It was maths anxiety day on the 10th November 2023 and I cannot believe that it has been a year since I last discussed maths anxiety.
Today, I watched the educator webinars organised by Cat and Rob at the Dyscalculia Network. A big thank you to them for this, and to the contributors who presented their work to us. I am in awe of the wealth of knowledge, showing new ways to help me support learners; so many new ideas to me, so much learning , I am very excited!
Margaret Brown reminded me about that fact that maths anxiety is not just a dislike of maths, but a realnegative reaction to mathematics that blocks the ability to think. This may have been caused by past experiences, fear of public performance, time pressure or not understanding. Perhaps, not surprisingly, this is often related to multiplication, fractions, long division, percentages, ratio and algebra. It is interesting to note her observation that the areas that cause anxiety (in terms of mathematical content) are related to memory and recall of procedures. This highlights the importance of the general underlying cognitive areas that all play a part in maths learning. It supports the need for an holistic approach when working with our learners.
Zeena Hicks provided a fascinating insight from the perspective of positive psychology,. I will certainly employ the 90 second rule of “breathing through” the maths anxiety and helping students to do this: if we can wait out the initial surge of chemicals that are released when we feel threatened, our emotions will naturally subside. By focusing on breathing, recognising and labelling emotions and waiting for 90 seconds, students can learn to reduce stress, anxiety and anger and be in a more positive platform from which to learn.
I also learned about the Hand Model of the Brain, developed by Dr. Siegel and discussed by Sue Johnston-Wilder. The Hand Model of the Brain is a helpful tool for understanding maths anxiety. When you feel anxious about maths, your amygdala It’s a major processing center for emotions. It also links your emotions to many other brain abilities, especially memories, learning and your senses. When it doesn’t work as it should, it can cause or contribute to disruptive feelings and symptoms becomes activated. This can make it difficult to focus and learn. It can also make you feel like you are going to fail. In this state, it is not surprising that learning is incredibly difficult. To overcome this anxiety, we need to activate our cerebral cortex. We can achieve this through focus on our breathing or by thinking about something relaxing. Once our cerebral cortex is activated, it can send calming signals to the body. This helps us to feel better, both physically and mentally, and produces a state which is more conducive to learning. As Zeena Hicks said, focus on the breathing. In addition breaking down maths problems into smaller steps, providing an extra rung on the ladder, or an extra stepping stone to success, is beneficial.
The model uses the hand to represent the different parts of the brain. Here is a very short video which explains it very well.
We were also reminded me of the need to provide enough challenge as well as support, as part of the Growth Zone Model.
The model is based on the idea that there are three different “zones” of learning: the comfort zone, the growth zone, and the anxiety zone.
Comfort zone: In the comfort zone, we feel safe and secure. We are able to complete tasks with ease and do not feel challenged. However, this zone is not conducive to learning, as we are not pushing ourselves to grow;
Growth zone: The growth zone is where learning occurs. In this zone, we feel challenged, but we are also confident that we can succeed and failure does not need to be seen as negative. We need to be willing to take risks and make mistakes (from which learning comes), and we are able to persevere in the face of difficulty;
Anxiety zone: The anxiety zone is where we feel overwhelmed and distressed. We feel like we are not capable of succeeding, and we give up before we even try.
This is a framework developed to help us understand and manage emotions in relation to learning. It helps us understand the emotional aspects of learning, provides a framework for managing emotions and encourages us to find the spaces where we can take risks and make mistakes.
My key take away message to anyone who feels anxiety about maths: remember, you are not alone. There is need for some level of struggle and we can all expect to make mistakes, but that is OK. The ‘red’ zone is temporary and we can encourage students to come out of the comfortable ‘green’ zone to embrace new challenges. Maths anxiety is a common problem, and there are many people who can help you overcome it. We can tackle the “maths monster” together and build maths resilience, allowing our learners to succeed, despite challenges we can all encounter.
There is further information on dyscalculia, screening for dyscalculia or for a full diagnostic assessment on this website, or please get in touch at rebecca@educationaccess.co.uk.