A group of teachers uncovered a tweak in teaching method that reduces the stress and fear associated with learning math.

Studies conducted by a group of Australian math teachers over a period of 3 years has shown that about 75% of students in lower to middle high school students have problem understanding lessons taught in the classroom.

Most of them would, through peer pressure, ‘pretend’ to understand as they have no other options. It isn’t rare to find students of grades 9 and 10 unable to confidently answer questions in topics related to Area and Volume, Wages, Simple Interest, Decimal, Fraction or Percentages, to name a few.

Most of the programs and learning systems available are designed for the overachieving students who have no problem absorbing more advanced lessons. To the average and struggling student they are more of a deterrent than an inspiration to learn.

The more the student comes across such programs and courses the more he loses confidence, and the harder he finds his road to recovery. He is as a matter of fact intimidated and overwhelmed by the sheer amount of work in store for him.

Any contemplation therefore of getting into these courses that would mean more work, more stress, more disappointment and the probability of leaving him miserable and depressed in the end may not be the preferred option.

So what’s the solution?

A system devised by the teachers, after experiments conducted on various groups of students between grades 7 and 10, proved conclusive beyond any doubt.

After considering the fact that students already struggling

− would be hating math because they don’t understand,

− have a very meagre chance of catching up,

− would definitely be dropping out in math,

− would add to the ever increasing innumeracy list,

− would reduce their chances of future employment,

the teachers decided to teach in a way that is ‘less threatening’ and that would encourage a student to learn. Their findings showed that it was wiser to teach students in a manner that is ‘less aggressive’ and less intimidating, ̶ the phobia and panic that follow when a student is presented with a math question or test ̶ inspiring them to co-operate and progressively make learning math an enjoyable and a less traumatic experience.

Different methods including working in groups, one on one and even showing examples of worked solutions, didn’t seem to make a big difference.

But when a worked solution, created ‘accidentally’ in flash by one of the teachers, was presented to the students, it immediately grabbed their attention to the point that they insisted on being shown exclusively this type of learning material.

More flash movies were created during the course of the next two months that allowed the students to view detailed step by step solutions. Many of them, however, didn’t seem to be confident enough to answer questions without first viewing a step by step worked out solution.

Allowing the students to watch a solution as many times as they wished prior to attempting the question seemed to alleviate students’ anxiety and stress. Information presented was very easily absorbed.

To the teachers’ amazement even the slowest of the group was able to answer questions correctly!

As a result of this outcome, the team of teachers conducted another experiment involving two groups of students of which one learnt the conventional way. It was found that the group watching the solutions prior to answering the questions were able to outperform the first group in a normal classroom test, based on the same topics covered.

The results were conclusive beyond doubt. The team decided to adopt this ‘learning in reverse’ method and created a complete learning program that is available online for every student or teacher to benefit from.

This is how the system works:

The student watches the basic explanation of a topic in flash and proceeds to answer the questions that follow.

Now comes the controversial part….

The student is allowed to view the solution prior to even attempting the question!

Now, to any teacher this would sound ridiculously absurd and illogical as it contradicts the most fundamental of math learning rules practiced over thousands of years, which is to try solving the problem first then, and only then, check the answer. Here, the student is ‘checking’ the answer prior to answering the question!

The experiments conducted proved that students viewing the solution a few times prior to answering a question not only learnt more about how to methodically and correctly answer the question but also, when presented with similar questions in a test, seemed to show no fear or any sign of anxiety so common in students prior and during tests and exams.

An article published in the Science Daily wrote,

\’For the highly math anxious, researchers found a strong link between math success and activity in a network of brain areas in the frontal and parietal lobes involved in controlling attention and regulating negative emotional reactions. This response kicked in at the very mention of having to solve a mathematics problem.’

The very fact that the struggling student is not pressured into answering questions on his own reduces the stress associated with learning math. It becomes an adventure, or a game they look forward to enjoy, where they willingly and freely use their latent abilities unhindered and unsuppressed and in the process create a new, more confident, happy and successful student.

Richard Pidial is an experienced teacher, president and founder of www.schrool.com teaching math with a twist. Subscribe to his free newsletter to have access to free math lessons and receive free weekly math tips and updates.

Richard Pidial is an experienced teacher, president and founder of http://www.schrool.com teaching math with a twist. Subscribe to his free newsletter to have access to free math lessons and receive free weekly math tips and updates.

Author Bio: Richard Pidial is an experienced teacher, president and founder of www.schrool.com teaching math with a twist. Subscribe to his free newsletter to have access to free math lessons and receive free weekly math tips and updates.

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