapid breathing;
• sweating;
• nauseousness;
• upset stomach; and
• tenseness

Some mental/emotional symptoms

• a feeling of panic or fear;
• cloudy or fuzzy thinking;
• lack of concentration;
• a mental block in thinking; and
• feelings of helplessness, guilt, shame, inferiority, or stupidity.

Suggestions to help overcome math anxiety

Here are a few suggestions to help overcome math anxiety: Do math every day- You will need to work on your mathematics each day, if only for a half-hour. You must avoid doing all your math homework and studying on one or two days per week. Schedule quality study time throughout the week and stick to your schedule. Study smart- Try different study skills to do math. Ask your friends what study skills helps them in doing math.The more you try different approaches, the more you will discover what works for you. Attend class- You must attend class to keep up with the pace of the class. Attending to class will help you notice if you need help understanding something. And if you don't understand, ask your teacher right away! Get organized!- You need to keep good class notes. You need to keep a good math notebook with lists of vocabulary, properties, formulas, theorems and procedures.  Continually test yourself-  Be aware of what you know and of what you don't know. Keep practicing the concepts and problems presented in the classroom and in the textbook. Replace negative self-talk with positive self-talk- Having a negative attitude is an obstacle that does not need to prevent you from succeeding. Be mindful of what you are saying to yourself. Develop positive affirmations such as "I will succeed in this course!" or "I love math!" to counteract any negative feelings you may have about your abilities or about math itself. Ultiize all your resources. Use your textbook, friends, study groups, your instructor, the internet, all these are available to help you succeed. Only you can take advanage of them.          Most of all. BELIEVE in yourself!!!!

Can I measure Math Anxiety?

  If you have a problem with math anxiety, you might wonder about how your level of anxiety compares to other students across the country and around the world.  Several diagnostic tests have been designed to measure attitudes and levels of anxiety towards math.  One of the best known is the Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale (MARS) by Richard M. Suinn of the Rocky Mountain Behavioral Science Institute at Fort Collins, Colorado.  This test can be obtained from your local counselor or by writing to the Institute at Fort Collins.  Data to indicate the scores of other students from a variety of majors and colleges can also be obtained to allow you to compare your own scores to those of other students.  Other diagnostic tests that measure math anxiety are also available.  

Anxiety hits high-achieving kids hardest

Anxiety hits high-achieving kids hardest (taken from Psych Central)

A study of first and second graders found that many high-achieving students experience math anxiety, with worry and fear undermining them so much that they can fall behind other students who don’t have that anxiety.

Researchers at the University of Chicago found that math anxiety was most detrimental to the highest-achieving students, who typically have the most working memory.

“You can think of working memory as a kind of ‘mental scratchpad’ that allows us to work with whatever information is temporarily flowing through consciousness,” said Dr. Sian Beilock, a professor in pyschology. “It’s especially important when we have to do a math problem and juggle numbers in our head. Working memory is one of the major building blocks of IQ.”

Worries about math can disrupt working memory. The research team found that a high degree of math anxiety undermined the performance of otherwise successful students, placing them almost half a school year behind their less anxious peers, in terms of math achievement.

For the study, the researchers tested 88 first-graders and 66 second-graders from a large urban school system. The students were tested to measure their academic abilities, their working memory and their fear of mathematics. They were asked, on a sliding scale, how nervous they felt to go to the front of the room and work on a mathematics problem on the board.

The study found that among the highest-achieving students, about half had medium-to-high math anxiety. Math anxiety was also common among low-achieving students, but it did not impact their performance. That may be because these students developed simpler ways of dealing with mathematics problems, such as counting on their fingers, according to the researchers.

“Early math anxiety may lead to a snowball effect that exerts an increasing cost on math achievement by changing students’ attitudes and motivational approaches towards math, increasing math avoidance, and ultimately reducing math competence,” Beilock said.

The researchers recommend some ways to alleviate math anxiety, noting that “when anxiety is regulated or reframed, students often see a marked increase in their math performance.”

One way to reframe anxiety is to have students write about their worries regarding math ahead of time. A procedure called “expressive writing” helps students to “download” worries and minimize anxiety’s effects on working memory, the researchers said.

For younger students, expressive picture drawing, rather than writing, may also help lessen the burden of math anxiety, the researchers add. Teachers can also help students reframe their approach by helping them to see exams as a challenge rather than as a threat, the researchers conclude.

8 Empowering ways to beat Math Anxiety

http://mathfour.com/math-anxiety
Taken from mathfour.com

I had the privilege of interviewing 5 professionals in learning, mathematics and educational psychology. They each answered questions on math anxiety and math disabilities and the relationship between the two.

From their responses, I've distilled 8 things that you as a parent, teacher, tutor or homeschooler can do to help a child with math anxiety.

1

Understand what it is.

The current Wikipedia definition of math anxiety is anxiety about one's ability to do math, regardless of skill. My experts agreed that math anxiety is when the fear and frustration due to stress about math gets overwhelming. The stressors can include:

1. Slower performance than peers
2. Insufficient or inappropriate instruction
3. History of failures or bad experiences with math
4. Culture, gender and stereotypes
5. A math disability, such as dyscalculia or weak learning skills

2

Understand what it isn't.

Math anxiety is not a disability in itself. Susan J. Schwartz is the director of the Learning and Diagnostics Center at the Child Mind Institute. She notes the following four categories of math disabilities. Notice that math anxiety is not one of these. Math anxiety can be caused by mishandling of any of these math disabilities, though.

1. Difficulty with basic math facts and memory.
2. Weakness in doing calculations.
3. Inability to apply math concepts.
4. Struggles with visual and spacial relationships.

Rebecca Zook is a veteran math tutor and blogger at Zook Tutoring. She encourages her students to view math anxiety as a disability only if it helps them get the proper assistance. If you or a student frames the problem as a disability when it's not, though, it is possible to get mired in the attitude of "I have a disability, so I just can't do it." Zook cautions against this.

3

Prevent math anxiety if you can.

By creating a positive math environment from the start, you can prevent much of math anxiety. There are times, though, when more is happening to create the problem than just a bad environment.

If a disability is at play, early recognition is the key. Helping the student find the appropriate instruction or assistance can be the best way to prevent math anxiety from creeping in. If you suspect a disability, have your child tested, or encourage the parents to have your student tested.

Tanya Mitchell, VP of R&D for LearningRx, notes that "strong learners are made, not born." Strengthening learning skills early can help your student completely alleviate math anxiety by giving him or her the skills necessary for learning.

4

Display positive feelings about math.

If you have a prejudice against math, it will show.

If you're a classroom teacher and you don't fully understand some concepts, seek help yourself. Don't become frustrated or angry when a student asks for an explanation that you can't provide. It's okay to say, "Let me look that up and I'll get back with you tomorrow." If necessary, ask me.

As a parent or homeschooler, it's time to have a strong math backbone. Quit badmouthing math. Erase the pained look on your face when discussing it. You can do it.

5

Make sure others display positive feelings about math, too.

In a classroom setting, watch the other students. If the "math kid" is abused, there should be concern for the whole class. This type of bullying could lead to a bandwagon of hating math, just to avoid the abuse.

If you're a parent, be aware of how the teacher treats math. If you're a teacher or tutor, get to know the parents' math views. Homeschoolers, is the other parent math phobic?

You're part of a learning team. If you treat math with respect and joy and others on your team don't, have a talk. Everyone needs to be on the same page - the page of positivity in math.

6

Do the things that you have power to do.

Dr. Kari Miller, director of Miller Educational Excellence, says that helping students see how math is used in their lives can reduce anxiety. Shopping, banking and travelling all use math and are skills they'll need and use. She also recommends places like FunBrain.com to find calculation games that help kids connect to math at their own level.

Tanya Mitchell of LearningRx encourages playing games that work on core cognitive skills. She offers this list of everyday games (computer and board games) that shows which cognitive skills are strengthened by each.

You can also tutor your own child. But be cautious of working beyond him or her. Follow the lead of the student. Chris Frank founder of Ignition Tutoring and an experienced tutor himself, encourages one on one teaching to be at the student's own pace. Although most tutors and parents are held captive by the pace of the school, you can build in more study time on nights and weekends to work slowly if needed.

7

Know when to get help.

If your help, as a parent, isn't working or if you don't have the time, look into hiring a private tutor. As a teacher, if you think additional help is needed at home, recommend tutoring.

If a disability is suspected or tutoring doesn't seem to help, perhaps testing is the next step. Having a child tested does two things:

1. If they do not have a cognitive function disability, you can move on to finding other reasons for the difficulty.
2. If they do have a disability, you can work to correct it.

Public schools usually offer testing for free, but this can take time due to their backlog.

If you're in need of a quick result and are willing to pay for it, you can ask a local private school which company they use. You can also find local testing centers through larger organizations like LearningRx or Child Mind Institute.

8

Find help when it's time.

If your child is ready for tutoring, or testing has revealed the need for further help, you can find most of the resources you need relatively easily.

You can find face to face tutors through local or online services, friends who have their own children tutored or through local colleges. You can hire an online tutor, also. Places like Zook Tutoring and Ignition Tutoring work with kids through Skype. Make sure that your chosen tutor has some experience with kids with math anxiety. Also, watch to ensure he or she builds a positive relationship with your child. Monitor not only the grades but the excitement before, during and after tutoring sessions.

If you learn your child is having more difficulties than can be handled with basic tutoring, you find an educational therapist through places like Miller Educational Excellence. Testing centers can also recommend therapists. Some testing centers, like LearningRx and Child Mind Institute have plans already in place for assistance as soon as the test results are in.

Feeling better about helping your kid beat math anxiety? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Read more: http://mathfour.com/math-anxiety#ixzz2VhCYLciw