Mathematics anxiety can prompt a response in the brain similar to when a person experiences physical pain, according to new research at the University of Chicago.
Using brain scans, scholars determined that the brain areas active when highly math-anxious people prepare to do math overlap with the same brain areas that register the threat of bodily harm—and in some cases, physical pain. (more…)
Children who are skilled in understanding how shapes fit together to make recognizable objects also have an advantage when it comes to learning the number line and solving math problems, research at the University of Chicago shows.
The work is further evidence of the value of providing young children with early opportunities in spatial learning, which contributes to their ability to mentally manipulate objects and understand spatial relationships, which are important in a wide range of tasks, including reading maps and graphs and understanding diagrams showing how to put things together. Those skills also have been shown to be important in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields. (more…)
*Study finds stress boosts performance for confident students, but holds back those with more anxiety*
Knowing the right way to handle stress in the classroom and on the sports field can make the difference between success and failure for the millions of students going back to school this fall, new University of Chicago research shows.
“We found that cortisol, a hormone released in response to stress, can either be tied to a student’s poor performance on a math test or contribute to success, depending on the frame of mind of the student going into the test,” said Sian Beilock, associate professor in psychology and one of the nation’s leading experts on poor performance by otherwise talented people. (more…)
*Research says test performance improves when students write about their worries*
Sian Beilock, lead author of a new study that appears on January 13 in the journal Science, says writing about test-related worries for ten minutes immediately before taking an exam is an effective way to improve test scores in classroom settings.
“By writing down one’s negative thoughts, students may come to realize that the situation is not as bad as they thought or that they are prepared to take it on,” said Beilock, an associate professor of Psychology at the University of Chicago. “As a result, they worry less during the test.” (more…)