Math anxiety is a common problem among students of all ages and can affect their performance and self-esteem in the subject. Some estimates show that even a majority of people report feeling some level of anxiousness surrounding math-related tasks. This fear doesn’t just impact math class, either. It can trickle into real-life situations where math concepts are crucial.
What Is Math Anxiety?
Math anxiety is the fear or worry that one experiences when faced with mathematical tasks or situations. It can manifest as physical symptoms such as sweating or heart palpitations, as well as emotional symptoms such as feelings of inadequacy or self-doubt.
Especially for kids in school, math anxiety can be a crippling thing that keeps them from performing at their best. Math anxiety doesn’t mean you’re bad at math—in fact, 4 out of 5 individuals who report math anxiety are actually average to high performers. Learning how to grow in confidence and overcome this fear is so important, whether you’re a kid in math class or an adult struggling through creating a budget or some other real-life math situation.
How Is Math Anxiety Different Than Dyscalculia?
Math anxiety is different from dyscalculia, which is a learning disability that affects a person’s ability to understand and perform mathematical tasks. People with dyscalculia struggle with basic arithmetic, counting, and problem-solving, while those with math anxiety are anxious about the subject but grasp the concepts more easily in general.
Strategies for Building Math Confidence:
- Encourage Mistakes & Model Resilience: Encourage your child to make mistakes and to view them as opportunities for learning. Model resilience and persistence by working through problems and not giving up easily.
- Watch Negative Talk About Math: Monitor the language you and your child use when talking about math. Avoid using negative language such as “I’m bad at math” or “math is hard.” Instead, focus on the positives and see math as an area where you can work on growing together.
- Play Math Games: Engage in math games and activities that make the subject fun and enjoyable. Whether for younger kids building number sense or older teens and adults looking to improve their logical thinking, games can help reduce anxiety by making math tasks fun and increasing confidence.
- Build Cognitive Skills: Emerging research suggests that math anxiety isn’t just about math; it’s about the brain. Rather than an issue with math itself, math anxiety seems to be related to a fear of failure before the task, not during it. Building cognitive skills like memory, attention, and processing speed is critical to grow your mental capacity for tackling hard things. These are skills you use in every area of life, but in math especially, weaknesses may be making math harder than it needs to be.
Math Training with LearningRx
All learning begins with the brain, and math is no exception. At LearningRx, we don’t just tutor or re-teach math concepts. Instead, we take a look at the cognitive profile of each learner individually. Then we are able to help them grow their weak areas and build confidence. Our MathRx training program allows us to take a deeper dive into mathematical concepts, logical thinking, and number manipulation in a way that also strengthens key thinking and learning skills outside the classroom.
Individuals who completed MathRx training improved math skills by +3.2 years on average! This boost in ability and confidence can have far-reaching effects into all areas of life.
