Maths Think Differently
Maths: Beat Anxiety
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As a staff, discuss the impact that maths anxiety has on learning and debunk the myth of the ‘maths brain.’
Plan – NumCo preparation (approximately 2 hours)
N.B. Each NumCo will work at their own pace and use these resources differently.
- Staff complete the Start Line survey.
- NumCo considers;
- Feedback from the staff Start Line surveys
- Animation content, follow up discussion questions, action planning, and evaluation suggestions
- Useful links to research below
- Clips of colleagues talking about maths anxiety
- Everyone Feels Anxious Sometimes poster (available in Irish)
- Everyone Has a Maths Brain poster (available in Irish)
- Maths Think Differently parent leaflet
- Maths Think Differently bookmarks (available in Irish)
- NumCo explores the resource, plans and prepares for the discussion session.
- Clips of colleagues talking about maths anxiety may be useful conversation starters for staff discussion.
N.B. NumCo’s can use all of these resources or just a small part of them, whichever best meets the needs of the school.
Below are some useful links about Maths Anxiety and the myth of the ‘maths brain’:
Do – Staff discussion (approximately 45 minutes) and changes to classroom practise (4-6 weeks)
N.B. It may be easier to facilitate discussion if staff are divided into smaller groups where they feel more comfortable.
- NumCo guides the resource use and discussion.
- Identify small changes for individual classrooms.
Remember: Changes don’t have to be big to have an impact!
For example:
- Stop saying a particular negative phrase;
- Keep praising what pupils do rather than what they are; and
- Start giving pupils more thinking time before they have to answer.
N.B. Staff may agree to work together to stop, keep or start the same strategy across the whole school or key stage, or each teacher may chose strategies specific to their individual classroom.
Feedback from colleagues
Review – NumCo preparation (approximately 1 hour) and staff discussion (approximately 30 minutes)
N.B. Each NumCo will work at their own pace and every discussion will be unique to each staff group.
- Staff complete the Impact Measure survey.
- NumCo plans feedback session.
- Staff discuss the impact of the changes and agree those to stop and those to keep.
- NumCo records the process and the impact measured.