Reducing Math Anxiety: Findings from Incorporating Service Learning into a Quantitative Reasoning Course at Seattle University

dc.creator	Allison Henrich
dc.date	2011-07-01T00:00:00Z
dc.date.accessioned	2015-07-20T22:12:17Z
dc.date.available	2015-07-20T22:12:17Z
dc.identifier	1936-4660
dc.identifier	https://doaj.org/article/db7c930e95de4c27a5c034f3f38a3c1b
dc.identifier.uri	http://evidence.thinkportal.org/handle/123456789/15114
dc.description	How might one teach mathematics to math-anxious students and at the same time reduce their math anxiety? This paper describes what we found when we incorporated a service learning component into a quantitative reasoning course at Seattle University in Fall 2010 (20 students) and Spring 2011 (28 students). The course is taken primarily by humanities majors, many of whom would not take a course in math if they didn’t need to satisfy the university’s core requirement. For the service learning component, each student met with and tutored children at local schools for 1-2 hours per week (total about 15 service hours), kept a weekly journal reflecting on the experience, and wrote a five-page final paper on the importance and reasonable expectations of mathematics literacy. The autobiographies, self-description at the beginning of the class, focus group interviews at the end of the term, journal entries, final essays, and student evaluations indicated that the students gained confidence in their mathematical abilities, a greater interest in mathematics, and a broader sense of the importance of math literacy in modern society. One notable finding was that students discovered that the act of manufacturing enthusiasm about math as a tool for tutoring the children made them more enthusiastic about math in their own courses.
dc.language	English
dc.publisher	University of South Florida Libraries
dc.relation	http://dx.doi.org/10.5038/1936-4660.4.2.9
dc.relation	https://doaj.org/toc/1936-4660
dc.rights	CC BY-NC
dc.source	Numeracy, Vol 4, Iss 2, p 9 (2011)
dc.subject	service learning
dc.subject	quantitative reasoning
dc.subject	math anxiety
dc.subject	Special aspects of education
dc.subject	LC8-6691
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	DOAJ:Education
dc.subject	DOAJ:Social Sciences
dc.subject	Mathematics
dc.subject	QA1-939
dc.subject	Science
dc.subject	Q
dc.subject	DOAJ:Mathematics
dc.subject	DOAJ:Mathematics and Statistics
dc.subject	Special aspects of education
dc.subject	LC8-6691
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	DOAJ:Education
dc.subject	DOAJ:Social Sciences
dc.subject	Mathematics
dc.subject	QA1-939
dc.subject	Science
dc.subject	Q
dc.subject	DOAJ:Mathematics
dc.subject	DOAJ:Mathematics and Statistics
dc.subject	Special aspects of education
dc.subject	LC8-6691
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	Mathematics
dc.subject	QA1-939
dc.subject	Science
dc.subject	Q
dc.subject	Special aspects of education
dc.subject	LC8-6691
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	Mathematics
dc.subject	QA1-939
dc.subject	Science
dc.subject	Q
dc.subject	Special aspects of education
dc.subject	LC8-6691
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	Mathematics
dc.subject	QA1-939
dc.subject	Science
dc.subject	Q
dc.title	Reducing Math Anxiety: Findings from Incorporating Service Learning into a Quantitative Reasoning Course at Seattle University
dc.type	article