What can be done to improve to attitudes towards maths and numeracy?

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Maths… the most feared subject for many people around the world.
Why? What are the main reasons for some of us to be scared? Experience. That’s it!
It’s going to be obvious that if you have a positive experience within your previous maths lessons, you’re more likely to be confident and are not afraid to deliver wrong answers. Vice versa, long-boring, negative lessons would be the reason why some of us lose confidence within ourselves – we tend to be one of those that sat in silence when help is needed. Yes, I was one of them. My mathematics lessons were varied, some days I would be confident within myself and if I was wrong, I was wrong… Or, I would have one of those dull days where my brain wouldn’t function around numbers and problem solving tasks. We all have those days, trust me.
So what can we do to improve attitudes to Maths in Primary Education? The future is important and teachers would need to prepare children for jobs that do not exist yet! For living within the growing technological industry, Maths/ Numeracy is one the essential skills needed to provide more devices because without human brains, no one would be able to further develop other devices.

 Other than negative experiences, I feel that we should explore in more depth of the causes to negativity towards maths before we discuss the overcome and how we can improve attitudes towards this important subject. As experiences were discussed above, this could lead to children having ‘Maths anxiety’. Chinn (2012) expressed that maths anxiety can lead some people to avoid situations where they may have to use mathematics. Schleicher (2013) from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) stated that we all need maths, not just for school but everyday life, work, opportunities: further believing that “good numeracy is the best protection against unemployment.”



  The National Numeracy Organisation briefly discussed the impact of low numeracy, affecting individuals’ life chances as well as the UK economy linking to international competitiveness. Here’s an image by Pro Bono Economics (2014) displaying the result of Cost of Low Adult Numeracy to The Nation per year.
 So what can be done to improve attitudes towards maths and numeracy? The article by the National Numeracy demonstrated three important key dimensions in encouraging positive attitudes towards mathematics. 
These key dimensions are:

  •        Value
  •        Belief
  •        Effort
 
  Briefly expanding on ‘Value’ teachers would need to portray that maths is worth learning and recognise the benefits of having the numerical skills for the future. To make this easier, adults can show videos based on grown-ups simply explaining that we shouldn’t be afraid and their positive outcomes based on their experiences in maths lessons. I believe that engaging children within videos involving teenagers and adults can give them a sense of maturity and optimism, further boosting their confidence and drive them away from the “I can’t do maths” attitude.



   More importantly the concept of ‘Belief’ within the dimensions is equally important as the rest as it leads to us building a growth mindset. The term of ‘growth’ mindset benefits us in a way for us to believe in ourselves and to have more confident within answering questions. Dweck’s (2008) perception of this dimension is all about our own belief, not on talents or abilities which, getting rid of the “I can’t do maths” mindset can lead to major success. People like this can encourage others to have a can-do attitude, where they can embrace challenges and learn from mistakes.

  Supporting these two dimensions is the last part, which is ‘Effort’. It is recognised that all learning takes effort where Duckworth et al (2007: 1087) believes that we learn to persevere and develop a passion for long-term goals. We must portray that learning can be challenging but it is possible to achieve goals when they are praised or rewarded for their efforts. Especially in a primary school environment, children deserve to be rewarded in order to keep a positive vibe and encourage them to learn.

   With all of these dimensions children are motivated and confident through negative situations, and that we should always seek other possibilities to improve positivity. Now that we’ve (briefly) discussed my experiences and the causes maths anxiety… what was your experiences like with maths? Feel free to share your opinions and thoughts down in the comment section below!
Looking forward to read your experiences!


References:
-       Chinn, S., 2012. Beliefs, Anxiety and Avoiding Fear in Mathematics. Child Development Research 2012
-       Duckworth, Angela L., Christopher Peterson, Michael D. Matthews, and Dennis R. Kelly. 2007. “Grit: Perseverance and Passion for Long-term Goals.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 92 (6): 1087.
-       Dweck, Carol. 2008. “Mindset and Math/Science Achievement.” Teaching & Leadership: Managing for Effective Teachers and Leaders. http://dev.opeq.blenderbox.com/uploads/files/868cea31-5888- 4e45-a832-62b4377dbbfb.pdf
-       National Numeracy: https://www.nationalnumeracy.org.uk/sites/default/files/attitudes_towards_maths_-_updated_branding.pdf
-       OECD, 2012. PIAAC Survey of Adult Skills 2012. Data downloaded through http://piaacdataexplorer.oecd.org/ide/idepiaac/
-       Pro-Bono Economics, 2014. Cost of Outcomes Associated with Low Levels of Adult Numeracy in the UK. http://www.nationalnumeracy.org.uk/resources/135/index.html



Comments

  1. Jess Light30 April 2018 at 08:41

    Hi Eve, I really enjoyed reading this blog and I'm glad that see that I wasn't the only one who sometimes struggled with maths in school. According to Mooney et al (2014) children need to develop a good mathematical understanding in order to function effectively as members of society. I was wondering what your views were on this and whether this puts more pressue on children to do well in maths?

    Mooney.C.,Briggs,M., Hansen, A., Mcullouch.J., Fletcher.M. (2014) Primary Mathematics Teaching theory and practise. Los Angeles:Sage.

    ReplyDelete

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