Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Math anxiety'

The subjects of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) have grown in importance because they are fundamental to the future quality of life and the ability to compete in today’s global society. The demand for STEM careers is increasing; however, the United States is having difficulty meeting this demand. Society needs students who can research and think critically, so they can be proficient in STEM education and become the next generation of mathematicians, scientists, technologists, and engineers. Mathematical proficiency is of particular concern because while it is required for STEM education success, individuals find it challenging.

Both adults and children have apprehension about mathematics, and their negative attitudes toward math develop a barrier to STEM education and careers. This negative math phobia, or math anxiety, causes a decrease in math achievement. This study explored the perceptions of elementary teachers in establishing a classroom environment free of math anxiety. Specifically, this study focused on best practices that teachers incorporate in order to reduce math anxiety.

The purpose of the study was to (a) determine the strategies and practices teachers employ to reduce math anxiety, (b) determine the challenges teachers face in reducing math anxiety, (c) determine how teachers measure the success of their practices in reducing math anxiety, and (d) determine the recommendations teachers would make for future implementation of strategies in reducing math anxiety.

Non-math majors enrolled in lower-division math courses at an urban university were surveyed on their math attitudes, coping behaviors, and math anxiety (MATHANX). The Revised Ways of Coping Checklist (RWCC), Revised Math Anxiety Rating Scale, and other questions were presented to 30 men and 32 women. Hierarchical regressions showed that after controlling for attitudinal covariates, emotion-focused coping behaviors (EMOTFOC) were strongly associated with MATHANX (F(5,54)=18.66, 12 < .0001), but problem-focused coping behaviors (PROBFOC) were not. The RWCC subscale most highly correlated with MATHANX was Wishful Thinking (r = .70, p < .0001). Ss were then dichotomized on PROBFOC and EMOTFOC, providing four behavioral groups. An ANCOVA controlling for attitudinal covariates showed behavioral group membership significant with respect to MATHANX (F(3,58)=6.07, p < .001), and an ANOVA revealed that students who reported high EMOTFOC coupled with low PROBFOC experienced the greatest MATHANX (,E(3,58) = 12.66, p < .0001). Males and females reported virtually identical MATHANX (M=36.30 for males, 36.44 for females), and the only significant gender difference was for avoidance coping, which was used more by males (F(1,60) = 5.43, p < .03]. Results from this study suggest that fewer gender differences may exist in MATHANX and coping than have been found in the past. Additionally, this study identifies the need for future research to determine whether EMOTFOC is the behavioral component, or one of the determinants, of math anxiety.

Thesis (M.S.)--Georgia Southern University, 2009.
"A thesis submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Georgia Southern University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Science." Directed by Lawrence Locker, Jr. ETD. Includes bibliographical references (p. 51-57) and appendices.

ABSTRACT This study?s purpose was to determine whether instruction in growth math mindset led to change in perceptions of 18-22-year-old at-risk students in math mindset, math anxiety, and view of math. The experimental curriculum was created by the researcher with the guidance of experts in mathematics and education and focused on the impact of brain growth and learning supported by positive math mindset. Young adult public charter high school at-risk students were surveyed before and after completion of the experimental intervention to measure their perceptions in the domains of Math Mindset, Math Anxiety, and View of Math. The results revealed significant differences in the treatment group?s pre-to post-test perceptions in all three math domains (p < .001) Comparison between the experimental and control groups were conducted, revealing significant differences between the two group in all three domains of math. These results point to the effectiveness of the experimental curriculum and instructional techniques to positively impact students? perceptions of Math Mindset, reduction of Math Anxiety, and improvement in View of Math. Keywords: [mindset, mathematics, math anxiety, view of math, math curriculum, education, at-risk]

Research indicates that many students have difficulty with mathematics, which can be attributed to many factors including math anxiety. Students who experience math anxiety have poor attitudes towards mathematics and perform below grade level based on class and statewide assessments. The purpose of this quasi-experimental quantitative study was to investigate the effectiveness of cooperative groups on the math anxiety levels of Grade 5 male and female students. The theoretical foundation of the study included Vygotsky's social learning and Piaget's concept of knowledge. Thirty-two students from 2 Grade 5 classrooms were administered the pre and post MASC inventory. A repeated-measure ANOVA was used to compare the overall mean difference for each group. Key results revealed that students in the treatment group (cooperative grouping) had less math anxiety after 9 weeks than students involved in the control group (noncooperative grouping). Females in the treatment group had lower math anxiety scores than the females in the control group, while males in the treatment group showed no change in math anxiety levels when compared to males in the control group. A conclusion from this study suggests that cooperative grouping, especially for females, may have a positive impact on students' attitudes and overall mathematics performance. It is recommended that administrators schedule professional development on cooperative grouping to implement successful cooperative learning in the classroom. Positive social change could be realized by teachers incorporating strategies in lessons that promote a positive learning environment as well as support learning and academic achievement.

Den här studien utgår från livsberättelser baserad på såväl narrativ teori som metod där fyra vuxna personer som säger sig ha upplevt matematikångest har blivit intervjuade. Syftet med studien är att identifiera specifika episoder i matematiksammanhang som kan kopplas till matematikångest men även känslor som är knutna till dessa episoder samt om det förekommer likheter mellan de olika intervjupersonernas upplevelser. Resultatet visar att det finns en rad gemensamma drag i livsberättelserna som till exempel liknande känslor men även situationer. Möjliga orsaker som beskrivs i litteraturbakgrunden återfinns även i intervjupersonernas livsberättelser. Det som främst framkommit är att läraren och arbetssättet har en betydande roll för hur eleven påverkas av matematiken i skolan men även hur detta har påverkat framtida livsval. Livsberättelser är en intressant metod eftersom man i rollen som intervjuare kommer intervjupersonen nära och berättelsen upplevs därmed som genuin och ärlig. Utifrån analysen av resultatet är det viktigt att läraren är medveten om att dennes arbetssätt och bemötande kan påverka elevens upplevelse av matematik såväl negativt som positivt. Blir upplevelsen för negativ kan den i värsta fall leda till att eleven utvecklar matematikångest.

Math anxiety (MA) is defined as an emotional reaction impairing the performance of people engaged in numbers and mathematics (Gunduz, 2015). Furthermore, MA is a “feeling of tension, apprehension, or fear that interferes with math performance” (Ashcraft, 2002). In particular, MA interferes with the individual’s performance on mathematics, manipulation of numbers, and problem-solving activity (Ingole & Pandya, 2015; Lai, Zhu, Chen, & Li, 2015). Students’ negative attitudes and perceptions, such as disliking math or feeling nervous and bored by it often lead to the experience of MA, which can foster poor mathematic achievements (Mullis, Martin, Foy, & Arora, 2012). Studies suggest that MA creates worries which influence the cognitive system responsible for the short-term storage and manipulation of information (Miyake & Shah, 1999). Indeed, MA might influence the math performance by overloading the working memory (Ashracft et al., 1998). Furthermore, studies found a positive correlation between MA and general anxiety with the Person’s coefficient about .35 (Wang et al., 2014), and an important link between math performance and self-efficacy (Bandura, 1997; Schunk & Pajares, 2009). The present research aimed to study the association between children’s MA, general anxiety, self-esteem, math attitudes, cognitive and executive functions and their relationship with math performance. The sample is composed of 134 students attending five elementary schools of the town of Trieste (Italy), and 79 students attending a public elementary school at the island of Krk (Croatia). The Italian research included two collective assessments and one one-hour individual assessment, whereas a Croatian research regarded a collective assessment of math attitudes and math performance. The results have shown that both MA and perceived math difficulty are negatively correlated with the math performance, whereas a math self-esteem and a self-perception of math ability are positively correlated with the scores on the math tests of calculation and reasoning. Furthermore, the performance on tasks of cognitive and executive functions was also positively correlated with the performance on math calculation, but not on math reasoning tasks. These findings were true just for the 5th graders, while the math performance of the 3rd graders did not correlate neither with the anxiety measures nor with the measures of cognitive and executive functions and math attitudes. Furthermore, boys showed to have more math gender stereotypes than girls, and with growing up the math attitudes tend to deteriorate. However, there were significant differences on both math performance and math attitudes in two different cultural settings of Italy and Croatia, such as the math attitudes being more positive in older students in Croatia. In summary, math anxiety and math attitudes showed to have an import impact on the math performance, but differences in two countries should be further investigated also on the larger sample size.
Math anxiety (MA) is defined as an emotional reaction impairing the performance of people engaged in numbers and mathematics (Gunduz, 2015). Furthermore, MA is a “feeling of tension, apprehension, or fear that interferes with math performance” (Ashcraft, 2002). In particular, MA interferes with the individual’s performance on mathematics, manipulation of numbers, and problem-solving activity (Ingole & Pandya, 2015; Lai, Zhu, Chen, & Li, 2015). Students’ negative attitudes and perceptions, such as disliking math or feeling nervous and bored by it often lead to the experience of MA, which can foster poor mathematic achievements (Mullis, Martin, Foy, & Arora, 2012). Studies suggest that MA creates worries which influence the cognitive system responsible for the short-term storage and manipulation of information (Miyake & Shah, 1999). Indeed, MA might influence the math performance by overloading the working memory (Ashracft et al., 1998). Furthermore, studies found a positive correlation between MA and general anxiety with the Person’s coefficient about .35 (Wang et al., 2014), and an important link between math performance and self-efficacy (Bandura, 1997; Schunk & Pajares, 2009). The present research aimed to study the association between children’s MA, general anxiety, self-esteem, math attitudes, cognitive and executive functions and their relationship with math performance. The sample is composed of 134 students attending five elementary schools of the town of Trieste (Italy), and 79 students attending a public elementary school at the island of Krk (Croatia). The Italian research included two collective assessments and one one-hour individual assessment, whereas a Croatian research regarded a collective assessment of math attitudes and math performance. The results have shown that both MA and perceived math difficulty are negatively correlated with the math performance, whereas a math self-esteem and a self-perception of math ability are positively correlated with the scores on the math tests of calculation and reasoning. Furthermore, the performance on tasks of cognitive and executive functions was also positively correlated with the performance on math calculation, but not on math reasoning tasks. These findings were true just for the 5th graders, while the math performance of the 3rd graders did not correlate neither with the anxiety measures nor with the measures of cognitive and executive functions and math attitudes. Furthermore, boys showed to have more math gender stereotypes than girls, and with growing up the math attitudes tend to deteriorate. However, there were significant differences on both math performance and math attitudes in two different cultural settings of Italy and Croatia, such as the math attitudes being more positive in older students in Croatia. In summary, math anxiety and math attitudes showed to have an import impact on the math performance, but differences in two countries should be further investigated also on the larger sample size.

Thesis (M.S.)--Central Connecticut State University, 1998.
Thesis advisor: Timothy V. Craine. "... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science [for the Department of Mathematics]". Includes bibliographical references (leaves 51-53).

Math anxiety is a greatly understudied construct in children. In adult and adolescent samples, research shows that a number of factors are related to math anxiety including negative self-perceptions and outcomes. It is unknown if these same factors are related to math anxiety in children. This study was conducted to identify factors related to math anxiety in second grade children. Using Bandura's (1989) theory of triadic reciprocity as a theoretical model, children (n=91) and their parents (n=81) completed a series of self-report measures on math anxiety, math self-concept, reading self-concept, math self-efficacy, and aspects of the home math environment. Results indicated that the strongest predictor of math anxiety in second grade children was their level of math self-concept. The addition of environmental factors did not significantly increase the amount variance explained in math anxiety. Furthermore, despite research with adults that shows strong gender differences in math anxiety, no gender differences in math anxiety were found in second grade children. The discussion focuses on possible explanations for these findings as well as directions for future research.
Department of Educational Psychology

This study sought to better understand the phenomenon of Math anxiety as experienced by female elementary school teachers, teaching grades 2-5. Using qualitative research methods to collect and analyze data, ten participants were recruited for open-ended interviews designed to collect data in the form of verbatim statements. The analysis of this data resulted in qualitative descriptions of the lived experience of Math anxiety by focusing on what Math anxiety is and how it precipitates. In addition, a description of the meaning and essence of Math anxiety was constructed. Results of this study include teachers' descriptions of factors they associate with Math anxiety including frequently changing Mathematics curriculums, student and parental issues, mandatory statewide online Mathematical assessments, teacher evaluations that require statewide student Mathematical assessment scores and parental input, and budgetary decisions adversely affecting students and faculty. Participants described time restrictions, painful past memories, feelings of Mathematical inadequacy, and Mathematics/gender issues. In addition, participants described how Math anxiety may decrease with humor, greater Mathematical experience, and/or by understanding Mathematics on deeper levels due to the newly adopted Common Core Mathematical Standards. Up until the completion of this dissertation, the researcher has not been able to locate any studies describing the lived experience of Math anxiety in female elementary school teachers. Through the voices of the teachers themselves, it is hoped that this novel approach may increase the understanding of Math anxiety for educators, parents, students, administrators, and researchers.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Illinois State University, 1998.
Title from title page screen, viewed July 10, 2006. Dissertation Committee: Jeffrey B. Hecht, Paul Baker (co-chairs), Patricia H. Klass, Graham Jones. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 148-154) and abstract. Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2000.
Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains v, 160 p. : ill. Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 64-80).

Den här studien syftar till att undersöka hur elevers matematikprestationer påverkas av eventuell prov- och / eller matematikångest, om det finns åtgärder som reducerar eventuellprov- och / eller matematikångest och om lärarens sätt att examinera har betydelse. För att besvara syftet söker studien svar på hur matematiklärare förstår prov- och / eller matematikångest, på vilket sätt de beskriver att de försöker hjälpa elever att reducera sådan ångest och om matematiklärare ser examinationsformen som faktor för utlösande av prov- och/ eller matematikångest. Resultaten visar att provångest är situationsbunden och utlöses i stressande situationer när personer tror att de befinner sig i en bedömningssituation. Det kan leda till sämre förmåga att koncentrera sig på uppgifterna. Det finns utöver detta risk att den utlösta provångesten triggarigång matematikångest, vilket i sin tur kan leda till ytterligare sämre förmåga att koncentrera sig på uppgifterna, försämrad prestation och dåliga provresultat. Matematikångest kan också utlösas på grund av social påverkan, dåligt självförtroende samt biologiska faktorer, den beror således inte enbart på provångest. För att reducera provångest krävs att lärare får kunskap om hanteringen av känslor som uppstår så att de kan hjälpa elevernaatt förstå och handskas med sina känslor. Åtgärder mot matematikångest handlar om att förebygga att elever hamnar efter i grundläggande kunskaper i matematik, alternativt reparera brister så fort de upptäcks och att undvika och bearbeta negativa associationer förknippat med matematik. Lärare som intervjuades i denna studie hade endast begränsad kunskap om provångest ochmatematikångest och om hur dessa kan reduceras eller förebyggas. Deras svar antydde dessutom att de inte hade kännedom om att det är två olika typer av ångest och att dessa behöver olika sätt för att reduceras eller åtgärdas. De använde inte variation av examinationsformer som ett medel för att hjälpa sina elever trots att de i princip var överens om att olika examinationsformer kan uppfattas som olika stressande och att alternativa examinationsformerskulle kunna reducera denna stress som leder till provångest och eventuellt vidare till utlösandet av matematikångest. Konsekvensen av detta är att elever inte får den hjälpen de behöver, eller att de får fel hjälp och att de därmed riskerar att misslyckas trots att det hade varit möjligt att lösa.

"Math anxiety is commonly defined as a feeling of tension, apprehension, or fear that interferes with math performance" (Ashcraft, 2002, p. 181). Symptoms of math anxiety are reported by 33% of students by the time they reach the age of 15, possibly contributing to this workforce dilemma (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2013). Many models and perspectives of math anxiety have been established including conceptualizing math anxiety as a function of working memory deficits, sociocultural conditioning, lack of reappraisal, and anxiety as a precursor to escape-maintained behavior. Math anxiety is more common in individuals with certain disabilities, such as developmental dyscalculia and deaf and hard of hearing. Hembree (1990) conducted a meta-analysis of research evaluating intervention effects on math anxiety and its moderators. They reported that cognitive-behavioral interventions were most effective at reducing math anxiety. While definitions of, models examining, and causes and co-occurrences of math anxiety are well examined in current literature, Hembree's (1990) meta- analysis remains the only such investigation for the past 30 years. The purpose of the present study is to conduct an updated meta-analysis based on previous research (Hembree, 1990) but focused on interventions in K-12 school settings. We identified 11 articles between the years of 1990-2020 that met our inclusion criteria. From those articles, we calculated an omnibus effect size, tested homogeneity, evaluated publication bias, explored moderating variables, and assessed methodological rigor. Our Q statistic indicated homogeneity; however, the forest plot and I2 indicated a small amount of heterogeneity. The asymmetric shape of the funnel plot may be indicative of publication bias. The omnibus effect size was g = 0.316. The results of our moderator analysis indicated that math anxiety interventions produce the best results when conducted in targeted small groups. Additionally, three studies were considered methodologically sound. Our findings support the use of school-based interventions to reduce math anxiety, especially when those interventions are implemented as a targeted, small group intervention.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2009.
Advisor: John Keller, Florida State University, College of Education, Dept. of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed on Oct. 13, 2009). Document formatted into pages; contains ix, 127 pages. Includes bibliographical references.

Syftet med denna studie är att bidra med ökad kunskap om matematikångest utifrån ett specialpedagogiskt perspektiv genom att intervjua speciallärare, specialpedagoger och lärare som alla arbetar inom det pedagogiska fältet där matematikångest uppträder. Studien är inspirerad av en kvalitativ ansats med intervjuer som datainsamlingsmetod. I resultatet framkommer en begreppsförvirring kring hur olika respondenterna förklarar begreppet matematikångest och vad de omfattar i dess beskrivning. Speciallärarna, specialpedagogerna och lärarna som medverkar i denna studie bidrar med erfarenheter kring de elever de har mött och på vilket sätt de har arbetat med det stöd och hjälpande insatser för att hindra eller förebygga att matematikångest uppstår. Viktiga faktorer som påtalas i vårt arbete är lärarens undervisning, lärmiljön och elevens individuella förutsättningar så som arbetsminnet och föräldrarnas attityd till ämnet. Forskningen lyfter framgångsrika metoder som kan minska matematikångest för de elever som redan utvecklat detta hinder. Sammanfattningsvis visar vår studie att de hinder som skapar matematikångest hos elever är komplext och vikten av att den specialpedagogiska kompetensen ökar på skolorna för att stödja men även förebygga matematikångest hos elever.

The purpose of this study is to identify and analyze the relationships that exist between mathematics anxiety and nurse self-efficacy for mathematics, and the medication calculation performance of acute care nurses. This research used a quantitative correlational research design and involved a sample of 84 acute care nurses, LVNs and RNs, from a suburban private hospital. the participants filled out a Mathematics Anxiety Scale, a Nurse Self-Efficacy for Mathematics Scale and also completed a 20-item medication calculation test. Significant practical and statistical relationships were discovered between the variables utilizing multiple linear regression statistics and commonality analysis. As the Nurse’s Mathematics anxiety score increased the scores on the medication test decreased and the scores on nurse self-efficacy for mathematics scale also decreased. the demographic item of “Hours a nurse worked in one week” had the greatest significance. the more hours a nurse worked the lower their score was on the medication calculation test. This study agrees with others that nurses are not good at mathematics. This study also correlated that as the number of hours worked increased so did the medication calculations errors. and many nurses have a measurable level of anxiety about mathematics and dosage calculations and this may influence calculation ability. Suggestions for further research include refinement of instruments used in study, further differentiation of barriers to successful medication calculation performance, and testing of interventions used to teach, train and evaluate accurate medication administration in nurses.

The purpose of this study was to further explore single case data related to the construct of math anxiety, as it applies to women. A triple mode analysis was used to identify critical variables and to establish patterns of synchrony, desynchrony and partial synchrony. A total of six women participated in two math tasks. While performing these two tasks, high threat and low threat, heart rate, self-reported anxiety and motoric performance were monitored. Data were collected before and after each specific task. Data were also collected at pre-selected points during the task performance. This continuous time series and interval data were utilized to provide clarification of the math anxiety construct, as it applies to women.Using visual inspection, there was not enough variance in the physical and motoric data to warrant a deferential determination of synchrony or desynchrony. The subjects responded differently than hypothesized. The heart rate measure varied only slightly over task and time. Self-reported anxiety, SUDS and STAI, was above average. The WAIS digit symbol results were sometimes opposite the hypotheses. Cognition, self-report and the standardized measure of state anxiety emerged as the dominant factors in assigning the construct of math anxiety. These are consistent with the findings of Hackett and Betz (1989) whose research theorized the existence of a model for math self-efficacy.
Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

Recently, there has been a big surge of research and public interest in increasing the math capabilities and skills of American children. This paper serves as a literature review examining how the home environment, specifically parents, can help with that. This meta-analysis delves into the factors of maternal math talk, a parent’s own math anxiety, and the relationship between a parent and child in the context of a parent’s gender stereotypes and a parent’s perception on his or her child’s math abilities. Interventions, suggestions, and future implications are also discussed. This paper will hopefully bring needed awareness to parents about their roles in their child’s math development, abilities, and achievement.

Thesis advisor: Marina Vasilyeva
This research explored the nature of gender differences in math performance across development. It examined potential mechanisms underlying gender differences by testing a mediation model in which females' higher anxiety taxes their working memory resources leading to underperformance on a mathematics test. Further, this research examined stereotype threat effects on math performance by testing whether female students presented with a scenario activating the stereotype would perform worse than females not exposed to the stereotype. Participants in Study 1 were 71 fourth, 107 eighth, and 147 twelfth grade students from high performing school districts. Students completed anxiety measures and a challenging mathematics test either in the stereotype threat condition or the no-threat condition. Results showed that there were consistent gender differences in math performance across all three grade levels; however, stereotype threat did not impact girls' math performance. Importantly, the relation between gender and math performance at the eighth and twelfth grade levels was mediated by the worry component of anxiety. This finding suggests that girls' heightened worry can explain their underperformance on a math test. In Study 2, the mediating relation observed in Study 1 was further explored by testing whether working memory mediated the relation between worry and math performance. Participants were 90 college students who were assigned to either the stereotype threat or no-threat condition. Students completed anxiety measures, two working memory tasks (verbal and visual), and a challenging math test. Again, findings showed a significant gender difference in math performance but no stereotype threat effects. Further, there was a mediating chain from gender to the worry component of anxiety to visual working memory to math performance. The results suggest that females' heightened worry taxes their working memory leading to gender differences in math performance. Both studies contribute to our understanding of affective and cognitive factors underlying gender differences in math performance. The findings of this research are discussed in terms of their implications for interventions and the future of women's participation in STEM careers
Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2011
Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education
Discipline: Counseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology

Syftet med denna studie har varit att införskaffa kunskap om förekomsten av math anxiety, ångestkänslor i förhållande till matematik, samt om det kan förebyggas. Fokus för studien har varit elever i grundskolans tidigare år samt lärarstudenter. För att undersöka detta har en litteraturstudie med systematisk metod genomförts, med syfte att ta reda på vad aktuell forskning säger om det utvalda området. Resultaten visar att ett flertal faktorer spelar in vad gäller lärarstudenters förhållande till matematikämnet, bland annat händelser i den egna skolgången och förhållandet till lärarna. Ångestkänslor relaterade till matematik hos lärarstudenterna kan förbyggas genom kurser i matematisk metod, arbete med laborativt material, feedback från lärare och goda lärarförebilder. Hos elever i grundskolan påverkas nivåerna av math anxiety till stor del av elevernas självbild, där lägre nivåer av math anxiety rapporterats hos elever med större självförtroende. Hos eleverna är arbetsminnet relaterat till math anxiety, och de elever som använder mer avancerade strategier och nyttjar mer arbetsminne i problemlösning drabbas i större utsträckning än andra elever. Även föräldrarnas attityd och tillgången till matematik i hemmet är faktorer som påverkar elevers math anxiety. Nivåerna av math anxiety hos grundskoleelever kan sänkas vid interaktiva inslag i problemlösningen, då eleverna får interagera med fysiska objekt relaterade till uppgifterna

Matematik

Graphics calculators have become an integral part of many introductory college mathematics courses. There has been little research to show the effects of introducing technology, along with an emphasis on the interrelationships of the numeric, symbolic, graphical, and verbal forms of functions, for courses that are traditionally considered pre-college mathematics. The major purpose of this study was to determine if changes in mathematics anxiety and attitudes occurred in Intermediate Algebra classes and to determine whether these changes were dependent on age, gender of student, and experience of instructor. The relationship between beginning levels of math anxiety and successful completion of the class were also examined.All sections of Intermediate Algebra taught at Grand Valley State University during the Winter semester of 1995 participated in the study. The first week of class, 479 students completed the initial survey. The final week of class, 264 of those students completed the survey again. In addition to gender and age of student, the survey instrumentcontained questions from seven of the Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitudes Scales. Each scale contained 12 questions, answered on a five point Likert type scale. High scores on the questionnaire indicated a positive attitude. Students in four sections were asked open ended questions every other week. At the end of the semester, instructors were given a questionnaire to determine their perceptions of how student's attitudes and anxieties changed.MANOVA for repeated measures using SPSS was used to perform the analyses with respect to age, gender, and teacher experience, over time. Faculty responses indicated they thought attitudes and levels of math anxiety improved over the semester. Although most groups did show some improvement, no significant change occurred. The only statistically significant differences detected were in math anxiety by gender and a combination of math anxiety and attitude by age. Females had higher levels of math anxiety (N = 166, initial M = 29.96, final M = 30.80) than males (N =.98, initial M = 33.87, final M = 34.79)and while older students appeared more math anxious, they also reflected a more positive attitude about mathematics.
Department of Educational Leadership

This PhD thesis comprises five studies aiming to investigate differences between low math- anxious (LMA) and high math-anxious (HMA) individuals in numeric processing by means of behavioral and event-related potential (ERPs) measures. The excellent temporal resolution of the ERP technique was expected to provide detailed information that would shed light about the difficulties HMA individuals face when they have to deal with numbers. The first study aimed to adapt into Spanish and validate the Shortened Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale (sMARS; Alexander & Martray, 1989) as a starting point of this thesis, in order to make sure that the construct of math anxiety (MA) was going to be assessed with an instrument providing valid and reliable measures. The adaptation into Spanish of the sMARS scale gave sound evidence of its good psychometric properties: strong internal consistency, high 7-week test-retest reliability and good convergent/discriminant validity. Study II aimed to investigate, with the ERP technique, the use of the plausibility strategy in math-anxious individuals by studying Faust et al. (1996)´s finding on flawed scores for dramatically incorrect solutions (large-split) in an arithmetic verification task. We were able to replicate, for the first time, those findings, by finding a greater percentage of flawed scores for large-split solutions for the HMA group as compared to the LMA one. Moreover, ERP analysis showed that large-split solutions generated a P600/P3b component of larger amplitude and delayed latency for the HMA group as compared to the LMA one. Given the functionality of this component, this finding suggested that large-split solutions demanded more cognitive resources and required more time to be processed for the HMA group than for the LMA one. These findings were interpreted according to the Attentional Control Theory (ACT; Eysenck, Derakshan, Santos, & Calvo, 2007): HMA individuals, being more influenced by the stimulus-driven attentional system, would have succumbed to the distractor nature of the large-split solution, devoting more time (P600/P3b latency) and cognitive resources (P600/P3b amplitude) to process this clearly wrong solution, instead of using the plausibility strategy. Study III consisted of finding the electrophysiological correlates of numeric interference in LMA and HMA individuals, by means of a numeric Stroop task. We found that HMA individuals needed more time to solve this task as compared to their LMA peers, suggesting that they were distracted by the task-irrelevant dimension of the stimuli (i.e. physical size of numbers). ERP data analysis showed that LMA and HMA individuals differed in the way they adapted to conflict: the LMA group presenting a greater N450 component for the interference effect preceded by congruence than when preceded by incongruity while the HMA group showed the same enhancement but for the subsequent Conflict sustained potential. These results suggested that both groups showed a different implementation of attentional control, which was executed in a proactive way by LMA individuals and in a reactive way by HMA ones. A reactive recruitment of attentional control in HMA individuals would have made them more influenced by bottom-up input (i.e. stimulus-driven attentional system), making them more vulnerable to distraction. The two remaining studies of this PhD thesis aimed to explore two possible factors contributing to the development of MA. Given that errors are crucial for mathematical learning, because of its cumulative nature, one concept building on the next, Study IV aimed to assess whether LMA and HMA individuals differed in the way they processed a numeric error as compared to a non- numeric one. We found that HMA individuals showed an increased error-related negativity (ERN) when they committed an error in the numeric Stroop task, but not in the classical Stroop task. Furthermore, standardized low resolution electromagnetic tomography (sLORETA) analysis showed significant greater voxel activation at the right insula for the errors committed in the numerical task as compared to the classical one for the HMA group and not differences at all for the LMA one. Given that the right insula has been associated with the discomfort with one´s own physiological responses and given that errors are considered to generate a cascade of physiological responses, this finding suggests that HMA individuals´ may have experienced a discomfort with the physiological responses generated by a numeric error. This negative bodily reaction towards numeric errors may be at the base of the development of negative attitudes towards mathematics and of the tendency of HMA individuals to avoid math-related situations. Finally, Study V aimed to investigate, by means of an emotional Stroop task, whether MA is characterized by an attentional bias towards math-related information, given that an attentional bias towards threatening information is considered to be a contributory factor in the origin and maintenance of several types of anxiety. This study showed that HMA individuals showed a clear tendency of responding slower to math-related words as compared to neutral words. Given that this slowdown in an emotional Stroop task has traditionally been interpreted as an attentional bias towards threatening or emotional stimuli, this study demonstrates that MA is also characterized by an attentional bias, in this case, towards math-related words, which could probably be at the base of its development and maintenance. To sum up, this PhD thesis has shown that MA is characterized by a vulnerability to distraction, which was shown when a large-split solution was presented for a simple addition task (Study II) and when physical size interfered with numerical magnitude in a numeric Stroop task (Study III). Moreover, HMA individuals also showed a reactive recruitment of attentional control after conflict detection (Study III), a greater sensitivity or emotional response to numeric errors (Study IV) and a clear tendency of an attentional bias towards math-related stimuli (Study V).
Esta tesis doctoral se compone de cinco estudios cuyo objetivo era investigar las diferencias en el procesamiento numérico entre individuos con alta ansiedad a las matemáticas (AAM) y aquellos con baja ansiedad a las matemáticas (BAM) a través de medidas conductuales y de potenciales evocados cerebrales (ERPs). Esperábamos que la excelente resolución temporal de esta técnica nos permitiera obtener información más específica sobre los problemas a los que se enfrentan los individuos con AAM cuando han de procesar números. El primer estudio pretendía adaptar al español y validar la escala sMARS (Alexander & Martray, 1989), como punto de partida de esta tesis, para asegurarnos de que el constructo de la ansiedad a las matemáticas (AM) fuera medido con un instrumento que nos proporcionara medidas válidas y fiables. La adaptación al español de esta escala dio evidencias de sus buenas propiedades psicométricas: alta consistencia interna, alta fiabilidad test-retest de 7 semanas, y alta validez convergente/discriminante. El Estudio II pretendía investigar, con la ayuda de los ERPs, el uso de la estrategia de plausibilidad en los individuos con AAM, estudiando el hallazgo de Faust et al. (1996) en su medida de puntuaciones anómalas (flawed scores) para las soluciones exageradamente incorrectas (large- split solutions). En primer lugar, reproducimos el patrón obtenido por dichos autores. Además, el análisis de ERPs mostró que las soluciones exageradamente incorrectas generaban un componente P600/P3b de mayor amplitud y de latencia más tardía para el grupo de AAM comparado con el de BAM. Dada la funcionalidad de este componente, estos resultados sugirieron que las soluciones exageradamente incorrectas demandaron más recursos cognitivos y requirieron más tiempo para ser procesadas en el grupo de AAM que en el de BAM. Estos resultados fueron interpretados de acuerdo a la Teoría del Control Atencional (ACT; Eysenck, Derakshan, Santos, & Calvo, 2007): los individuos con AAM, estando más influenciados por el sistema atencional ligado a estímulos (stimulus-driven attentional system), habrían sido más vulnerables a la distracción, y habrían sucumbido a la naturaleza distractora de las soluciones exageradamente incorrectas, empleando más recursos cognitivos y más tiempo (reflejado por la amplitud y la latencia del componente P600/P3b) para procesar esta solución implausible, en lugar de utilizar la estrategia de plausibilidad. Por otro lado, el Estudio III consistió en investigar el correlato electrofisiológico de la interferencia numérica en individuos con AAM, por medio de una tarea de Stroop numérico. En este estudio encontramos que los individuos con AAM necesitaban más tiempo para resolver la tarea que los individuos con BAM, sugiriendo que éstos se distraían con la dimensión irrelevante de la tarea (esto es, el tamaño físico). El análisis de ERPs demostró que los individuos con AAM y BAM presentaban una adaptación al conflicto diferente: el grupo de BAM mostró una mayor amplitud del componente N450 para la interferencia precedida por congruencia respecto a la precedida por incongruencia, mientras el grupo de AAM mostró dicho aumento de amplitud, pero para el componente CSP. Estos resultados sugirieron que los grupos implementaban el control atencional de un modo diferente: de una manera proactiva por el grupo de BAM y de una manera reactiva por el grupo de AAM. Un uso reactivo del control atencional en individuos con AAM los habría hecho más influenciables por el sistema atencional ligado a estímulos y, por tanto, más vulnerables a la distracción. Los dos estudios restantes de esta tesis doctoral pretendían explorar dos factores que podrían contribuir al desarrollo de la AM. Dado que los errores son cruciales para el aprendizaje de las matemáticas, el Estudio IV pretendía evaluar si los individuos con AAM y BAM diferirían en la manera en que procesan un error numérico respecto a otro no numérico. En este estudio encontramos que los individuos con AAM mostraron un componente ERN de mayor amplitud cuando cometían un error en la tarea numérica que cuando lo cometían en una tarea no numérica. Además el estudio con sLORETA mostró una mayor activación de la ínsula derecha para los errores cometidos en la tarea numérica respecto a la tarea no numérica, sólo para el grupo de AAM. Dado que la ínsula derecha se ha asociado al desagrado con las respuestas fisiológicas y dado que se considera que los errores generan una cascada de dichas respuestas, este hallazgo fue interpretado como indicador del malestar que los individuos con AAM habrían experimentado respecto a su respuesta fisiológica ante errores numéricos. Esta reacción corporal negativa hacia errores numéricos podría estar en la base del desarrollo de actitudes negativas hacia las matemáticas y de la tendencia de los individuos con AAM a evitar situaciones con contenido numérico. Finalmente, el Estudio V pretendía estudiar si la ansiedad a las matemáticas podría desarrollarse a través de los mismos mecanismos por los que se ha sugerido que se desarrollarían otros tipos de ansiedad investigando, por medio de la tarea de Stroop emocional, si la AM se caracteriza por un sesgo atencional hacia información relacionada con las matemáticas. Este estudio mostró que los individuos con AAM eran más lentos en indicar el color de la tinta de palabras relacionadas con las matemáticas comparado con palabras neutras, mientras que no hubo diferencias en este sentido para el grupo de BAM. Dado que este enlentecimiento en los tiempos de respuesta en la tarea de Stroop emocional se interpreta como un sesgo atencional hacia información emocional u amenazante, este estudio demuestra que la ansiedad a las matemáticas también se caracteriza por un sesgo atencional, que podría jugar algún papel en su desarrollo, mantenimiento o empeoramiento. Para resumir, esta tesis doctoral ha mostrado que la AM se caracteriza por una vulnerabilidad a la distracción, la cual se mostró cuando se presentó una solución exageradamente incorrecta para una tarea de sumas simples (Estudio II) y cuando el tamaño físico interfería con la magnitud numérica en una tarea de Stroop numérico (Estudio III). Además, los individuos con AAM también mostraron un uso reactivo del control atencional tras la detección del conflicto (Estudio III), mayor sensibilidad o respuesta emocional al error (Estudio IV) y un sesgo atencional hacia palabras relacionadas con las matemáticas (Estudio V).

American students no longer lead the world in quantitative skills. This decline in mathematical ability has potentially significant negative national and personal consequences. Math anxiety, low self-efficacy in relation to math, and a sense of hopelessness about math are all possible barriers to being successful in learning and using math, not only in school but ultimately in many aspects of adult life. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between hope, expectation, math anxiety (positive and negative affect related components), and students’ final course scores in College Algebra within the context of an instructional strategy intended to improve student achievement and reduce math anxiety. Data were collected from 214 College Algebra students in 12 different classrooms, taught by five instructors using this strategy. These data were analyzed using multilevel modeling. Within the context of the study, the scores students hoped to earn and pre-course negative affect related math anxiety subscores did not significantly influence their final course scores. However, the scores students expected to earn and positive affect related math anxiety subscores did impact final course scores. Scores students hoped to earn at the beginning of the course were significantly related to total math anxiety as well as positive and negative affect related math anxiety subscores at the end of the course. Classroom average attitudes, including averages of scores students hoped to earn, scores students expected to earn, and math anxiety scores were significantly related to post-course positive and negative affect related math anxiety subscores and total post-course math anxiety. The number of students indicating that they enjoyed math and would like to take more math classes in the future was higher at the end of the course than at the beginning. Fewer students disagreed with every negative affect related item on the instrument at the end of the course than did at the beginning, indicating improving affect. Instructional strategies similar to the one used in this study may provide a rich context for supporting student achievement and improving attitudes towards math in College Algebra. The results of this study may help inform the work of practitioners through improved understanding of the impact and interactions of hope, expectation, math anxiety, classroom attitudes, and achievement.

Project Independence (PI) is a community college immersion program dedicated to assisting women returning to college. The focus of this study and associated summative evaluation was to understand how the PI program addresses anxiety and other learning deficiencies associated with math. Knowle's andragogical models portray adults as motivated and self-directed, and the American college campus fosters a culture of independence. This culture is foreign to many minority, first-generation, and working class adults who learn through interdependence. This qualitative instrumental case study and evaluation is the first to examine the efficacy of PI. The guiding questions of this study concern early math learning experiences, PI interventions on study, coping and math-learning skills, and how participants utilize these skills in subsequent math classes. Three faculty members and 8 graduates of the program who had completed at least 2 math classes participated in individual interviews. Inductive analysis of these interviews showed the cohort and long term counseling as pivotal to developing a sense of belonging, self-esteem, and an attitude of self-worth. With cohort support, students learn to find campus resources, explore career options, and overcome personal obstacles to their education. Improved math learning for adult minority and first generation students has diverse implications for social change. Math education is requisite for many technical degrees and certificates. Enabling math learning expands options that transcend gender, cultural, and socioeconomic barriers. The cohort experience and culture of interdependence should be expanded to college preparation programs for men, as well as mainstream community college math preparation interventions.

Research suggests that student success in mathematics is positively correlated to math self-efficacy and negatively correlated to math anxiety. At a Hispanic serving community college in the Midwest, developmental math students had a lower pass rate than did college-level math students, but the role of math self-efficacy and math anxiety on these students' learning was unknown. This causal comparative, correlational study, guided by social cognitive theory and math anxiety research, hypothesized that students in developmental math would have lower levels of math self-efficacy and higher levels of math anxiety, and that significant correlations would exist between course level, self-efficacy, and anxiety. All math students at this setting (N = 1,019) were contacted to complete the self-report Mathematics Self-Efficacy and Anxiety Questionnaire; 32 developmental math and 103 college-level math students returned the survey. A random sample of 32 college-level students was selected to create equal group sizes for the data analyses. Independent samples t-tests revealed no significant differences in self-efficacy and anxiety between the groups. Significant correlations were found for course level, self-efficacy, and anxiety. Lower course level math students reported on average significantly lower levels of self-efficacy and significantly higher levels of anxiety than did upper course level students. A professional development program was created to educate faculty about math self-efficacy and math anxiety and to implement strategies that may increase math self-efficacy and decrease math anxiety over time. This doctoral study has the potential to create social change by offering educators new insight into the role of math self-efficacy and math anxiety in student learning.

CITE/Mathematics and Science Education
Ed.D.
The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of training in self-regulated learning strategies on math anxiety and mathematics achievement among preservice teachers. The self-regulated learning strategies examined included personal time management, how to read your mathematics textbook for understanding, organizational skills, mathematics test taking and preparation, and the use of estimation in solving mathematics problems. Preservice elementary teachers with these improved learning skills may in turn become more successful teachers of mathematics. The effect of training in self-regulated learning as a treatment for math anxiety is not well established. However, self-regulated learning has been associated with improved mathematics and science problem solving (De Corte, Verschaffel, & Op't Eynde, 2000; Taylor & Corrigan, 2005; Zan, 2000). Increased use of self-regulated learning strategies has also been associated with a reduction in test anxiety (Hofer & Yu, 2003; Pintrich, 2000; Zeidner, 1998). Therefore, training in self-regulated learning strategies has the potential to reduce math anxiety among preservice elementary teachers. Elementary education majors in a course in mathematics concepts were given training in self-regulated learning strategies. A control group of similar students received the same classroom instruction by the same college professor. The professor did not participate in the training sessions that were led by this researcher. Both treatment and control groups were given pretests and posttests: the Abbreviated Mathematics Anxiety Scale - to measure math anxiety, the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire - to measure use of self-regulated learning strategies, and a Mathematics Achievement Test - to measure changes in content knowledge. The analyses used t-tests and correlations to compare the participants' pretest and posttest scores on the three scales. The use of self-regulated learning strategies was not shown to reduce math anxiety or improve achievement among the elementary education majors in this study. This result may have been due to various limitations, such as insufficient time for applying and following up on the training and an inability to fully embed the training into the course content. Future research should investigate if, given the proper conditions, self-regulated learning strategies will reduce math anxiety and improve the learning of mathematics concepts, leading to more effective mathematics teaching in the elementary classrooms.
Temple University--Theses