This dissertation adds to the teacher education literature by exploring the experiences education students have of mathematics anxiety and self-efficacy for teaching and learning mathematics. Further, the utility of a specific in-service teacher professional development project, focused on improving rational number instruction, in pre-service education is evaluated, and the potential impact of professional development experiences on the anxieties and efficacy beliefs of students before they enter the teaching profession is explored. This study provides evidence of the predictive capacities of teacher efficacy models that incorporate student experiences and feelings of anxiety to better understand task choice. For example, findings indicate that self-efficacy for teaching mediates the relationship between mathematics teaching anxiety, experience, and mathematics subject area preference for teacher education students. Further, there are indications of the potential for teacher education coursework and in-service teacher professional development to decrease students' experience of mathematics teaching anxiety. Finally, evidence is provided that teacher professional development is not only perceived as useful to teacher educations students, but has potential as an intervention for teacher efficacy and anxiety for teaching. Given these findings, it makes sense to further evaluate the ways in which the strengths of pre-service coursework and in-service professional development can be leveraged to best prepare future teachers for their professional roles. Further research is also needed to longitudinally track experiences of anxiety and self-efficacy as students leave teacher education and enter the classroom as professionals.

The main objective of this study was to investigate the effect of using a suggested mathematical word-problem training programme on Primary 4 pupils' performance in mathematical word-problems. The study had a pre-post control group design. A treatment and a no-treatment group were exposed to pre-post methods of gathering data (a mathematical word-problem achievement test and a mathematical word-problem attitude scale). The treatment group was given direct and explicit training on how to solve mathematical word-problems, while the pupils of the no-treatment group received no such training; they were taught the same material they study at school. A "t" test was used to compare the means of scores of the control group pupils and those of the experimental group in the pre-post measurements. Results of the study revealed a significant improvement in the experimental group pupils' performance in mathematical word-problems because they had attended the suggested programme. Results also revealed that experimental group subjects' attitudes towards mathematical word-problems underwent an exceptional change because they had attended the suggested programme. Their attitudes towards mathematical word-problems became more positive than before. In the light of the results of the study, some recommendations were made for improving mathematics teacher training programmes, for mathematics teaching, and for further research.

The hypothesis that a structured, sequenced, approach to mathematics learning, based on the application of learnt facts, decreases mathematics anxiety and increases mathematics achievement is tested. A literature study and an empirical investigation were conducted with respect to the relationships between maths anxiety, maths achievement and teaching methods. A qualitative research design which focussed on the cross-case analysis of different case studies was used. The qualitative case study involves multiple methods such as interviews, observations and a pretest, posttest design. It analyses and compares the effects of the Kuman method, used as the intervention programme, on maths anxiety and maths achievement of an experimental group and a control group. The results of this research indicate that learners on the intervention programme who showed a decrease in anxiety, showed an increase in achievement. This has implications for the teaching methods used in South Africa. / Teacher Education / M. Ed. (Specialisation in Guidance and Counselling)

Este projeto iniciou-se a partir da constatação de experiências do professor/pesquisador durante as aulas de matemática com relação ao comportamento dos alunos que demonstravam certa de ansiedade devido aos fracassos nas tentativas de aprender da forma tradicional. Para o desenvolvimento do projeto e análise dos resultados foi utilizada a Pesquisa Qualitativa, por ser um instrumento capaz de captar os valores, crenças e sentimentos humanos dando assim um significado às suas ações. Embasado pelas orientações de Lorenzato é relatada a implantação do Laboratório de Ensino de Matemática (LEM) numa escola particular cujas atividades foram realizadas com alunos do 9º ano do ensino fundamental. A proposta contempla a utilização de materiais didáticos, manipulativos e outros recursos pedagógicos para o ensino de função e de trigonometria dentro do LEM. A análise de dados foi embasada nos Registros de Representações Semiótica (RRS) de Duval, foram também consideradas as principais tendências em educação matemática, seus principais autores como D\'Ambrosio, na Etnomatematica; Biembengut, na Modelagem Matemática; Onuchic e Allevato, na Resolução de Problemas; Borba e Penteado nas Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação (TIC), Smole nos jogos e nas orientações dos Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais (PCN). A partir dos resultados obtidos foi constatado, por meio de questionários, observação do comportamento e das avaliações, uma melhora no entendimento dos conceitos de função e de trigonometria. Além disso, observou-se um aumento na compreensão de problemas matemáticos colocados pelo professor/pesquisador, amenizando a ansiedade em relação à matemática. / This project started from the teacher observation report in Mathematic lessons which had shown certain degree of anxiety in student\'s behavior in relation to failures of traditional method of learning. To develop the project and the outcome of analysis was employed Qualitative Research, to be an instrument capable to grasp the values, beliefs and human feelings thus giving signification to their actions. Based upon the Lorenzato guidelines is reported the implementation of the Mathematics Teaching Laboratory in a private school which activities were carried out with students from 9th grade of elementary school.The bringing considers the use of teaching materials, manipulatives and other teaching methods for teaching function and trigonometry in the Mathematics Teaching Laboratory. Data assays was based on semiotics representations records (RRS) Duval, were considered the major trends in mathematics teaching, its main authors like D\'Ambrosio, in Ethnomathematics; Biembengut in Mathematical Modeling; Onuchic and Allevato in Troubleshooting; Borba and Penteado in Information and Communication Technologies; Smole in classroom games and the guidelines of the National Curriculum Parameters. From the results it was found, by means of questioning, report of students behavior and tests, an improving in learning the concepts of function and trigonometry. In addition, there was an increase in understading mathematical problems posed by the teacher/ researcher, which reduced anxiety in relation to mathematics.

Syftet med denna studie har varit att införskaffa kunskap om förekomsten av math anxiety, ångestkänslor i förhållande till matematik, samt om det kan förebyggas. Fokus för studien har varit elever i grundskolans tidigare år samt lärarstudenter. För att undersöka detta har en litteraturstudie med systematisk metod genomförts, med syfte att ta reda på vad aktuell forskning säger om det utvalda området. Resultaten visar att ett flertal faktorer spelar in vad gäller lärarstudenters förhållande till matematikämnet, bland annat händelser i den egna skolgången och förhållandet till lärarna. Ångestkänslor relaterade till matematik hos lärarstudenterna kan förbyggas genom kurser i matematisk metod, arbete med laborativt material, feedback från lärare och goda lärarförebilder. Hos elever i grundskolan påverkas nivåerna av math anxiety till stor del av elevernas självbild, där lägre nivåer av math anxiety rapporterats hos elever med större självförtroende. Hos eleverna är arbetsminnet relaterat till math anxiety, och de elever som använder mer avancerade strategier och nyttjar mer arbetsminne i problemlösning drabbas i större utsträckning än andra elever. Även föräldrarnas attityd och tillgången till matematik i hemmet är faktorer som påverkar elevers math anxiety. Nivåerna av math anxiety hos grundskoleelever kan sänkas vid interaktiva inslag i problemlösningen, då eleverna får interagera med fysiska objekt relaterade till uppgifterna / <p>Matematik</p>

Många elever i dagens svenska skolor har matematiksvårigheter. Det leder till att de inte klarar kunskapskraven i ämnet. En av de största anledningarna till elevers matematiksvårigheter i ämnet matematik är att eleverna har matematikängslan. Syftet med denna studie är därför att få kunskaper om lärares och rektorers syn på hur skolan arbetar med elever som har matematikängslan. För att uppnå studiens syfte genomfördes semistrukturerade intervjuer med lärare och rektorer på två olika skolor. Resultatet av studien visar att lärare och rektorers syn på arbetet med elevers matematikängslan skiljer sig i vissa avseenden. Det kan leda till att synen på hur skolan ska arbeta för att motverka matematikängslan hos elever skiljer sig mellan lärare och rektorer. Resultatet i studien visar att lärarnas arbetssätt för att motverka matematikängslan hos elever är att de arbetar med positiv respons och hur de kommunicerar matematik. Rektorernas syn på hur lärarna ska nå elever med matematikängslan är att öka lärarnas kompetens med exempelvis kompetensutbildningar. Samtidigt är lärarnas uppfattning att de vill få mer stöd i form av ökade resurser, som exempelvis en extra vuxen i klassrummet. Studiens slutsats är att det finns indikationer på att lärare och rektorer inte är överens om hur ett arbete med elevers matematikängslan borde se ut och gå till. / There are many pupils in Swedish schools who have mathematical difficulties, which means that they don’t meet the knowledge requirements. One of the biggest reasons for pupils' mathematical difficulties in mathematics is that the students have mathematic anxiety. The purpose with this study is therefore to gain knowledge about teachers’ and principals’ views on how the school work with pupils who have mathematics anxiety. To find out how schools work with this we have conducted semi-structured interviews with teachers and principals at two different schools. The result of this study shows that teachers and principals don’t agree in their views on how to work with pupils’ mathematics anxiety. Because of this there are different views on how to counteract pupils’ mathematics anxiety. The result of this study shows that the way teachers are teaching today to counteract the pupils’ mathematic anxiety is that they work with positive response and how they communicate mathematics with the pupils. The principals’ view of how teachers should approach pupils with mathematic anxiety is to increase teachers’ competence. At the same time, the teachers’ view is that they want to be given more support by increased resources, such as an extra adult in the classroom for example. The conclusion of this study is that we see indications that teachers and principals don’t agree about how they should approach pupils with mathematics anxiety and how to work with them.

Denna studie bygger på lärarstudenters livsberättelser i relation till matematikängslan. Studien syftar till att identifiera lärarstudenters känslor och upplevelser av matematikängslan utifrån deras livsberättelser samt att finna likheter i deras berättelser. Den narrativa teorin och metoden ligger till grund för denna studie. Med hjälp av livsberättelser skapas en möjlighet att studera lärarstudenternas känslor och upplevelser av matematikängslan. Resultatet i studien visar att det finns likheter i lärarstudenternas livsberättelser både gällande känslor och upplevelser, såsom rädsla och gruppindelning. Vidare stämmer resultatet till viss del överens med den tidigare forskning som berörs i studien, såsom att självtilltro och lärarens roll har stor påverkan på matematikängslan. Utifrån resultatet dras slutsatsen att det inte bara är en händelse och känsla som ligger till grund för matematikängslan, det är snarare ett flertal orsaksfaktorer som samspelar med varandra och leder till matematikängslan.

Syftet med denna studie är att bidra med ökad kunskap om matematikångest utifrån ett specialpedagogiskt perspektiv genom att intervjua speciallärare, specialpedagoger och lärare som alla arbetar inom det pedagogiska fältet där matematikångest uppträder. Studien är inspirerad av en kvalitativ ansats med intervjuer som datainsamlingsmetod. I resultatet framkommer en begreppsförvirring kring hur olika respondenterna förklarar begreppet matematikångest och vad de omfattar i dess beskrivning. Speciallärarna, specialpedagogerna och lärarna som medverkar i denna studie bidrar med erfarenheter kring de elever de har mött och på vilket sätt de har arbetat med det stöd och hjälpande insatser för att hindra eller förebygga att matematikångest uppstår. Viktiga faktorer som påtalas i vårt arbete är lärarens undervisning, lärmiljön och elevens individuella förutsättningar så som arbetsminnet och föräldrarnas attityd till ämnet. Forskningen lyfter framgångsrika metoder som kan minska matematikångest för de elever som redan utvecklat detta hinder. Sammanfattningsvis visar vår studie att de hinder som skapar matematikångest hos elever är komplext och vikten av att den specialpedagogiska kompetensen ökar på skolorna för att stödja men även förebygga matematikångest hos elever.

This study is a study of literature which focused on the research question How can cooperative learning reduced perceived mathematics anxiety. This was conducted via a literature search in a variety of databases, such as ERC, ERIC, and finally libsearch. The searchwords that were used were connected to the reasearch question, for instance cooperative learning in mathematics and anxiety. The studies that were chosen based on relevance were then analyzed and summarized. Based on the summarization subcategories such as shared responsibility, complement each other, helping, not competing, active learning, and setbacks were established based on recurring concepts. The results were then presented based on these subcategories’ effect on perceived mathematics anxiety. The conclusion that was made was that cooperative learning can reduce mathematics anxiety by giving students an improved sense of responsibility, cooperation, and support by their peers as well as creating a less competitive environment with more focus on active learning

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the mathematics anxiety treatment messages in a computer-based environment on ninth-grade students' mathematics anxiety and mathematics learning. The study also examined whether the impact of the treatment messages would be differentiated by learner's gender and by learner's prior mathematics anxiety levels (High vs. Medium vs. Low). Participants were 161 ninth-grade students, who took a required introductory algebra class in a public high school neighboring Utah State University. The learning environment was integrated with a pedagogical agent (animated human-like character) as a tutor. This study employed a pretest and posttest experimental design. Participants' mathematics anxiety was measured at the beginning and at the end of the intervention; participants' mathematics learning was measured before and after each lesson (four lessons in total). The participants were randomly assigned to work with either an agent presenting mathematics anxiety treatment messages (TR) or an agent without presenting the treatment messages (NoTR). Because of student attrition, only 128 students were included for data analysis. The results suggested that mathematics anxiety treatment messages provided by a pedagogical agent had no impact on student mathematics anxiety and mathematics learning. Second, there were no main or interaction effects of the treatment messages and learners' gender on mathematics anxiety and mathematics learning. Third, there were significant interaction effects between treatment messages and learner's prior mathematics anxiety levels only on current mathematics anxiety (p < .05). High-anxious students in the TR condition decreased their anxiety more than those in the NoTR condition. Medium-anxious students in the TR condition increased their anxiety whereas those in the NoTR condition decreased their anxiety. Low-anxious students in the TR condition did not change their anxiety whereas those in the NoTR condition increased their anxiety.