STEP-BY-STEP PROCESS

  1. Ask tutors to brainstorm why some people have negative feelings about math. Write their thoughts on the flip chart.
  2. Tell tutors you will be reading some statements about math based on B. Sydney Smith’s and Wendy Hegeman Smith’s online mini-text about math anxiety. The five statements are what they call the most prevalent myths about math. They say that our anxiety over math is an emotional response. When we look at math in a detached way, we can overcome our anxieties.
  3. Divide the room in half; one side is the myth side the other side is the fact side.
  4. Read either the myth or the fact statement for each set. Ask tutors to move to the side of the room they think the statement best fits, the myth side or the fact side. (Note: The first four myths have fact statements as well and you can choose either one to read to tutors. The last statement has only a myth; it is for you and the tutors to discuss as a group.)

Fact or myth?

Myth 1
Aptitude for math is something you are born with.     myth
We all have the ability to learn to reason with abstract ideas.     fact

Myth 2
To be good at math you need to be good at calculating.     myth
OR
Being a wiz at figures is a mark of success in math.     myth
Math is a science of ideas not an exercise in calculation.     fact

Myth 3
Math requires logic not creativity.     myth
To create the abstract form of numbers requires creativity.     fact

Myth 4
The important thinking in math is to get the right answer.     myth
It’s more important to understand the concept than get the right answer.     fact

Myth 5
Men are naturally better at math than women.     myth or fact?

  1. Ask tutors to share why they chose to move where they did. Tutors may want to first share with the people gathered on their side, and then share highlights from that conversation with the whole group.
  2. As a group, you may want to discuss whether you agree with the Smiths or not.
  3. The last myth is for you to discuss and share your views. Why do many women think they can’t do math as well as men?
  4. Ask tutors to think of other misconceptions or myths we have about math.