MATHS ANXIETY

Article 1:

Mathematics Anxiety and Mathematical Beliefs: What Is the Relationship in Elementary Pre-Service Teachers?
Guney Haciomeroglu
Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University
College of Education
Department of Elementary Education
Canakkale, Turkey
hguney@comu.edu.tr

Abstract

Three hundred-one pre-service teachers enrolled in elementary teacher education program were administered two surveys to measure mathematics anxiety and mathematical beliefs.
Results of the study revealed that there were significant differences between third year and fourth year pre-service teachers regarding their mathematics anxiety and mathematical beliefs. They held strong beliefs about teaching and learning mathematics that were aligned with the teacher education program. The results suggested that the pre-service teachers who held stronger beliefs and felt less anxious were more confident about their abilities to teach mathematics effectively. Thus, the significant relationship between mathematics anxiety and mathematical beliefs should be acknowledged.

 Comment: 

In this study, the strength of this research is the researchers used Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale Short Version (MARS-SV), and Mathematical Belief Instrument (MBI) to administer their respondents. I would like to suggest that the researcher may use group interviews to triangulate the data.







Article 2:

Math Anxiety

What can teachers do to help their students over come the feeling?

Danielle Swanson

Alliance, Nebraska

Abstract:                                                             

In this action research study of my classroom of 7^th and 8th grade mathematics, I investigated how math anxiety relates to the student work and behaviour in the classroom, and how this can affect the student’s overall relationship to mathematics. I discovered that the harder the work, the more math anxiety was displayed. The harder I pushed students to think more deeply, the fewer responses to my questions I received. I noticed difference in the students’ body language and overall behaviour. As a result of this research, I plan to help my students try to overcome the feeling of math anxiety and try to teach them different methods to use when they are feeling anxious. The methods that I plan to use hopefully will help the students when they are feeling anxiety and help the students to understand the math being taught and how to apply the math they learn to everyday life. 

Comments:

This action researcher did a good job in analyzing data. The research blended the data collected from observation, journal and interviews and interpreted the data explicitly. Furthermore, the researcher collected the data by using interviews and document analysis. i would to suggest that the researcher may use classroom observation to triangulate the his data too. 

  

Article 3

Aspects of Children's Mathematics Anxiety

Karen Newstead

This study focuses on mathematics anxiety in nine- to eleven-year-old children and compares the mathematics anxiety of pupils taught in a traditional manner with that of pupils whose teachers adopted an alternative teaching approach emphasising problem-solving and discussion of pupils’ own informal strategies. One finding is that pupils who were exposed to a traditional approach reported more mathematics anxiety than those who were exposed to the alternative approach, particularly with regard to the social, public aspects of doing mathematics. The question is raised whether it is these public aspects of doing mathematics in the presence of teachers and peers which actually evoke mathematics anxiety in many pupils, and not working with numbers or doing sums. However, the majority of pupils in this study reacted with either high or low anxiety to both aspects of doing mathematics

Comments:

Due to the respondents of this research are nine- to eleven-year-old children, and yet the researcher used the technique of questionnaire to obtain the data. It will raise an issue of validity of the research data.But the research did explain about the validation of the questionnaire is described in Newstead (1992, 1995). The validity of any single method of measurement of anxiety in children may be considered doubtful, but in this case the validity of the questionnaire was well supported using interviews, and the reliability confirmed by statistical analysis (in previous studies, α varied from 0.82 to0.87). The questionnaire was introduced, administered, read aloud and, where necessary, explained, by the researcher.