I just finished my research paper on math anxiety, its causes, and possible solutions that could be implemented to help students learn math better. Now that I'm finished I want to reflect back and look at what I learned.
Strategies that worked: I made a lot of notes as I researched. I jotted down points that each paper I read was making, and then after I had looked at about 15 papers I had a good idea of the research that was out there. I was able to look at my notes and form an outline easily.
Goals for next assignment: I should have started writing earlier. I had all my research done a long time ago, and by the time I started writing I kind of forgot what I was doing. By the time I got about seven pages in I was feeling pretty burnt out, and the paper was due the next day so I didn't really have time to take a break.
Highlight I learned I didn't expect: I found that a really good way to give tests while reducing test anxiety is to give partial credit on multiple-choice exams. Let's say you have the question
x + 5 = -8
(a) x = -13
(b) x = 3
(c) x = -5
(d) x = -7
You might give partial points to someone who selected (b), because they probably got mixed up and didn't see the negative sign. Research shows that when students know they will get partial credit for close answers, they experience less anxiety than when they take regular multiple-choice or short-answer tests.
Strategies that worked: I made a lot of notes as I researched. I jotted down points that each paper I read was making, and then after I had looked at about 15 papers I had a good idea of the research that was out there. I was able to look at my notes and form an outline easily.
Goals for next assignment: I should have started writing earlier. I had all my research done a long time ago, and by the time I started writing I kind of forgot what I was doing. By the time I got about seven pages in I was feeling pretty burnt out, and the paper was due the next day so I didn't really have time to take a break.
Highlight I learned I didn't expect: I found that a really good way to give tests while reducing test anxiety is to give partial credit on multiple-choice exams. Let's say you have the question
x + 5 = -8
(a) x = -13
(b) x = 3
(c) x = -5
(d) x = -7
You might give partial points to someone who selected (b), because they probably got mixed up and didn't see the negative sign. Research shows that when students know they will get partial credit for close answers, they experience less anxiety than when they take regular multiple-choice or short-answer tests.
Wow! Really interesting findings. Thanks for showing me an example that made sense to me!
ReplyDeleteThat would stink to write ten pages the night before, glad you got it done!
ReplyDelete