Abstract:

Maths Anxiety can be described as “an emotion that blocks a person’s reasoning ability when confronted with a mathematical situation” [Spicer 2004], in an extreme form, “when confronted with a math problem, the sufferer has sweaty palms, is nauseous, has heart palpitations, and experiences paralysis of thought” [Krantz 1999]. Unsurprisingly, students with maths anxiety who are required to study mathematics, often to support a related discipline, frequently react with avoidance techniques such as delaying study or not studying regularly and this puts them at high risk of failure. Whilst maths anxiety has been recognised by academics for over half a century, little work has been done within the Open University (OU) to establish its extent within our population of mainly mature adult learners, how it may be affected by distance learning and what techniques can be used to mitigate its effects in this context.

To investigate this issue we have undertaken a large quantitative study across core OU introductory modules in STEM that have varying levels of engagement with mathematical content. Using the recognised Maths Anxiety [Betz 1978] and Maths Resilience [Kooken et al 2013] scales augmented with additional questions to investigate factors specific to distance learning we measured the extent of the problem. Qualitative data has been gained through in-depth semi-structured interviews which further investigate specific issues and explore how these might be addressed and supported. The interviews included questions about previous experiences with learning mathematics, attitudes towards mathematics, and any teaching methods or personal strategies that have been particularly helpful or unhelpful.

Initial findings suggest 44% of students who responded are visibly anxious, with 26% of these students believing that studying at a distance will increase their anxiety and a further 28% undecided on whether it will have an effect. The survey results reveal clear differences in levels of maths anxiety between students studying in different disciplines, along with some interesting, though less pronounced, variations in different aspects of maths resilience. The data is further analysed by student characteristics such as age, disability, ethnicity and gender to see what conclusions can be drawn.

Our presentation will cover the key results obtained from the surveys, insights gained from the interviews and initial plans for supporting students with anxiety.

References:
[1] Betz, Nancy E. (1978). Prevalence, distribution, and correlates of math anxiety in college students. Journal of Counseling Psychology, Vol 25(5), 441-448. doi: 10.1037/0022-0167.25.5.441
[2] Krantz, S.G. (1999). How To Teach Mathematics. Providence: American Mathematical Society
[3] Kooken, J., Welsh, M., McCoach, D., Johnston-Wilder, S., Lee, C. (2013). Measuring Mathematical Resilience: An application of the construct of resilience to the study of mathematics . Paper presented at national conference of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco.
[4] CA. Spicer, J. (2004). Resources to combat math anxiety. Eisenhower National Clearinghouse Focus 12(12).

Keywords:

Maths Anxiety, Maths Resilience, HE STEM, Distance Learning, Mature Students, Supporting Students.