“Math anxiety has become an alarming social justice concern, as it results in negative academic consequences, contributes to disinterest and lack of persistence in STEM programs for underrepresented students, and limits their opportunities in STEM careers.”
- Tashana S. Samuel, Sebastien Buttet, and Jared Warner, “‘I Can Math, too!’: Reducing Math Anxiety in STEM-related Courses” in Community College Journal of Research and Practice
Guttman Community College Assistant Professor Tashana S. Samuel’s article “‘I Can Math, too!’: Reducing Math Anxiety in STEM-related Courses” was published online in the Community College Journal of Research and Practice on March 28, 2022. Professor Samuel, along with her co-authors, Sebastien Buttet and Jared Warner, note that “math anxiety has become an alarming social justice concern, as it results in negative academic consequences, contributes to disinterest and lack of persistence in STEM programs for underrepresented students, and limits their opportunities in STEM careers.”
Professor Samuel and her co-authors set out to investigate whether or not psychological intervention, specifically a combined mindfulness and growth mindset intervention (MAGMA), in the classroom has the potential to reduce math anxiety. Preliminary research suggest that (MAGMA), “designed to address both anticipation and execution anxiety, was effective in reducing math anxiety in students in a semester-long statistics course.” Findings indicate “that overall, students’ self-perceived math anxiety decreased significantly compared to their control counterparts. Furthermore, considerable anxiety reduction was found for female students.”
“‘I Can Math, too!’: Reducing Math Anxiety in STEM-related Courses” thus offers evidence to support the efficacy of MAGMA intervention in the classroom on behalf of alleviating math anxiety. Results of this exciting research have crucial implications for equitability and access, whereby all students are offered the support necessary in order to feel confident and excel in the classroom. As a cost-efficient approach to reducing math anxiety, MAGMA holds great potential for promoting “mathematical resilience in community college students as they take STEM-related courses.”
Read “‘I Can Math, too!’: Reducing Math Anxiety in STEM-related Courses” in full.
