In front of a whiteboard full of math equations, freshman Zoe Schemmel casts a troubled look. Research has shown a significant portion of the student population struggles with math anxiety. "My brain is just naturally on the more creative side and logical stuff sometimes stresses me out," Schemmel said. Photo by Sam Anderson
Story By Zoie Carlile
Under the weight of her expectations, freshman Zoe Schemmel was drowning.
Her eighth grade year started off fine at first with As on her Algebra I tests. Then, Schemmel got a 70. Her mother confiscated her technology to keep her concentrated on studying. No phone. No computer.
Schemmel was striving for perfection. It wasn’t working. The low math grades piled up, and her confidence plummeted.
“I think to myself, ‘There's no way you're gonna get back up,’” she said. “You just can't. You're already down.”
Schemmel considers herself more of a creative thinker. Art and writing are her forte. Math and logical problem solving skills don’t come naturally to her. She usually finds it hard to focus during tests, and the stress doesn’t help.
“When I drift off, I don't really come back very well,” she said “I'll be thinking to myself, ‘I need to really focus on this,’ but then it just doesn't happen.”
The period would come to a close, and she still wouldn’t be done. She regularly submitted her quizzes late.
“I was really stressed and anxious, and my parents were really upset with me,” she said. “It was just not a good time.”
Schemmel’s experience is not unique. Anxiety about math is common among students.
“In one recent paper, it was found that approximately a quarter to a third of students actually have math anxiety to some degree,” said Nathan T.T. Lau, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Western Ontario.
People with math anxiety often feel a sense of dread or apprehension when facing anything math related, including problem solving and number calculations.
Lau is an author of a study on math anxiety and said that though math anxiety can negatively affect classroom performance, the relationship between poor math performance and math anxiety is limited.
The causes for math anxiety are still being researched, but the root of the problem can depend on a variety of different factors.
“There are instances where people are saying there [were] some inciting incidents that sort of [caused them] to have math anxiety,” he said. “For example, a very bad math teacher or [certain] experiences with peers.”
Math anxiety can be linked to two types of antecedents, or causes: personal antecedents and environmental antecedents, according to a paper by the Institute for Educational Sciences and Educational Research called “Spotlight on Math Anxiety.”
Personal antecedents can be someone’s prior knowledge, gender or personality, which could influence their perspective on math. Environmental antecedents refer to outside influence from teachers and parents.
Teachers may reinforce the idea that math ability is determined at birth and foster negative mindsets towards math with their own attitudes in the classroom.
The study demonstrated that this is most clearly seen in elementary schools, as female elementary school teachers can influence the achievement and beliefs that girls maintain about their mathematical abilities.
A different study by the University of Chicago Department of Psychology and Committee on Education revealed that when people with math anxiety themselves become elementary school teachers, these feelings can be passed down to their students. Given that 90% of elementary school teachers are female, according to the study, this becomes problematic in terms of the impact of math-anxious elementary teachers on young girls, especially.
In the study, at the beginning of a school year, there was no correlation between the teacher’s math anxiety and her students' achievement. However at the end of the year, the more anxious the teacher was, the more likely it was that girls in class would accept the "boys are good at math, and girls are good at reading" stereotype, lowering female math achievement.
On the other hand, teachers can also create a positive influence by using self assuring feedback, teaching self motivation and emphasizing the importance of making mistakes in learning.
Lau suggested that parents could be an outside influence in the development of math anxiety depending on factors such as the extent to which they emphasize math education.
"Usually when I have tests, even when I study for math, I still get confused."
Sophomore Jordyn Furstein believes the root of her struggle with math is that she’s simply not suited to the subject.
“I'm more of an English or history person, so math just goes in one ear and out the other,” Furstein said.
Furstein finds the concepts in her math classes difficult to grasp.
“Usually when I have tests, even when I study for math, I still get confused.” she said. “While I'm taking them, I just don’t want to be [there]. I would rather be anywhere else.”
In her math class, junior Noa Nonnemacher experiences a similar feeling of dread and frustration though it’s for different reasons.
“When I feel unprepared, or I haven't had my questions answered, then I just don't want to go,” Nonnemacher said. “I'll get really nervous about going to class because I already know that I'm kind of going to fail.”
Nonnemacher finds that the precise nature of math contributes to her anxiety in class.
“In other classes, a lot of things are more open to interpretation,” Nonnemacher said. “In math, you have to be almost exactly right, or you're not going to do well. So it can be really stressful, especially as a junior when you're thinking about colleges.”
Though she praised her current math teacher for giving students individual attention, Nonnenmacher felt that in the past, her needs weren’t met.
“It wasn't that I was bad at [math], or that I am bad at it,” she said. “I just feel like there's not enough attention put on what students' individual learning needs are.”
However, Algebra II teacher Scott Fortier said that as a high school math teacher, he feels that he and his colleagues try their hardest to build confidence in students that may have been shattered long before they got to high school.
“I want to build confidence and supplement those skills to close gaps so that you can get it again,” Fortier said.
Fortier has been teaching math for seven years, and he loves how it gives him the opportunity to guide students and help them learn to love the subject.
One obstacle for his students are the gaps in their math knowledge that prevent them from going forward.
"You may feel anxious towards doing mathematics, but it doesn't mean you can't excel in math."
“In grade school, you develop certain skills, and you learn about certain concepts,” he said. “Someone will say, ‘I hate fractions, or I don't understand fractions,’ and you should have understood fractions in elementary school.”
He also sees students’ mindsets as another roadblock to math success.
“It’s sort of like a self fulfilling prophecy type of thing,” Fortier said. “If you think you're going to be bad at something, then you're probably going to be bad at something. Going in with that attitude of dread and anxiety will certainly kind of set you up for failure.”
Although research on the specific methods that lessen the effects of math anxiety is ongoing, steps can be taken to encourage a more positive mindset towards learning math.
“There are some papers that said parents can help children prepare for school work,” Lau said. “For example, hire a tutor or somehow help them feel like they're prepared for the courses that they're taking.”
Fortier believes that students need to trust and rely on their teachers to help them understand unclear concepts and get rid of negativity surrounding math.
“You can have that lightbulb moment,” Fortier said. “And then confidence, positivity and optimism sort of return.”
Positivity has helped Schemmel improve her math experience in high school. By telling herself it’s possible to improve her grades, she has.
“It hasn't been fixed all the way, but I'm feeling a little bit more motivated this year,” she said.
“In grade school, you develop certain skills, and you learn about certain concepts,” he said. “Someone will say, ‘I hate fractions, or I don't understand fractions,’ and you should have understood fractions in elementary school.”
He also sees students’ mindsets as another roadblock to math success.
“It’s sort of like a self fulfilling prophecy type of thing,” Fortier said. “If you think you're going to be bad at something, then you're probably going to be bad at something. Going in with that attitude of dread and anxiety will certainly kind of set you up for failure.”
Although research on the specific methods that lessen the effects of math anxiety is ongoing, steps can be taken to encourage a more positive mindset towards learning math.
“There are some papers that said parents can help children prepare for school work,” Lau said. “For example, hire a tutor or somehow help them feel like they're prepared for the courses that they're taking.”
Fortier believes that students need to trust and rely on their teachers to help them understand unclear concepts and get rid of negativity surrounding math.
“You can have that lightbulb moment,” Fortier said. “And then confidence, positivity and optimism sort of return.”
Positivity has helped Schemmel improve her math experience in high school. By telling herself it’s possible to improve her grades, she has.
“It hasn't been fixed all the way, but I'm feeling a little bit more motivated this year,” she said.
Lau echoed Schemmel’s sentiments.
“You may feel anxious toward doing mathematics,” he said. “But it doesn't mean you can't excel in math.”