Math for the Anxious

Book excerpt: Math for the Anxious: Building Basic Skills is written to provide a practical approach to the problem of math anxiety. By combining strategies for success with a pain-free introduction to basic math content, students will overcome their anxiety and find greater success in their math courses. The first two chapters not only explain the sources of math anxiety, they more importantly outline pragmatic steps students can take to reduce it. In each of the following eight chapters, strategies are implemented for learning a particular topic such as fractions that may have frustrated students in the past but can now be digested and mastered through hints, patient explanations, and revelations of how students already encounter the topic on an everyday basis. The final chapter brings all the strategies together and prepares students to encounter future math topics with newfound confidence and finely tuned techniques at their disposal.