Data shows one in three aussies experience the condition
If you've ever felt nervous or worried about doing everyday calculations like working out your shopping budget, you could be suffering from 'maths anxiety'.
Transcript
00:00 Yes, look, I'm happy to admit that probably maths was my low point at school, was probably
00:08 the only blight on my perfect school record. But I'm not alone. Maths anxiety is a common
00:15 issue that people are facing and it's carrying on after school. So it can be in the form
00:20 of mild anxiety, but it can be in the form of panic attacks when trying to work out change
00:27 to give to someone. And a lot of it is born at school where there's a high focus on maths.
00:32 It's probably the time where you do the most maths. And maths can be a really binary subject
00:38 and can be right or wrong a lot of the time. And if you don't understand one part of it,
00:43 it can be really hard to progress further. And I think that's where a lot of the maths
00:48 anxiety is coming from. For this story, Amelia spoke to a couple of high school students
00:54 to talk about their experiences with maths.
00:57 Can I ask you some maths questions? Is that alright? 25 divided by 5?
01:02 5.
01:03 Well done. 13 times 4?
01:05 52.
01:06 40 times 5?
01:07 240?
01:08 That turns into a 12, then the 2 goes into the 8.
01:17 What's 4 times 7?
01:18 28.
01:19 Did that give you a bit of anxiety?
01:21 Yeah.
01:22 I do know people who have experienced maths anxiety and myself, I'm not particularly,
01:26 I don't perform particularly well in tests.
01:28 I've definitely had maths anxiety. I've had teachers tell me that.
01:32 I was stressing, I was constantly crying during or after tests because I was so stressed about
01:36 whether or not I was going to hit that A grade.
01:39 It would be in class, just doing work, teacher would be explaining. And at times I wouldn't
01:44 understand the content. And that would make me extremely nervous because if I don't understand,
01:49 I wouldn't be able to do the work or the tests.
01:52 I would say, I'm definitely more confident for those tests because it's about memory.
01:58 Like you've memorised everything, you can recall it before the test. But with maths,
02:02 it's a skill.
02:04 So Kale, how can we overcome that horrible feeling?
02:07 Yeah, I think with maths, the biggest thing is slow down. You know, be positive with yourself.
02:13 That's always easier said than done. But take it step by step in working things out in maths.
02:20 And the other thing you can do is work out how maths applies to your life.
02:25 So for instance, I'm a big basketballer. I play basketball. So I can work out, you know,
02:31 my averages and that sort of thing.
02:32 Oh, averaging 40 points a game for another season. You know, make maths applicable to
02:38 your life and it's going to make it more interesting and more fun for you and hopefully a little
02:43 bit less anxiety inducing.
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