Too many people have been so paralyzed by their previous math experiences that they never gave themselves the chance to learn. They’d already decided they were going to fail at math or that the can’t do it.
I saw this over my 15 year career teaching math courses to college students and adults. In my classes, I started talking about their feelings and tried to support my students to help them change their relationship with math. Now I help students all over the world work through their math traumas.
I also started helping teachers and university faculty change their lessons and teaching styles so they don’t end up using the same harmful practices we see in a lot of math classes and make this problem worse.
“A New Day: Working Through Math Trauma”
Math may be hard, but it’s doable if you have the right mindset. Human beings have always used math to solve our biggest problems, you can too. And if you look around, you’ll see that we need to be math literate, now more than ever.
ABOUT THE PROGRAM:
Many students arrive at college excited and anxious to take a big step towards their desired future. Parents are excited to help their children succeed in school and be the best they can be. Teachers are eager to help students be curious and engaged learners.
However, past math experiences leave each of these groups anxious when mathematics becomes a part of these plans. Mathematics requirements leave too many people thinking they are “just not good at math”.
I work with groups and individuals to help heal math trauma. Participants have an opportunity to explore and reflect on their feelings towards mathematics and heal.
Participants start by reflecting on and sharing their previous math learning experiences to place these experiences in context, learning that: (1) they are not alone; (2) their experiences are likely not tied to them as an individual, but are a result of sociohistorical forces. This allows students to think deeply and critically about how they approach math.
Participants then reorient themselves based on these new realizations and their motivation to succeed. This reorientation includes strategies and tips for learning and engaging with mathematics.
For group programs, all participants are encouraged to participate in small-group and whole session discussions throughout the program, reducing the “I’m alone” stigma and forming bonds with others in the group. They are also encouraged to continue working and studying together after the workshop is completed.