Math Anxiety in NYC
By Rafeek Khan IS 126Q
Your friend walks up to you and says “I studied all night for the math test that we are having today, but now my mind is completely blank. What should I do?” This feeling of hopelessness that your friend is experiencing is called “math anxiety” and if not managed properly will result in lack of success in a math classroom. Mathematics anxiety refers to feelings of tension that interfere with the manipulation of numbers and the solving of mathematical problems. It has affected all of us at some point in our lives and is one of the main reasons that Middle School students drop out of school. With the new common core curriculum and its disastrous implementation, math anxiety is at an all time high among students, teachers and parents.
Ø Your job as a group is to create a power-point presentation that will define “math anxiety”.
Ø Give a few examples to support this definition.
Ø Find out the causes math anxiety.
Ø Come up with a solution (using the PPA process) on how to manage and overcome “math anxiety”.
Ø Respond to questions from your classmates.
Ø The class will be divided into groups of 4 members. Each group will give a power-point presentation (using the six steps to Public Policy Analyst (PPA) as a guide) on their finding.
Ø After their presentation each group will become a panel that will respond to questions from their fellow classmates
Ø The entire group will be responsible for working as a cohesive unit, however each group member will be assigned specific responsibilities. These are:
Ø Project Manage (PM): This person is responsible for the overall presentation. He or she will be responsible for the editing of anything written and the presentation itself. The PM is responsible for the group meeting all deadlines.
Ø Research Coordinator (RC): This person is responsible for collecting the information from each group member and keeping it organized.
Ø Technology Coordinator (TC): This person takes the lead role in creating the presentation with input from team members.
Ø Presenters (P): This person or persons will give the presentation.
Ø Go to step 2 of the PPA to gather the evidence of the problem of math anxiety.
Ø Use worksheet #2 to complete this step.
Ø Websites to visit:
· Have you ever heard of math anxiety
Ø Go to step 3 of the PPA to identify the causes of math anxiety.
Ø Use worksheet #3 to complete this step.
Ø Websites to visit:
· The Causes and Prevention of Math Anxiety
· Symptoms and Causes of Math Anxiety
Ø Go to step 4 of the PPA to examine the existing policy of math anxiety.
Ø Use worksheet #4 to complete this step.
Ø Websites to visit:
Ø Go to step 5 of the PPA to develop solutions of math anxiety.
Ø Use worksheet #5 to complete this step.
Ø Websites to visit:
· The Causes and Prevention of Math Anxiety
Ø Go to step 6 of the PPA to select the best solution for math anxiety.
Ø Use worksheet #6 to complete this step.
Ø Websites to visit:
· The Causes and Prevention of Math Anxiety
You will be evaluated on the quality of your Power Point slide show, your oral presentation as well as your response to questions. Creativity and originality is the difference between a 3 and 4 in the grading process! Use color and graphics and be sure the slides are clear and font size large enough to be read by audience. I will be using the rubric below to evaluate your presentation.
Performance |
Excellent 5 |
Good 4 |
Satisfactory 3 |
Needs Improvement 2 |
|
Completion of Worksheets |
Group fully understand the social problem, its causes and public policy that arose from it, and fully completes worksheets |
Group demonstrates a good understanding of social problem, causes, and public policy. Completion of worksheets |
Group demonstrates a satisfactory understanding of social problem, causes, and public policy. Substantially completes worksheets. |
Group demonstrates a minimal understanding of social problem, causes, and public policy. Failure to complete worksheets |
|
Completion of Power Point Presentation |
Full completion of 6 power point slides with pictures, graphics and meaningful text |
Professional looking power point presentation, with 6 slides, plus some pictures, graphics, and meaningful text |
Completed power point presentation with some pictures, graphics and meaningful text. |
Partially completed power point presentation. Absence of sufficient pictures, graphics, and text. |
|
Oral Presentation (power point)
|
Full presentation of power point slides. Each group member presents one or more slides. |
Good presentation of power point slides. Two out of 4 group members present slides. |
Satisfactory presentation of power point slides. 1 of 4 group members present slides. |
Unsatisfactory presentation of power point slides. 1 of 4 group members present slides. |
|
Organization |
Group worked cohesively on all projects and handed in signed group summary. |
Group worked together on most projects and handed in signed group summary. |
Group worked together on most projects but failed to hand in group summary. |
Group did not work as a cohesive unit. |
|
Panel Response |
Group responded accurately and promptly to questions. Group worked as a cohesive unit in responding to questions. |
Group responses demonstrated some understanding of the topic and were mostly accurate. |
Group responses demonstrated limited understanding of the topic and were somewhat accurate. |
Group did not work as a cohesive unit and provided erroneous information |
A= 25-21 B= 20-16 C= 15-11 F= 10
Math anxiety affects us all at one point or another. By completing this webquest you have learned about the effects of “math anxiety” and the solution to this problem so that students could be more successful in a math classroom.
v Common Core State Standards
ELA
1. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
2. Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.
7. Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse formats and media, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.*
Mathematics | Standards for Mathematical Practice
1. Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
3. Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.