Dyslexia toolkit for teachers

What do students at risk for dyslexia struggle with?

  • Delay in learning tasks such as tying shoes, telling time
  • Difficulty expressing self
  • Inattentiveness, distractibility
  • Inability to follow directions
  • Left-right confusion
  • Difficulty learning alphabet, times tables, words of songs
  • Difficulty learning rhymes
  • Poor playground skills
  • Difficulty learning to read
  • Mixing order of letters or numbers when writing
  • Reversing letters or numbers

Supporting students with dyslexia: What can you do?

According to the International Dyslexia Association official publication of Perspectives on Language and Literacy, Vol. 44, 2018, here are six steps to help your struggling students:

1. Screen for dyslexia

  • Become involved in implementing or improving universal screening programs for dyslexia by reminding administrators about specific laws.
  • If you suspect your student has dyslexia, request that common reading and writing skills associated with dyslexia are assessed (e.g., basic reading skills [phonics and sight word identification], spelling, reading rate).

2. Dyslexia training for teachers and reading specialists

  • Advocate for the appointment of a specific person in charge of dyslexia training.
  • Request specific teacher training that includes structured literacy programs (e.g., explicit, systematic reading instruction, phonics instruction, etc.). Request dyslexia awareness training for all K–12 teachers.

3. Eligibility for accommodations and services for students with dyslexia

  • Become involved in the Response to Intervention, Multi-tiered system of support, or a similar system at your school. Ensure that the accommodations and services that are provided are appropriate for students with dyslexia.
  • Collaborate with colleagues to evaluate the effectiveness of accommodations and services being provided to students with dyslexia.

4. Classroom instruction for students with dyslexia

  • Become familiar with differentiated instruction strategies (e.g., use of centers during instruction).
  • Learn and help colleagues learn about specific reading programs designed to help students with dyslexia (e.g., structured literacy programs).

5. Dyslexia handbook

  • Request that your state or district develop a dyslexia handbook to guide teachers and offer other states’ handbooks as a reference.

6. Dyslexia awareness

  • Consult with fellow educational professionals in your school(s) to hold events and encourage discussions about dyslexia during October (National Dyslexia Month).

DIBELS® 8th Edition is validated for the following measures:

DIBELS 8th Edition Subtest Alignment with Dyslexia Screening Areas

Rapid Naming AbilityPhonological AwarenessAlphabetic PrincipleWord Reading
Letter Naming Fluency
Phonemic Segmentation Fluency
Nonsense Word Fluency
Word Reading Fluency
Oral Reading Fluency

How mCLASS can help you identify and support at-risk students

mCLASS® with DIBELS® 8th Edition’s free dyslexia screening measures provide additional screening for risk of dyslexia in students in grades K–3 through subtests that help identify early warning signs of reading difficulty. Measures include:

  • Vocabulary
  • Encoding
  • Rapid Automatized Naming (RAN)
  • Word Reading Fluency (WRF)
  • Letter Naming Fluency (LNF)
  • Phonemic Segmentation Fluency (PSF)

4 ways to weather educational change

The landscape of education is constantly shifting. That’s always been true, because the world is constantly changing. But at no time in recent memory has the landscape of education been forced to change in as many ways as it has over the past few years.

How can teachers navigate the seismic changes in the education system in their day-to-day lives?

In this recent episode of Science Connections: The Podcast, host Eric Cross talks about managing educational change with veteran educator and former Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) Middle School Science Teacher of the Year Marilyn Dieppa.

Below, we’ve outlined four tips for weathering shifts. The bottom line? It’s important for teachers to be able to change with the times, while remaining a steady, solid presence for students.

1. Embrace change—it’s good for kids, too.

“I always change my labs. I don’t like to do the same thing over and over again,” says Dieppa. And when she tries something new, she tells her students she’s experimenting. (After all, it’s science!)

“They’re afraid of trying something new and failing,” Dieppa says—so she tries to model taking on the unknown, learning, and adjusting as needed. This is part of cultivating a growth mindset for kids. “It’s for them not to be fearful. That gives kids a foundation they need.”

2. Have an open-door policy.

The pandemic has exacerbated challenges in kids’ lives that can make it tough for them to learn. Some even say we’re in a youth mental health crisis. Now more than ever, it’s important that “you become more than just a science teacher,” says Cross. “You’re a mentor. You’re an encourager. Sometimes you’re a counselor.”

It’s impossible to be everything to every student, but it’s important to let them know you see them.

“I always say, I’m not there to really be your friend, but I’m there to help you,’” says Dieppa. “And you gotta tell ’em, you know, ‘if you need to talk, come talk to me’. Because so much of what we’re doing is like life coaching in addition, and that connects to their success in the classroom.”

3. Measure wins in lots of ways.

What keeps Dieppa going? “Whether [students] have struggled all year and they’ve had that one piece of success, or they come back and tell you they didn’t realize what they got out of middle school science until they got to high school, those are my moments of success.”

4. Remember—you’re still learning, too.

Yes, you’re the teacher, but “you don’t have to be the expert in everything,” says Cross. “Teachers tend to be more risk-taking and innovative when they’re willing to say, ‘I don’t have to know everything in order to do something.’”

Whenever it feels like you can’t do something or don’t know something, remember: You can’t do it yet. You don’t know it yet. Growth mindset phrases for students apply to your growth, too.

Listen to the whole podcast episode here and subscribe to Science Connections: The Podcast here. 

About Amplify’s Science Connections: The Podcast

Science is changing before our eyes, now more than ever. So how do we help kids figure that out? How are we preparing students to be the next generation of 21st-century scientists?

Join host Eric Cross as he sits down with educators, scientists, and knowledge experts to discuss how we can best support students in science classrooms. Listen to hear how you can inspire kids across the country to love learning science, and bring that magic into your classroom for your students.

Identifying math anxiety

Can you do long division in your head and calculate tips in your sleep? Or does the mere thought of arithmetic keep you up at night?

If you fall into the latter camp, you’re not alone.

Math anxiety is real—and an established body of research proves it. In fact, data shows that math anxiety affects at least 20% of students.

And its effects can be damaging in both the immediate and long term. It can bring down student performance both in and beyond math, and in and outside the classroom.

Fortunately, we’re also learning how teachers can help students manage math anxiety—and succeed wherever it’s holding them back.

We explored this topic on a recent episode of Math Teacher Lounge, our biweekly podcast created specifically for K–12 math educators. This season is all about recognizing and reducing math anxiety in students, with each episode featuring experts and educators who share their insights and strategies around this critical subject.

Dr. Gerardo Ramirez, associate professor of educational psychology at Ball State University, has been studying math anxiety for more than a decade. He joined podcast hosts Bethany Lockhart Johnson and Dan Meyer to share his insights.

So let’s take a look at what math anxiety is—and is not. We’ll also explore what impact it has on learning, and what we can do about it.

What is math anxiety?

Math anxiety is more than just finding math challenging, or feeling like you’re “not a math person.” Dr. Ramirez offers this definition: “[Math anxiety] is a fear or apprehension in situations that might involve math or situations that you perceive as involving math. Anything from tests to homework to paying a tip at a restaurant.”

Math anxiety may cause sweating, rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, and other physical symptoms of anxiety.

But while math anxiety has some similarities with other forms of anxiety, it’s exclusive to math-related tasks, and comes with a unique set of characteristics and influences.

Math anxiety can lead sufferers to deliberately avoid math. And this avoidance can not only result in a student not learning math, but also limiting their academic success, career options, and even  social experiences and connections. This can look like anything from getting poor grades in math class, to tension with family members over doing math homework.

Parents and teachers can suffer from math anxiety, too. In fact, some research suggests that when teachers have math anxiety, it’s more likely that some of their students will, too.

What causes math anxiety?

It’s not correlated to high or low skill or performance in math. Students who generally don’t do well in math can experience math anxiety because they assume they’ll do poorly every time. Students who have been pressured to be high-achieving experience math anxiety because they’re worried they won’t meet expectations.

Other triggers may include:

  • Pressure. Pressure from parents or peers to do well in math can create anxiety, especially if the person feels that their worth or future success is tied to their math abilities.
  • Negative past experiences. Someone who has struggled with math or gotten negative feedback about their math skills might develop math anxiety. They may start to avoid or fear math, making it even harder to approach and improve.
  • Learning style. Different people have different learning styles. When someone’s learning style doesn’t match the way math is taught in their class or school, they may struggle and develop anxiety.
  • Cultural factors. When students hear things like, “Boys are better at math,” it can increase math anxiety in girls who may absorb the notion that they are already destined to underachieve.

Math anxiety and working memory

Dr. Ramirez has researched the important relationship between math anxiety and working memory.

Working memory refers to the ability to hold and manipulate information in short-term memory. People with math anxiety often have poorer working memory capacity when it comes to math-related tasks. This is thought to be due to the cognitive load created by anxiety, which can interfere with the ability to manage information in working memory.

The result? A negative feedback loop. Poor working memory can lead to further math anxiety, and increased anxiety can further impair working memory.

However, it’s important to note that not all individuals with math anxiety experience a decline in working memory capacity. Some may have average or above-average working memory capacity but still experience math anxiety. In such cases, the anxiety may be related to negative beliefs about one’s ability to perform math tasks, rather than an actual cognitive deficit.

What we can do about math anxiety

Even though math anxiety is a distinct type of anxiety, interventions such as cognitive behavioral therapy, exposure therapy, and mindfulness approaches have been shown to be effective in reducing it.

It starts, says Dr. Ramirez, with normalizing the anxiety.

“If you’re a student and you’re struggling with math and I tell you, ‘Yeah, it’s hard, it’s OK to struggle with math,’ that makes you feel seen. And that’s gonna lead you to want to ask me more for help, because I’m someone who understands you,” says Dr. Ramirez. “And that’s a great opportunity.”

Learn more

Start your 30-day free trial of Desmos Math 6–A1.

Math strategies that build community in your classroom

It’s tough to do math without sets, sums, and multipliers, so it stands to reason that it’d be tough to learn math solo, outside of a group.

Indeed, research shows that math is best learned in a community. In this post, we’ll explain why that is, what it looks like in a classroom, and how you can create a community for your math students.

What math community means: Creative classroom ideas

There are many types of math communities: online interest groups, professional organizations, the Mathletes.

In the context of a math classroom, a math community refers to the collaborative environment a teacher can create using both math strategies and social strategies (and by involving students’ parents and guardians). In a robust math community, all students feel comfortable sharing ideas, asking questions, and engaging in mathematical conversations.

In other words, math communities are student-centered. Rather than delivering information, teachers guide students. They encourage students to explore math concepts, make connections to the real world, and ask questions—of each other, and the teacher.

And in a math community, wrong answers aren’t dismissed—in fact, they’re an essential part of the learning process. In our webinar What Amazing K–12 Math Looks Like, educator and director of research at Desmos, Dan Meyer underlines the importance of students understanding “the value in their thinking—which means the value in their wrong answers.”

Benefits of math community: Equity in schools and more

A community-oriented math classroom can help each student learn, and all students learn. Here’s how.

  1. Increased engagement. When students feel a sense of belonging and connection in their math class, they’re more likely to be engaged and motivated. By promoting open discussions, group activities, and cooperative problem-solving, teachers can help students—even those who don’t think they’re “math people”—develop a genuine interest in math.
  2. Reduced math anxiety. Math anxiety affects at least 20% of students. It can hinder their growth in math and beyond. But in a supportive math community—where different styles and wrong answers are considered part of the process—those students can thrive. Embracing and working from incorrect answers encourages students to focus on the “how” of math, and to participate without fear of getting it wrong. They feel more comfortable asking questions, taking risks, and making mistakes as well as learning from them.
  3. Improved communication skills. In a math community, all students get the chance to communicate their mathematical thinking and reasoning. Explaining their ideas to others and listening to their classmates enhances their speaking and writing skills—in math, and across other subjects, too.
  4. Learning from diverse perspectives. A supportive math classroom community allows students from different backgrounds and with varying abilities to contribute to class and feel valued. Encouraging—and observing—the sharing of diverse perspectives fosters critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving skills.
  5. Positive reinforcement. A strong math community creates an environment where students feel valued, respected, included, and supported. It’s fertile ground for a growth mindset, one in which students believe they actually can do math regardless of challenges or errors. A math community encourages risk-taking, resilience, and perseverance—in math, and beyond.

How to engage students in math lessons that build community

Want to know how to make math fun and build community? Here are some ways to get started.

  1. Encourage collaboration. Promote a culture of cooperation and teamwork by incorporating group activities, peer support, and class discussions into your lessons.
  2. Celebrate brilliance. Recognize a variety of efforts, insights, and accomplishments among students—including taking risks, and making mistakes. This will motivate all students to appreciate different ways of learning and the value of both process and product.
  3. Personalize support. Offering individualized help to students who need it shows commitment to their success and builds a supportive environment for everyone.
  4. Develop a growth mindset. Create a culture where mistakes are inevitable, even welcomed, as part of the learning process. Encourage perseverance and persistence.
  5. Choose meaningful tasks. Assign problems with real-world relevance. Working together to solve them helps students see  the “why” of math—and connect with each other in the process.
  6.  Play. Game-ifying problems and introducing friendly competition builds camaraderie and helps students find shared joy in math—a win-win!

More to explore

Centering students in math curriculum adaptations

Starting with a high-quality math program

In her research article, “Examining Key Concepts in Research on Teachers’ Use of Mathematics Curricula”, Janine Remillard described curriculum use as a dynamic and ongoing relationship between teachers and resources—a relationship shaped by both the teacher and characteristics of the resource.

I have found that while certain characteristics can make a math curriculum high-quality, it is only through its relationship with teachers that it creates truly meaningful math experiences for students.

In my own teaching experiences and now back in classrooms with teachers, I am convinced that no matter how well-constructed a lesson, it only gets better as teachers plan collaboratively and center their students.

Shaping lessons for the students in your classroom can be challenging because there is not one right way or time to adapt a lesson, and the reasons we adapt vary.

Sometimes we make relatively small tweaks to the wording of a prompt, a question the teacher should pose, or the timing of an activity.

Other times we make more substantial changes to the task or task structure in order to more clearly move toward the learning goal based on what we are seeing and hearing from students.

And then there are the times we realize in the midst of an activity we should have made an adaption in our planning.

I recently taught a 5th grade fractions lesson that provided a perfect example of the dynamic nature of the work.

Engaging in a math curriculum activity

This particular lesson falls at the end of the fraction addition and subtraction unit.

The Warm-Up of this lesson is a Number Talk, which made sense to the 5th grade teachers and I, given the unit focus.

We reviewed the mathematical concepts and problems in our planning session, anticipated that students might find common denominators, and agreed that the synthesis discussion around denominator choice aligned with the problems. 

While we anticipated that students would successfully add, the number choices in the string led students to solve each one the same exact way, with the only difference being whether they stated their sum in simplest form or not.

Halfway through, we could see the majority of the students were getting bored and it was hard to infuse curiosity and excitement around denominator choice because students had already generalized a way of finding a common denominator—which at this point in the unit was great!

In the midst of the Number Talk, we paused and debated pivoting our focus to the problems in relation to one another rather than denominator choice. But we knew that doing that would add extra time to the lesson, when we needed the majority of the time for the activities that followed.

So we wrapped it up and moved on, knowing we had time to discuss our choice in an upcoming planning session.

Adapting in ways that center student ideas

After class, I couldn’t stop thinking about revisions I would make if we had the opportunity to plan it all over again. Because although the problems in the string supported mental calculation and aligned with the lesson activities, the students needed something different at this point in their learning.

After reflecting with colleagues, we decided the timing of that particular Number Talk for these students was too late in the unit and wondered if a different routine would have made it more engaging.

Using that Number Talk as a rough draft (shout out to Mandy Jansen), I played around with different number choices and routines we might use in a second take on that lesson. 

If we wanted to stick with the same task structure, we could adjust the numbers to create a new Number Talk or True or False? routine that more explicitly encouraged relational reasoning and use of the properties.

For example, the following problem strings still attend to denominators when adding fractions but also open up the space for more interesting and engaging student discourse. 

Number Talk

True or False?

If we wanted to use a different structure altogether, we could try the Which One Doesn’t Belong? routine to provide opportunities for students to notice other interesting aspects.

In this activity, students share reasons why one of four items—in this case, equations—doesn’t belong. There is no single right answer because each object could both belong and not belong, depending on the student’s criteria. (If you’ve never tried this routine, it’s a must!)

Because I couldn’t wait until this lesson next year to see what students would do with one of these ideas, I asked them to write about the Which One Doesn’t Belong? The variation among their ideas was exciting.

While I could still see attention to the denominators as in the original Warm-Up, students were now describing their ideas in much more unique ways. If this had been the original Warm-Up, it’s not hard to imagine how much more engaged students would have been—and how much more teachers would have learned about their thinking. 

Learning from within the work of teaching

Curriculum materials have shaped my teaching and learning since the beginning of my time in the classroom. They then became the focus of my work at Illustrative Mathematics and now in my current work at Amplify.

I am a strong advocate for high-quality curriculum materials, and at the same time, I also believe that every curriculum can always be improved to better meet the needs of students and teachers.

I continually recognize and appreciate the time I get to spend planning, teaching, and reflecting with teachers about their dynamic and ongoing relationship with curriculum materials.

These opportunities to learn from within the work of teaching are invaluable inputs to our current work at Amplify, where we have the exciting opportunity to improve the characteristics of math resources currently in schools. 

Want to learn more from Kristin Gray? Watch her webinar!

Embracing artificial intelligence in the math classroom

Artificial intelligence seems to be everywhere these days. We use it when we ask Alexa or Siri for the morning weather report. We use it when GPS tells us how to best avoid traffic. We use it when we chill at the end of the day with a recommendation from Netflix. 

But what about during the day—and specifically, at school? Even more specifically, can AI be leveraged to enhance the math classroom? 

“While AI is an amazing tool, you’ve really got to make sure that you are focusing in on your expertise as well,” says veteran math educator and STEM instructional coach Kristen Moore, “And saying, ‘How can I use this to make something better?’ and not just, ‘How can I use this to make something?’” 

In this post, we’ll talk about the current state of AI in math education, and how it can support educators in making math better. (SPOILER: It’s not going to replace you!) 

First, some STEM learning for us: What is artificial intelligence? 

Artificial intelligence, or AI, refers to the development of computer systems able to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence. 

It involves creating algorithms and systems that enable computers to learn from data, adapt to new situations, and make decisions or predictions.

AI aims to mimic human cognitive functions such as understanding language, recognizing patterns, solving problems, and making decisions. It encompasses a range of techniques and technologies, including machine learning, neural networks, natural language processing, and robotics.

The term “artificial intelligence” was introduced in 1956.  The availability of vast amounts of data and advancements in computer power in the 2010s led to additional breakthroughs. And with the proliferation of smartphones, smart devices, and the internet, AI technologies began to work their way into our homes, cars, pockets, and everyday lives.

What’s the state of AI in education? 

AI is already commonplace in schools and classrooms. Here are just a few examples:

  • Adaptive learning: This software uses AI algorithms to adjust the difficulty and content of lessons based on a student’s performance, helping students remain engaged and challenged at their optimal level.
  • Assistive technologies: AI helps students with disabilities by providing assistive technologies like text-to-speech and speech-to-text tools, making educational content more accessible.
  • Plagiarism detection: These tools use AI algorithms to identify instances of copied or unoriginal content in students’ assignments, essays, and projects. 
  • Data analysis for teachers: AI analyzes data from student assessments to identify trends and insights, helping teachers make informed decisions about instructional strategies. It can also predict students’ performance trends, helping teachers identify at-risk students early and intervene to provide additional support.
  • Grammar, spelling, and style checkers: AI can provide real-time feedback to students (and teachers!) on their writing work.

Embracing AI technology in your math classroom

While AI is not here to replace teachers, it is here to stay. And experts say it’s only going to become more commonplace. But despite how common AI is already—both outside and inside school—not all teachers are familiar with its numerous applications and potential. Now is a great time for educators to start exploring its uses and get ahead of the curve.

Here are a few easy entry points for math teachers. 

ChatGPT: A common AI tool, ChatGPT is designed to understand and generate human-like text based on the input it receives. It’s trained on a wide range of internet text, which enables it to generate responses to a vast array of prompts and questions. 

Most students have likely experimented with ChatGPT, while teachers—though aware of it—are less likely to use it. ChatGPT has highly practical applications for both groups, though—including in the math (and science) classroom. 

It can, for example, help teachers plan interesting, relevant math lessons for their students. Kristen Moore, who discusses this topic on Math Teacher Lounge, suggests that math teachers use ChatGPT to:

  • Connect topics to student interests and vice-versa. (Teachers can ask ChatGPT for real-life applications of polynomials and select those that might pique student interest, or ask about math applications derived from students’ hobbies and pursuits.) 
  • Generate word problems (including step-by-step solutions), lessons, projects and rubrics, and more.

Toward the (near) future

As AI advances, it will continue to revolutionize education. Here are a few time-saving ways that educators can look forward to using it in their classrooms.

  • AI tutors: AI-powered virtual tutors will help math students with homework questions and provide explanations for various concepts. These tutors can be available at home 24/7, allowing students to seek an AI homework helper whenever they need it.
  • Automatic graders: Some AI tools can automatically grade math work, including multiple-choice and short-answer assignments. These tutors can be available at home 24/7 in any household with internet access, allowing students to seek more personalized instruction.
  • Personalized learning paths: These AI-powered platforms will work particularly well for math students by adapting to each student’s skill level and pace, offering tailored exercises and challenges that cater to their strengths and identify areas of improvement. They will analyze students’ performance and adjust the difficulty of content, ensuring that students get targeted support and opportunities to progress.

More to explore

To dive deeper into AI in math education—and get rolling with AI in your classroom—check out this two-episode mini-series on our Math Teacher Lounge podcast focused on just that: 

“I’m a believer that learning is inherently social,” says Carolan, who is quick to emphasize how technology can enhance that quality, not replace it. The same can be said for the role teachers play in the classroom—a role technology can support, but never take away. To learn more about this topic (and discuss it with your fellow educators!), head to our Math Teacher Lounge community! 

How teachers can address math anxiety

How teachers can address math anxiety

No one is born knowing the quadratic formula, or how to measure a triangle—math needs to be taught.

Likewise, no one is born a “math person”—or not a math person. And no one is born with math anxiety.

“Children don’t come with math anxiety,” says Dr. Rosemarie Truglio, senior vice president of curriculum and content for Sesame Workshop and a guest on Math Teacher Lounge. “Math anxiety is learned.” That’s actually good news because it means math anxiety can be unlearned, too. We can teach students (and even teachers) how to overcome it. In this post, we’ll cover some helpful learning strategies, teacher tips, and supports for caregivers.

Anxiety in—and beyond—the math classroom

First, let’s review what math anxiety is and is not.

Math anxiety is more than just finding math challenging, or feeling like you’re not a math person. Dr. Gerardo Ramirez, associate professor of educational psychology at Ball State University, defines it as “a fear or apprehension in situations that might involve math or situations that you perceive as involving math. Anything from tests to homework to paying a tip at a restaurant.” Here’s what else we know:

  • Causes: Math anxiety is not correlated with high or low skill or performance. For students who’ve been pressured to excel, math anxiety comes with the fear of not meeting expectations. For students who historically haven’t done well in math, the anxiety comes with the assumption they’ll do poorly every time. Other triggers include a mismatch between learning and teaching styles that can lead to struggle, or false cultural messages like “girls aren’t good at math.”
  • Consequences: People who suffer from math anxiety may deliberately avoid math, the consequences of which are obvious and far-reaching: not learning math at all, thus limiting academic success, career options, and even social experiences and connections. (This webinar mentions real-life—and relatable—examples of adults affected by math anxiety.)
  • Prevalence: Math anxiety affects at least 20 percent of students, and parents and teachers can suffer from math anxiety, too. In fact, some research suggests that when teachers have math anxiety, it’s more likely that some of their students will as well. Luckily, those teachers and parents can also play a key role in helping students (and maybe even themselves) get more comfortable with math.

Addressing math anxiety in the classroom

Math anxiety can arise from the contexts and cultures in which students encounter math, so it makes sense that we can also create conditions that can help reduce it—and even prevent it from taking hold. Here are some key strategies for helping even the most math-anxious students thrive:

  • Invite explicit conversation about math anxiety. In this webinar, Math Teacher Lounge podcast co-host Bethany Lockhart Jones recommends having open and direct conversations with all students about how doing math makes them feel. “The more you know about your students’ ‘math stories,’ the more you can help them,” she says.
  • Build a positive, supportive, and collaborative math community where different learning styles and incorrect answers—often fuel for math anxiety—are considered part of the learning process. Embracing and working from wrong answers encourages students to focus on the “how” of math. Students feel more comfortable asking questions, taking risks, and making mistakes (as well as learning from them).

How do you build a supportive environment in your math classroom?

  • Cultivate a growth mindset. Create a culture where mistakes are not just acceptable, but inevitable—even welcomed. Encourage perseverance and persistence. Emphasize that being challenged by a math concept doesn’t mean a student is inherently bad at math or just can’t do it.  It means only that they can’t do it yet.
  • Encourage collaboration. Promote a culture of cooperation and teamwork by incorporating group activities, peer support, and class discussions into your lessons.
  • Play. Game-ifying problems and introducing friendly competition builds camaraderie and helps students find shared joy in math—a win-win!
  • Give students plenty of time. Alleviating the pressure of time constraints allows students to think more deeply, take brain breaks, make fewer rushed errors, and develop a sense of control and confidence. Here are some ways to build time into your math lessons:
    • Allow students ample time to think when you ask them questions.
    • Allow students to work on assignments in class with support and take them home to finish if they need more time.
    • Consider giving tests and quizzes in two parts and allowing students to complete them over multiple days.
  • Create a culture of revisions. Allowing students to revise homework assignments and tests/quizzes for partial credit will remind them that learning math is a process, not a mandate to get everything right the first time. This will help them deepen their understanding by learning from and correcting their errors—and remind them that mistakes are part of growth.
  • Use intentional language. The phrase “This is easy” might sound encouraging, but anxious students may hear it as “You should be able to do this.” Instead, use supportive, objective language such as “This problem is similar to when we…” or “Try using this strategy.”

Addressing math anxiety at home

Caregivers may be accustomed to reading to students at home, but sitting together and doing math? Probably less so. Some caregivers may even inadvertently perpetuate math anxiety—or the ideas that feed it—by repeating some of the associated stereotypes and misconceptions. (“Sorry, kiddo, grandpa’s not a math person.”)

Teachers can address this by sending materials home to support caregivers in engaging kids in math. Math games, for example, offer a fun, accessible opportunity for home practice—and they can even be played at bedtime, along with story time.

In general, teachers can also encourage caregivers to:

  • Use and point out their use of math in the real world wherever possible.
  • Help with math homework as much as possible.
  • Use intentional, positive phrasing about math—including about their own use of it.

Teachers have the ability to reduce math anxiety and help students unlearn the stereotypes associated with it by building a positive math ecosystem. They can build a positive community in their math classroom, set caregivers up for success in supporting students at home, and even shine a light on their own relationship to math.

To learn more, tune in to Season 5 of Math Teacher Lounge, dive into our math webinars, and read the rest of our math blog.