A Guide to Tackling Maths Anxiety Building more confident and resilient learners, teachers and communities Insights from the Power of Maths Roundtable The Power of Maths Roundtable Series At Pearson, we believe in the power of maths. It’s an integral part of the world around us. That’s why everything we do focuses on building skills and confidence in maths so everyone can engage with opportunities, achieve, and progress throughout their lives. As we cannot effect such great change alone, our Power of Maths Roundtable series brings together leading influencers across education, academia, industry and the third sector to discuss and unlock contemporary issues facing mathematics in the UK today. Putting the spotlight on tackling maths anxiety Maths anxiety affects thousands of children, young people and adults in the UK. Seen and felt in classrooms, homes and workplaces across the nation, it is widely acknowledged as a barrier to engagement and progress in maths, as well as other areas of education, employment and life. Our second Roundtable brought teachers, academics, charity and business leaders together to explore how to tackle maths anxiety. This guide draws upon the insights and practical tips gathered at the event so you can join us in helping build more confident and resilient learners, teachers and communities. #PowerofMaths 2 Contents Foreword 4 Solutions beyond the school gates 20 Challenging perceptions and broadening horizons 21 Maths anxiety: the headlines 5 Engaging adults and boosting maths confidence 24 Solutions at the chalkface 8 Conclusions 26 Understanding and identifying maths anxiety 9 Tools to support maths-anxious learners 13 Further reading and Rethinking teaching approaches 16 acknowledgements 27 Join the conversation 30 #PowerofMaths 3 1 Foreword The average person on the street may not have heard of the term ‘maths anxiety’, but it is likely they or someone they know will have suffered from it. Having been a student in the classroom myself and now on the other side of the desk as a classroom teacher, I have witnessed how maths anxiety can negatively impact the competence and confidence of people in dealing with maths. This can sadly harm their ability to engage with maths for their rest of their lives. While academic discussions around maths anxiety began to appear in the 1950s, it is a concept that has been expressed for centuries. An Elizabethan nursery rhyme written by Scottish mathematician John Napier, dating back to 1570 even read: “Multiplication is vexation, division is bad. The rule of three doth puzzle me, and practice drives me mad.”1 As someone who advocates the magic of numbers, it was therefore a privilege and honour to chair Pearson’s Power of Maths Roundtable, where leading academics, business leaders, teachers and educators came together to discuss how we can tackle this long-standing and significant issue. The Roundtable showed there are many driven people and organisations who are committed to building a more confident and resilient nation when it comes to maths. And this guide gives an insight into some of the solutions and ideas that can be taken forward in schools and wider society to help make this vision a reality. By Bobby Seagull Maths teacher, author and TV presenter Change can and will happen, but society will not transform overnight. Together, we Chair of Pearson’s Power of Maths Roundtable must continue the conversation and fight for the wonder of maths. #PowerofMaths 4 12 Maths anxiety: the headlines What is maths anxiety? Mathematics anxiety has been defined as: A feeling of tension and anxiety that interferes with the manipulation of numbers and the solving of mathematical problems in ordinary life and academic situations. Richardson and Suinn (1972)2 It is a negative emotional reaction to mathematics that acts as an ‘emotional handbrake’ and holds up progress in maths. The severity can range from a feeling of mild tension to experiencing a strong and deep-rooted fear of maths. Maths anxiety is not always obvious: it can sometimes be invisible and often unnoticed. It can manifest itself as poor behaviour, anger, frustration, avoidance, under-attainment and helplessness. It doesn’t begin or end within the school walls either: it affects children through to the elderly, presenting in homes, classrooms and workplaces. In schools, it spans across the Definition by Sue Johnston-Wilder attainment spectrum, from high-flyers to those who find the subject more challenging. Associate Professor, University of Warwick Leading academic into mathematics anxiety Research suggests that the majority of those who experience maths anxiety are and developing mathematical resilience usually learners with a ‘feeling’ rather than a ‘thinking’ preference, otherwise known as empathisers.3 These learners prefer to understand the value, meaning, purpose and narrative of the mathematical tools they are required to learn. #PowerofMaths 5 2 Maths anxiety: the headlines 1 in 10 36% eight to 13-year-olds of 15–24-year-olds in Britain suffer from maths anxiety 4 in the UK feel anxious about maths 5 1 in 4 parents don’t feel able to teach their children basic addition and subtraction without a calculator 9 7 Maths 1 in 5 63 parents suffer from 8 1 arithmophobia – 5 2 anxiety a fear of numbers 8 in numbers 40% of parents wouldn’t be able to show Women are more their children how to split a than twice as anxious Only 26% restaurant bill with friends 10 as men about using of undergraduate maths and numbers 7 students have the numerical skills and understanding necessary for daily life and work 6 #PowerofMaths 6 2 Maths anxiety: the headlines What causes maths anxiety? Maths anxiety has many possible causes and contributing factors that are currently being researched. We all have curious brains that have an in-built, highly-tuned safety mechanism that protects us so we can avoid danger. And when faced with a perceived ‘danger’, we have a ‘fight or flight response’. When it comes to maths anxiety, the same principle applies. If faced with a task that requires maths, many could perceive ‘danger’ to be: In schools, many students report The good news is social threats – such as humiliation, experiencing maths anxiety as a result that maths anxiety of finding the work difficult, competing exclusion and being left behind or can be tackled. isolated with peers, gender bias and insensitivity from teachers, and lack of remediation.11 With the right tools fear of failure – being asked to do and commitment, something the learner experiences as Beyond the school gates, being asked too hard through insufficient scaffolding, to work out a share of a bill, help with everyone can context, meaning or narrative. homework or answer a quick-fire build confidence Research has shown so far that these are question involving maths in front of and resilience common contributing factors to maths others can commonly invoke panic and when it comes to anxiety across different ages and stages anxiety for people of all ages. of life. mathematics... #PowerofMaths 7 3 Maths anxiety: solutions at the chalkface As part of our Power of Maths Roundtable, attendees were not only asked to discuss the causes and extent of maths anxiety, but also how we can tackle this issue. At the Roundtable Elsie, aged 13, shared her experience of overcoming maths anxiety to help our search for solutions. I was bad at maths and I didn’t understand it, so I got frustrated and upset. It made me feel a bit dumb and stupid – like I was bad at everything, so I gave up on my other subjects too. I was put into a smaller group with other kids who struggled with maths and I also had one-to-one time with a specialist teacher. She told me that I wasn’t bad at maths and that I’m not stupid. I was given ways to stop feeling frustrated and she showed me fun activities involving maths. I still struggle with some areas of maths but I don’t give up. To children who are experiencing maths anxiety now, I’d say: don’t give up, ask for help and don’t let it affect your other subjects. Elsie, aged 13 Inspired by Elsie’s story, Roundtable attendees shared their tips and strategies to help prevent and treat maths anxiety in schools and colleges. #PowerofMaths 8 3 Maths anxiety: solutions at the chalkface Within schools and colleges, teachers and leaders are vital to preventing, tackling and treating maths anxiety. They can help identify students who are suffering from maths anxiety and ensure tools and approaches are in place to help. Building on 60 years of research into the area, there’s still much more we can do to improve our approaches to maths anxiety in schools and colleges. So how can we do this? Roundtable attendees highlighted three key areas in their search for solutions… #PowerofMaths 9 3 Understanding and identifying maths anxiety Training and CPD Roundtable attendees highlighted the importance of more training and CPD in Recommendation helping teachers and leaders understand and identify maths anxiety. Every opportunity to raise awareness of the issue can make a difference – be it Recommendation running focused CPD with staff drawing on the likes of the Initial Teacher Training in Cambridge Espresso research the UK, as well as in-school digests on maths anxiety, or training, should include putting the definition of maths exploring maths anxiety. anxiety on a board in the staffroom. Recommendation Support Early Years professionals to develop ‘maths talk’ by introducing mathematical concepts and language in a way that young children already understand, such as through discussing ‘sharing’ and ‘fairness’. This was considered an important starting point in helping to normalise maths and help prevent future anxiety.