When introducing a new topic of learning, especially in math, I notice the anxiety levels in some students rise significantly. The more anxious students in my class begin to fidget and look uncomfortable when they see something unfamiliar because it falls outside of their comfort zone for known success.
These students are afraid to try and fail; since school is all about introducing new concepts and embracing the learning process, this is quite a problem. Here are some strategies I use in class to help with anxious students:
Use the phrase “What do you notice?”
Sometimes I project images of a new math concept on the board, and simply ask students to tell me what they notice. There is no wrong answer, and it promotes a very close study of the information. Sometimes we are silly and pretend that the teacher isn’t here to explain what to do, so we have to figure it all out on our own; we use this discussion as a fun puzzle that we are all decoding together for fun.
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