Math anxiety – the feeling of tension and apprehension associated with math performance or testing – can manifest in students as young as first-grade age. By the time learners reach high school and college, this condition can have serious implications for future education and employment. Focusing on the theoretical and practical aspects of both math anxiety and math test anxiety, and offers solutions targeted to faculty and students alike, this March 19, 2013 webinar provided techniques for anxiety-reduction, classroom management, test-taking skills and test analysis to improve future outcomes.

1. Math Anxiety and Math Test
Anxiety: Causes, Affects and
Solutions
It is like a race.
Train for it first.
Design your race strategies.
Dr. Paul Nolting
Learn to take mental control.
Pnolting@aol.com Manage any anxiety that can
Academic Success Press, Inc. 2013 slow you down.

2. Understanding Math/Test Anxiety
Defining Math Definition of Test
Anxiety Anxiety
Types of Math Measurement of
Anxiety Test Anxiety
Numerical anxiety Types of Test
Abstraction anxiety Anxiety
Math Test anxiety Worry/Cognitive test
anxiety
Emotionality/Somatic
test anxiety

3. Managing Test Anxiety: Causes
Association of grades with self-
worth.
Develops from different types of
fears.
Can stem from feeling of lack of
control and change of a situation.
Previous embarrassment from
teacher, students, family.
Placed in the wrong class.
Past and continued negative
experiences.
Consequence of perfectionism.
Anxiety strikes
Fear of timed tests. all types of
Poor study and personal habits students
Began third or fourth grade –now
you are that teacher.

4. Test Anxiety: Myths
Students are born with it. Students who are well
Test anxiety is a mental prepared don’t have it.
illness. Intelligent students don’t
Test anxiety cannot be have it.
reduced. Attending class and doing
Any level of test anxiety is homework should reduce it.
bad. Being told to relax will make
All students who are not you relaxed.
prepared have test Doing nothing about it will
anxiety make it go away.
Students with test anxiety Reducing test anxiety
can’t learn math guarantees better grades.

5. Other Anxiety Related Issues
It takes time to acquire the
skills to manage anxiety.
Sometimes it takes the help of
others.
Test/learning anxiety affects
other times in the learning
experience:
Attending class
Opening a textbook
Going to the library
Completing homework
Completing online classes
Seeking help

6. What Students Say About Anxiety
“I get anxious when the instructor goes off
on tangents, and I need help learning the
material for the test.”
“Sometimes I don’t think they care or
want to know if I am anxious.”
Some instructors just scare you. I don’t
feel like I can come and talk to them.

7. What Students Say About Anxiety
“Today I really got anxious when my math
instructor kept on going fast. I got lost. I raised
my hand and he said, ‘Hold on a second. 15
minutes later I still had my hand up.”
“I get nervous when the teacher has chalk in
one hand and the eraser in the other. I know we
are in trouble then.”
“Sometimes it just takes a look at the syllabus
and I get anxious because I don’t know what is
going on.”

8. What Students Do Not Like to Hear
“This is easy. We won’t have to spend
much time on this.”
“I will give you a test due date in about a
week.”
“You’re smart. You can handle it. Don’t
worry. Calm down.”
“If you would study more…”
“You should have learned this in the last
math class”

9. Managing Anxiety:
Types of Management
Professional Assistance:
campus counseling, mentor
Behavioral Changes
Environmental Changes
Emotional Self-talk
Improvement
Emotional Support
Most of the time, you
can’t learn to manage
test or learning anxiety
on your own.

10. When Test Day Comes Students Can
Control your self talk.
Avoid other students who are
anxious.
Get good night’s rest.
Eat healthy breakfast.
Find a few minutes for quiet
time.
Review mental cheat sheets.
Listen to some calming music. Set yourself up for a calm period
of time before the test. If you
have a class before your test
period, focus on that class.
Get the day started off right.

11. Tensing and Relaxing Technique
Relax all Tense your muscles. Relax.
your Pull up with your arms Repeat one
muscles. tight. more time if
Press down with you feet necessary.
and legs.
Hold for a few seconds.

12. Calm Yourself Right before the Test
When you get to the
classroom and you want to
avoid all the panicky talk
going all around you, try the
“Palming” technique.
Place your palms on your
forehead. Think of a place
that is very relaxing to you.
Pretend you are there. Or,
you can think about your
memory “mental” cheat The other benefit is that the other
students will think you have a
sheets. headache and will leave you alone.

13. Faculty Helping Students
Reduce Math/Test Anxiety
Classroom Strategies
Give practice tests
Give frequent quizzes
Give a chance for students to retake the test
Encourage questions
Do group work
Discuss test anxiety as being real
Teaching study skills/test taking skills
Give students Math Study Skills Evaluation

14. Faculty Helping Students
Reduce Math/Test Anxiety
Office Strategies
Listen to student concerns on anxiety
Have them take the Math Study Skills
Evaluation
Teach study skills/test anxiety reduction
techniques
Praise students for coming to you for help
Don’t “lecture” the student
Refer them to a counselor

15. Ten Steps to Doing Online Homework
1. Review related textbook material.
2. Review appropriate lecture notes.
3. Do homework neatly.
4. Must write down problem and every
problem step.
5. Understand reasons for problem steps
instead of using the click and go method.
6. For difficult problems use the resources
provided by the software (videos /tutor
line).
7. Finish by working a problem successfully.
8. Recall or write down important concepts. Learning from online
homework is more
9. Develop virtual note cards by using difficult than text book
www.studystack.com. homework
10. Don’t get behind – you could get block out.

16. Taking the Test:
Ten Steps for Taking a Test
1. Memory Data Dump
2. Preview Test
3. 2nd Memory Data Dump
4. Test Progress Schedule
5. Answer Easy Questions
6. Skip Difficult Questions “The first student done with the test
may not be the smartest in the class.
7. Review Skipped Questions Often the smart students are the ones
8. Guess at Remaining Questions that take the entire time to make sure
they do everything accurately. Be
9. Review All of the Test brave. Stay in the room and make sure
you complete everything accurately.”
10. Use all the Test Time

17. Six Types of Test-taking Errors
1. Misread Directions
2. Careless Errors
3. Concept Errors This is why
they invented
4. Application Errors the eraser!
5. Test Procedure Errors
6. Study Errors
Use the eraser wisely. Sometimes it is better to scratch something out
at first and then make sure the correction is right. Go back and erase,
leaving the correct information. Sometimes when we are nervous, we
may change a correct answer. We erase the right answer, go on to
other problems, check the test and discover we changed an answer
incorrectly and have forgotten the right answer.

18. Help Students Take Control Over
Math With Self Motivation
Develop Internal Locus of Control, Self-Efficacy
Avoid Learned Helplessness
Overcome Procrastination by Defeating Fear of
Failure, Fear of Success, Rebellion Against
Authority and Perfectionism
How to Improve Self-Esteem
How to Communicate to Your Math Instructor
Motivate Students with Disabilities - Suggest
Students go to Disability Resource Center

19. Good News! You can change!

20. Web Resources
American Math Association of Two Year Colleges
http://www.amatyc.org
Beyond Crossroads by the American Math Association of Two Year
Colleges
http://www.bc.amatyc.org
Math Research and Study Skills by Dr. Paul Nolting and others
http://www.academicsuccess.com/research/math.php
National Developmental Education Association www.nade.net
Math Study Skills Workbook Web site
http://mathstudyskills.tropicalminds.com/
Web –Based Program for Online Math Students.
http://www.mathreadinness.com