07/05/2021
*Math phobia: Causes and remedies*
Mathematics, for many students, is no less furious than a demon. Many students feel sleepy as soon as they open the Mathematics book. Their score in mathematics is very less. They just give up saying that they can’t do it. Unfortunately, math avoidance leads to less competency, exposure and math practice, leaving students more anxious and mathematically unprepared to realize learning goals. This results in Math phobia.
Math Phobia may be a feeling of tension, apprehension, or fear that interferes with math performance. An individual with math phobia doesn’t necessarily lack ability in mathematics; rather, s/he can’t perform to her/his full potential thanks to the interfering symptoms of anxiety.
Causes
Math phobia, to some researchers, is gained—not from personal experience but from parents and teachers. When parents with high math anxiety try to help their children with their homework, they unintentionally convey the idea that math is difficult and anxiety-provoking.
Students often develop math phobia in schools, as a result of learning from teachers who are themselves suffering from math phobia. Such teachers usually fall back to teaching exclusively from the textbook, relying on memorizing facts, and employing only drill and practice to reinforce the lesson.
Research confirms that the pressure of examinations and tests and risk of public embarrassment are the main sources of unproductive tension among many students. Three practices that are part of the normal mathematics classroom and cause great anxiety in many students are imposed authority, dissemination and time deadlines.
Math is typically taught as a right and wrong subject. Teachers expect a fixed answer from the students and some times this rigidity is so high that students have no freedom to express in their own way. This leads to the rote method of learning which has been proven outdated by psychologists.
To be continued...
