AI Insight
This study examined how math anxiety affects learning new mathematical skills in 249 college students who were taught a novel mathematical computation through different combinations of worked examples and practice problems. Results showed that students with higher math anxiety performed worse on the new math task compared to less anxious peers, even after accounting for their existing math competence. The study found that basic math competence partially explained the relationship between math anxiety and performance, but different study strategies (examples versus practice problems) did not significantly impact learning outcomes.
Why it matters
These findings suggest that math anxiety independently hinders the acquisition of new mathematical skills beyond just affecting existing abilities. Understanding this relationship could help educators develop targeted interventions to support anxious students when introducing new mathematical concepts, potentially improving math education outcomes for those who struggle with anxiety.
Understand the Science
IntroductionMath anxiety is negatively associated with math performance and achievement. However, we do not know much about how math anxiety relates to the acquisition of new math skills. The current study aims to investigate (1) whether math anxiety is negatively associated with the acquisition of new math skills above and beyond baseline math competence and (2) if studying examples versus completing practice problems leads to different outcomes based on individual differences in math anxiety and basic math competence.MethodsTwo hundred forty-nine college students were taught a novel mathematical computation and randomly assigned to four different study conditions consisting of varied numbers of worked-out examples and to be solved problems.ResultsWe found that individuals with higher math anxiety had lower performance on the novel math task than their less anxious counterparts, above and beyond their basic math competence.DiscussionPost-hoc mediation analysis suggests that math competence partially mediates the relationship between math anxiety and performance on the novel math task. The current study did not find compelling evidence to suggest differences between study strategies on acquisition of new math skills.