Unraveling Math Anxiety

This paper focuses on finding methods to assist students identify their individual math anxiety and introduce strategies to overcome or control the anxiousness. The research indicates that the more students are in touch with their own individual math anxieties, the easier it will be to overcome the nervousness. Twenty-two students took three individual assessments and a survey to help identify their math anxiety. The first assessment was timed and students were not informed if it would count toward their grade. The second handout had no time limit and it was not going toward students’ grade in the class. The last assessment had to be written out in words, and the survey asked students what they thought of the assessments. Most students thought that the second assessment was the best at demonstrating their understanding of a topic, and the preferred method of testing. I discovered that majority of students found being presented with three different assessments was helpful in understanding their learning and accumulating new ideas to study. It is both the student’s and the teacher’s responsibility to try to overcome math anxiety by introducing new studying styles as well as getting to know the learner as an individual