Conversations on Math Anxiety: How Critical Discourse and Reflection May Help Reduce Everyone's Anxiety

Webinar Overview

• Discuss insights into the meaning of math anxiety and its consequences for educators and students
• Discuss the role and value of critical reflection
• Challenge our assumptions
• Engage in reflective discourse

Students and teachers alike report high levels of math anxiety. In fact, a recent student suggested that as many as half of community college students in the US reported experiencing math anxiety at some time during their academic journey. Moreover, research evidence shows that increased math anxiety contributes to lower math scores for students all over the globe (Foley et al., 2017). Perhaps surprising to some, educators also experience math anxiety and the discomfort associated with thinking about and doing math-related activities. While a popular belief, changing our feelings about math is not just about raising our math competency but shifting our mindset from a negative to positive disposition about math. We, leaders, teachers, parents, and students, need to invest time in critical reflection and collective discourse. This webinar will hopefully provide some insights into the meaning of math anxiety, its consequences for educators and students, and discuss with participants the role and value of critical reflection, gently but effectively challenging our own assumptions, and engaging in reflective discourse within our learning communities. These elements, together, may contribute to lower anxiety, more pleasant experiences with math, and better academic, social, and emotional outcomes for everyone.

About Your Instructor:

Carey Borkoski, Ph.D., Ed.D.
Carey is an Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins University where she holds a joint faculty appointment with the School of Education and the Bloomberg School of Public Health. Within the School of Education, she teaches in the online EdD program. Her research explores the role of communities, bridging media like podcasts and TedTalks, and storytelling in facilitating student onboarding, promoting deeper learning, and mitigating anxiety around learning and engaging in often unfamiliar academic spaces. Her current research focuses identifying strategies that most effectively support the onboarding and development of first-year doctoral students in online programs. In her free time, Carey loves spending time with her family, running with her labradoodle, and biking all over the South Shore in Massachusetts.