69. How to Build Confidence in Those “Not Good at Math”

Brittany 0:00

Hi, I'm Brittany. Having students tell you they're not good at math can be heartbreaking. You can tell they believe it because they've struggled for years, lost faith in the system, and lost belief in themselves. It's hard to reach them and let them know that what they've been led to believe is not true. But today, on the teaching toolbox, my friend Ellie,

Ellie 0:44

hello

Brittany 0:45

and I are going to show you how to build confidence in these kids and let them know that they can succeed.

Ellie 0:54

Why do many students feel they aren't good at math? And what do they mean by that? Students might not actually be bad at math, but they might feel that way because there might be other issues rather than their actual ability to succeed in math. One of these might be anxiety or fear of failure. If they feel pressure to perform well, that can create a mental block and can lead them to avoid math tasks or feel overwhelmed by math. Their anxiety can stem from past experiences where they struggled or felt judged, which impacted their self confidence. Related to this is the rare occasion when a student gets a poor teacher who ridicules and judges them, making them feel inadequate and incompetent and ruining their self esteem in general or in one particular area.

Brittany 1:47

My son actually had an absolutely awful second grade teacher who literally told him and two other boys that she hated boys. And the poor boys in her class were treated so poorly, and my son went from loving school to hating it in less than nine months, and thus he began to think that he was poor at school, that he was just bad at school. Sometimes in elementary school, we also run into teachers who aren't that confident in math themselves, and sometimes they might convey that attitude towards the children, and thus it rubs off on them and they they also might avoid teaching math as often as possible. So these kids are behind their classmates and their math skills when things begin to accelerate.

Ellie 2:40

Yeah, I can, I can see that there are elementary math teachers who never intended to be math teachers, necessarily, and so that is not something they're excited about.

Brittany 2:50

And sometimes students think they aren't good at math because they don't fully understand some foundational concepts. If they're misunderstanding some key topic, it can lead to confusion and difficulty as math becomes more advanced. This lack of understanding can make them feel inadequate or behind their peers.

Ellie 3:11

This actually reminds me of my older daughter, who skipped pre algebra because she was advanced and they were allowing students at that time to skip that grade level, and then she ended up struggling a bit in higher level math because she missed some of those key concepts. Like, I remember helping her at night and saying, Well, don't you remember this concept or this principle? And she'd say, No. And at one point we realized she never actually was taught that principle, it was assumed that it would be picked up somewhere along the way, and so that was very, very frustrating, because she didn't have that foundational understanding of some things.

Brittany 3:47

Yeah,

Ellie 3:48

Students might actually also be comparing themselves with their classmates, and that makes them feel like they're not good at math. Middle school students can be really sensitive about how they compare with others. If they think their classmates are excelling in math, they might decide that they are not as capable, even though they are, and this comparison can lead to a negative self image and make them think that they aren't good at math. I had a sixth grade student one year who transferred from a charter school, and she was amazing. She was such a hard worker, she participated, she was enthusiastic. But she felt that she was behind her classmates, that they all had learned some concepts that she hadn't, and it's possible they might have, and that gave her some anxiety about her math performance. Like she did work really, really hard to try to catch up, but she had that, that feeling that she wasn't as good as the others because she just hadn't, hadn't had the same background.

Brittany 4:45

Aww, poor kiddo.

Ellie 4:46

Yeah, I felt bad, but she persevered. Some students might feel they don't have the necessary support from teachers, parents or tutors, and due to that lack of support, they might conclude that they aren't good at math, especially if they don't get help. When a math concept is more challenging and they can't get their way through it.

Brittany 5:07

One last reason could simply be boredom or disinterest. If students are bored with how math is being presented or are not interested, it may lead them to believe they just aren't good at it. If math lessons don't engage students or relate to their interests, students might lose motivation and assume that math just isn't for them.

Ellie 5:31

So let's talk about some strategies we can use to foster confidence and a positive math mindset. We've got 14 ideas for you. First, celebrate mistakes as learning opportunities. Make it clear that mistakes are part of learning. Emphasize that errors can lead to deeper understanding, and encourage students to view mistakes as steps towards success. Second, encourage students to ask questions and be willing to take the time to answer them. Students often hesitate to ask questions, in my experience, especially in front of the whole class, and especially at the beginning of the year. So one way to make students feel more comfortable is to start the year with an activity that encourages students to work together right from the start, from day one, to try to foster a comfort level that will encourage them to ask questions in class. It's a good idea to consistently remind students to ask questions when you're introducing and discussing concepts. I found that at the beginning of the year, students will typically start asking questions when it's group work time and I'd be circulating around the room, they might ask a question, so I would take the time to answer those questions, even if it took me longer to get to other students, because it was important to answer their question, because they were willing to ask it. As the year progressed, and students saw that I really did want questions and that I really would answer them, they became more comfortable asking questions in front of the whole class, and the more they ask, the more they learn, right? Because we might explain something one way, but they need to have it rephrased. And so if they can ask a question that will allow us to rephrase it, then it helps their understanding. And it does take extra time sometimes, but it's worth it, because we want students to develop deeper understanding, which helps develop that positive math mindset, and that helps through that questioning.

Brittany 7:26

I often use pods in my classroom, and so I would give every pod a sticky note, and then I would say, like, I want three questions on the sticky note.

Ellie 7:39

Oh, nice.

Brittany 7:40

By the end of, you know, by by this point in the class or something,

Ellie 7:44

oh, that's a great strategy,

Brittany 7:46

then everybody had to, like, add a question to the sticky note, and nobody had to, like, raise their hand or be vocal. I could just collect the sticky notes and go through the questions.

Ellie 7:57

Nice. That's very non threatening.

Brittany 7:59

Yeah. You also want to use real life examples show students how math applies to real world situations, whether it's budgeting for groceries, calculating sports statistics, designing something creative, practical applications can help them see the relevance and enjoy the subjects more than just dealing with the problems that are in the book. Break down problems into smaller steps. Complex problems can feel very overwhelming, so teach students to break tasks into manageable steps and solve one part at a time. This not only makes math more approachable, but it also helps them build some problem solving skills, which we just talked about in the last episode.

Ellie 8:49

Yeah, so if you didn't listen to that one, go ahead and give that a listen. I love to give students time to talk to each other in math class about math, not just talk. We know that students love to talk, especially some of those middle school students, so why not encourage them to talk about math? Students would often come to sixth grade having had very little chance to talk about math with others, and they were often surprised at how often I asked them to have math conversations. And it's just random talking, kind of but with a purpose, like discussing the warm ups that they did for homework, like, what were the answers? How did they solve it? Why do they have different answers from each other? Other times, they would work on problem solving together and discuss things like, what do they know from the problem, or their background knowledge, like in the problem solving we just talked about last time, how will they approach the problem? Where did they get stuck in the problem? Talking about math is so important to developing a positive math mindset. You know, it's something you talk just about anything else - you can talk about math too. Sixth it's helpful to build math vocabulary. Sometimes students struggle simply because they don't understand the language of math. So if you use visuals and practice terms in context, it will help them build a stronger math vocabulary.

Yeah, having a math word wall or something is a great idea.

Yep,

Number seven. Incorporate technology and games. Use math apps and games to make learning more engaging. Tools like Kahoot, Prodigy, or Desmos can help students practice math in a fun way, making them more inclined to stick with it. Ellie actually has a great math site where students can learn and practice skills, and we'll link that in the show notes. Number eight, provide positive reinforcement and encourage effort from your students. Reinforce their effort over their accuracy. That's kind of like the growth mindset thing. Praise their hard work and their persistence, which builds resilience and encourages them to keep trying, even if they struggle initially.

A ninth idea is ask why. It might seem really simple, but I would ask why all the time, and to begin with, at the beginning of the year, students would think that if I asked why, it meant their answer was wrong, and so they would change their answer. But it didn't mean that. It just meant I wanted to know why they thought what they were thinking, and it was never a cue then. So if I asked why, then they really didn't know, was I right? Was I wrong? I don't know they had to explain. I think asking why made them feel valued, which is really important, if you think you aren't good at math, somebody wants to hear what your thinking is. The more you ask students to justify their thinking, the more able they become at explaining, and then they start to like explaining, even if their answer isn't right. Technically, right? That was an air quote, right? If you make asking why an open practice where you're not judging, but you're just listening, students become more confident in their math ability. I loved having students go to the board to illustrate their whys. Some students are super willing to do so at the start of the year, while others take a while to get comfortable with it. But by the end of the school year, my students typically would feel comfortable explaining their whys, which is a little proof of the positive math mindset they were developing.

Number 10 is to teach a mindset technique. Discuss the difference between a fixed and a growth mindset. Explain that intelligence isn't fixed and that effort leads to improvement. Share stories of famous individuals who overcame early struggles in math. I actually have a blog post on famous failures if you're looking for inspiration here, and we'll link that in the show notes as well.

Awesome

Offer different problem solving strategies as well. Show multiple methods for solving problems, whether it's through visual aids, manipulatives, or mental math. When students can then choose a strategy that suits them best, they're more likely to succeed. And then highlight small wins. Focus on gradual progress and celebrate small achievements, no matter how minor. When students see their progress, they're more likely to develop a positive attitude toward math.

Encourage peer support and group work. Group work allows students to learn from each other and again, have some of those math conversations. Sometimes hearing a classmate's explanation makes a concept click because they explain it in a little bit different way than you did. Working in teams can also help struggling students feel more supported and less isolated in their challenges. And our last strategy is to let students explore math concepts. It can be hard to take time for exploration and discovery, especially when your math periods are short and you may feel pressure to cover material within a certain amount of time. I definitely felt that pressure, and with 40 minute math periods, time was certainly short. But letting students explore math and play with math is so valuable. In Jo Boaler's wonderful book Mathematical Mindsets, she references brain research and the idea that if you learn something deeply, the synaptic activity will create lasting connections in your brain forming structural pathways. But if you visit an idea only once or in a superficial way, the synaptic connections can wash away like pathways made in the sand. She also references a Park and Brannon study that found, quote, the most powerful learning occurs when we use different pathways in the brain. So giving students time to explore math allows them to explore those pathways and think more deeply. This can only benefit them build their foundation for the topics you'll teach and foster a positive growth math mindset.

And we will link that book in the show notes as well, in case you're interested. So these strategies can make a huge difference, especially for students who might feel that math isn't their strong suit. Hopefully you heard a few ideas you can add to your teaching toolbox to help foster a positive math mindset and help students build confidence and start to see their own potential.

If you loved this episode, please share it with a friend, perhaps a math bestie. We'll talk with you next time

bye.