{"id":14343,"date":"2017-06-22T10:20:24","date_gmt":"2017-06-22T15:20:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.backtobasicslearning.com\/?p=14343"},"modified":"2017-07-05T11:56:53","modified_gmt":"2017-07-05T16:56:53","slug":"how-to-helps-kids-overcome-math-anxiety-this-summer-and-start-next-school-year-off-right","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/backtobasicslearning.com\/how-to-helps-kids-overcome-math-anxiety-this-summer-and-start-next-school-year-off-right\/","title":{"rendered":"How to help kids overcome math anxiety this summer… and start next school year off RIGHT!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Math<\/a>The school year is now over and report cards have arrived. If your child’s math grade wasn’t what you expected or hoped for, math anxiety may be a contributing factor.<\/p>\n

What is math anxiety?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Math anxiety is a phenomenon that is often considered when examining students\u2019 problems in mathematics.\u00a0 Mark H. Ashcraft, Chair of the Department of Psychology at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, defines math anxiety as \u201ca feeling of tension, apprehension, or fear [of math]\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Research confirms that pressure of timed tests and risk of public embarrassment have long been recognized as sources of unproductive tension among many students. \u00a0Marilyn Curtain-Phillips, M. Ed. explains in The Causes and Prevention of Math Anxiety<\/em>, \u201cThree practices that are a regular part of the traditional mathematics classroom and cause great anxiety in many students are imposed authority, public exposure and time deadlines. Although these are a regular part of the traditional mathematics classroom cause great deal of anxiety.\u201d<\/p>\n

Much of this anxiety also happens in the traditional classroom due to the lack of consideration of students\u2019 different learning styles. And, the anxiety often translates into poor math performance.<\/p>\n

In fact, according to the 2015 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), math scores slipped for fourth and eighth graders over the last two years. And, only 1\/3 of the nation\u2019s eighth-graders scored in the proficient or above range in math.<\/p>\n

The \u201cnormal\u201d math track has shifted down<\/strong><\/p>\n

30 years ago, the normal track was for students to take Algebra I in ninth grade, followed by three years of college-prep math.\u00a0This worked well for most students, and there was always a way for a select group of students to get ahead by taking algebra in eighth grade and advance to Calculus by their senior year.<\/p>\n

But in the past ten years, there has been an explosion of students taking algebra in the eighth grade\u2026 and earlier.\u00a0 The \u201cnormal\u201d track in many schools is now for most students to take algebra in the eighth grade.<\/p>\n

Too much, too fast?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dr. Jerry Brodkey has a Ph.D. from Stanford in Mathematics and Curriculum Education and has been teaching math for over 30 years. He urges caution to parents when selecting math courses for students. \u201cWhen a student is pushed to take a class for which he is not ready, he rarely acquires a lifelong affinity for math.\u00a0Instead, he develops a desire to get out of math classes as fast as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Building a strong math foundation: How parents can help at home this summer<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Make sure that your child understands the concepts, rather than just memorizing meaningless rules (using fractions when cutting a pie is just one example).<\/li>\n
  2. Review math vocabulary to ensure that your student can define the skills he\u2019s learning.<\/li>\n
  3. Computing math problems in your child\u2019s head will reinforce concepts more quickly than using a calculator (have him calculate the tip at a restaurant, or add up the cost of items in the grocery cart).<\/li>\n
  4. Explain how math applies to real-life situations. Math is much more interesting if your child can understand its real world value. (how much money does a 30% off sale really save?)<\/li>\n
  5. Drills and flash cards are quick ways to solidify basic math facts.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Math is the universal language. Make sure that your child speaks fluently!<\/strong><\/p>\n

    What can a parent do if these strategies still don\u2019t help? Back to Basics Learning Dynamics in Wilmington, Nationwide offers 1-on-1 math tutoring at all levels.<\/p>\n

    And, summer is the perfect time to build and strengthen mathematics skills for the upcoming school year.\u00a0<\/em> Students work 1-on-1 with an experienced instructor to review and learn concepts and create fun ways to remember them.<\/p>\n

    Each session is tailored to the individual child to meet his or her needs, interests, level of background knowledge and learning style.\u00a0 Previous school years\u2019 material is reinforced during these interactive sessions, with an eye toward next year\u2019s concepts, as well.<\/p>\n

    Math tutoring is available at your home, day camp, or in Back to Basics\u2019 Newark or Wilmington, Nationwide locations. To learn more about math tutoring in Nationwide, please call 302-594-0754.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    Photo by FreeDigitalPhoto.net<\/a> and\u00a0Just2shutter.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The school year is now over and report cards have arrived. If your child’s math grade wasn’t what you expected or hoped for, math anxiety may be a contributing factor. What is math anxiety? Math anxiety is a phenomenon that is often considered when examining students\u2019 problems in mathematics.\u00a0 Mark H. Ashcraft, Chair of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":30078,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14343","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-for-parents"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/backtobasicslearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14343","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/backtobasicslearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/backtobasicslearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/backtobasicslearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/backtobasicslearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14343"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/backtobasicslearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14343\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14401,"href":"https:\/\/backtobasicslearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14343\/revisions\/14401"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/backtobasicslearning.com\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/backtobasicslearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14343"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/backtobasicslearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14343"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/backtobasicslearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14343"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}