Abstract:
Many agree that one of the most anxiety-provoking subjects in school is mathematics. As a future high school math teacher, I’m specifically interested in who is being affected by math anxiety and how we combat this and get students interested and excited about math. My thesis explores math anxiety through varying lenses focusing on historically and currently underrepresented and marginalized groups (women, People of Color, and English language learners) within mathematics. While centering those students who are more likely to experience math anxiety, we can think about potential solutions to help combat math anxiety. In my own experience struggling with math anxiety, what has been most impactful for me in getting interested and feeling confident in my math classes was when I could find connections to other subjects that I was passionate about. In my thesis, I look at interdisciplinary studies as a potential combatant of math anxiety. My thesis includes interdisciplinary lesson plans which combine math with the subjects of ecology, art, and literature. This project will give educators (and myself) a much-needed resource by sharing who math anxiety impacts, reasons why, and providing examples of how we can incorporate students’ interests in other subjects to get them excited about math.