Combating Math Anxiety

In honor of Stress Awareness Month, here are some tips from Math Hive Learning Center to complete math with confidence.

April is National Stress Awareness month, so here are tips for students working hard to perform better on their math scores. These tips will help lower stress, improve those math skills and combat math anxiety.

Socialize

Ben Hilberg, Ph.D., co-founder of Math Hive Learning Center, observes that students tend to avoid talking with other students to seek help with their math. When students come to Math Hive, they see they are not alone in their math struggles.

“It’s okay to ask help of the student two aisles down,” Hilberg said. “If you notice they’re doing well on their quizzes, don’t be afraid to ask them a question about math. It’s important to know that you’re not alone in the struggle; it’s okay to lean on other people.”

Adapt to change

“One of the positive aspects about the model we have here is that it’s an open drop off, where students are seated around different age and grade levels, different ability levels, and instructors use different methods to help students solve math problems,” Hilberg said. “So students are exposed to a variety of elements outside their comfort zone and eventually that makes you more comfortable with various situations.”

Make that first, easy step

Hilberg says a lot of math anxiety comes from not knowing where to start. He encourages students to write all over the paper as a ‘memory dump,’ upon receiving a test, so the stress of having to memorize all those formulas and equations for that much longer is alleviated.

Take a break

At Math Hive, Hilberg says that when he or another instructor sees a student overwhelmed, they are encouraged to take a break.

“Take time to draw, write your thoughts in a journal, work on other homework or play a fun board game,” Hilberg said.

Prepare over Summer

The students who continue their math tutoring over the summer often are ahead of their fellow classmates by the time the school year starts. Math Hive offers SAT prep and prepares students for the upcoming school year over summer, so it’s not overwhelming when all those months from the previous year have been lost returning to school.

For more information about Math Hive, visit: http://mathhive.com/ or call 562-429-0835