Ep 17. Do timed tests cause math anxiety? with Robin Codding
Sep 22, 2023
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Psychology professor, Robin Codding, discusses the relationship between timed tests and math anxiety, including the importance of timed practice and strategies to mitigate anxiety. They also explore the difference between philosophy-based and evidence-based instruction, and the role of culture and technology in education.
Timed tests can contribute to poor performance on complex tasks, possibly increasing math anxiety.
Timed practice is an effective tool for improving math fluency and assessing students' skills, recommended by educational panels.
Effective interventions for math anxiety focus on building math skills through tutoring and evidence-based protocols.
Deep dives
Math anxiety and its relationship with math achievement
Math anxiety refers to feelings of apprehension and fear associated with math-related tasks, affecting performance both in the classroom and in real-world situations. Research suggests a bidirectional relationship between math anxiety and math achievement, where higher math anxiety is associated with lower math achievement and vice versa. Early poor math performance may have a greater impact on later math anxiety. While there is limited research specifically on whether time tests cause math anxiety, studies have shown that timed math tasks can contribute to poor performance on complex tasks. It is important to accurately assess and provide targeted practice to build math fluency, which is crucial for success with word problems, pre-algebra skills, and fraction knowledge.
The importance of fluency building and timed practice
Building fluency with math skills, including whole numbers and fractions, is essential for success in higher-level math concepts. Timed tests and practice can be effective tools for improving fluency and assessing students' math skills. A meta-analysis has shown that timed activities have strong evidence for building math fluency, and they are more efficient and reliable than accuracy-based metrics. The National Mathematics Advisory Panel and the Institute for Education Sciences recommend including timed practice as part of math instruction. However, timed practice should be introduced at the appropriate stage, after students have achieved a certain level of accuracy.
Addressing math anxiety through skill-building interventions
Effective interventions for mitigating math anxiety focus on building math skills rather than only addressing the anxiety itself. Skill-building interventions, such as tutoring, computer-assisted interventions, and evidence-based protocols, have shown positive effects on both math anxiety reduction and math skills improvement. It is important to identify and target specific skill weaknesses and provide explicit, systematic instruction to address those gaps. By building strong foundational skills and scaffolding instruction, teachers can help alleviate math anxiety and enhance students' confidence and performance in math.
Philosophy-based instruction versus evidence-based instruction
Philosophy-based instruction refers to pseudoscientific instructional practices that lack solid empirical support. On the other hand, evidence-based instruction is grounded in research and is supported by credible studies. Philosophy-based practices often rely on anecdotal evidence, overstate their benefits, and attempt to explain away conflicting information. In contrast, evidence-based practices are grounded in evidence from controlled studies and have been shown to be effective. Teachers can rely on trusted resources, such as the National Mathematics Advisory Panel report, the National Center for Intensive Intervention, and the What Works Clearinghouse, to access research-supported instructional strategies and interventions.
Effective teaching strategies for elementary school math
For effective math instruction in elementary school, teachers should employ explicit, systematic instruction, which provides clear, step-by-step guidance to students. This approach helps students build foundational math skills and develop fluency. Teachers should also ensure that students have ample opportunities for practice, tailored to their skill levels. Implementing checklists and scaffolding techniques can help students approach problems with confidence and mitigate math anxiety. Continuous monitoring of student progress and adjusting instruction accordingly is essential. New teachers should seek out evidence-based practices and reliable resources to enhance their teaching and support students' math learning.
In Episode 17, Anna Stokke sits down with Dr. Robin Codding to talk about timed tests and math anxiety. Robin is a psychology professor who researches math interventions, assessment tools and math anxiety. She is one of the founding members of the group The Science of Math.
In this episode, Anna asks Robin to shed some light on claims that timed tests cause math anxiety. They discuss the relationship between math achievement and math anxiety, whether it's important to include timed practice in math class, how much practice is needed to become fluent with math skills, at what stage students should be engaging in timed practice, causes of math anxiety, and best ways to mitigate it.
They talk about the relationship between conceptual and procedural understanding and whether productive struggle is a reasonable instructional technique. Robin also shares strategies for identifying instructional methods that are philosophy-based, rather than evidence-based. This episode is an essential resource for clearing up misconceptions about timed tests and math anxiety.
