Mathematical trauma can manifest itself in many forms, from anxiety and dread to a debilitating fear of making mistakes. This fear can limit people's access to life's paths, including school and career options. But why do people develop negative associations with mathematics?Research conducted by Sian Beilock and his team at the University of Chicago has shown that math anxiety isn't simply due to being bad at math. Factors such as gender, race, language, or socioeconomic status can play a role in how students are positioned as “good at math”.
For example, Ebony McGee, an educational researcher at Vanderbilt University, has studied the fragile and strong mathematical identities that black engineering and mathematics students developed in response to negative stereotypes about their ability to learn and do mathematics. For those with a math phobia, the anticipation of mathematical work activates pain centers in the brain. This can include someone who is told they are “not good at math”, who gets scared by timed math tests, or who gets stuck in a math topic and has trouble getting through it. Young children tend to identify with adults of the same sex, so girls are more susceptible to infecting math anxiety from their teachers. Beilock's research also suggests that having a teacher with an anxiety about mathematics makes girls more likely to believe in gender stereotypes about mathematics, leading to worse results. People who have difficulty completing a timed math test often experience fear, reducing their working memory. Experts are studying steps that can be taken to address math anxiety at different points in life.
A systematic review of factors related to the poor academic performance of disadvantaged students in science and mathematics in schools has been conducted. A mathematics curriculum focusing on real-life problems would still expose students to the abstract tools of mathematics, especially to the manipulation of unknown quantities. John Hamman, professor of mathematics, says his course explores the source of anxiety and teaches coping strategies. In fact, math anxiety is actually something that has potential mental health consequences in the future. As Sol Garfunkel has pointed out, different sets of math skills are useful for different careers, and math education needs to reflect that. Many students are truly terrified of mathematics due to a culture that constantly tries to convince us that mathematics is difficult or useless.
Therefore, it is important for parents to be aware of their own anxieties when helping children with math homework.
