WSU LECTURER TO REDUCE MATHS ANXIETY IN GLOBAL STAGES

WSU Mathematics senior lecturer, Dr Sakyiwaa Boateng has been invited to a workshop titled “Supporting Development of Mathematical Resilience Globally” at the University of Warwick in July due to her exceptional contribution to reducing anxiety towards Mathematics and Science studies.

The workshop aims to address learners' anxiety in mathematics and science and to develop strategies for enhancing their resilience, ultimately seeking to reduce their fear of these subjects.

“When I started teaching in South African schools, I noticed a lack of interest because my students consistently struggled with Physical Sciences and displayed a negative attitude towards the subject. They also had a significant fear of Mathematics. It was then that I decided I needed to intervene,” said Boateng.

Boateng said that she decided to further her studies up to PhD to try and develop tools to reduce learners’ anxiety towards maths and science.

“When I began lecturing to my student teachers, I noticed they too were anxious about teaching Mathematics and Physical Sciences. I decided to implement some of the strategies I had learned to help ease their anxiety. If they remained anxious about teaching these subjects, they would likely pass that anxiety on to their future students,” said Boateng.

Boateng added that she began implementing coping strategies in her classroom, addressing students' emotions by starting each class with affirmations, emphasising that the subjects were not difficult and that they could solve any maths problem presented to them. That is when she noticed that the approach led to noticeable progress.

“We have now begun training teachers on how to effectively approach these subjects. WSU will benefit from this project by attracting high-quality maths and science students for its science programmes. I've noticed that when Malusi announces matriculants' pass rates of 100% or 90%, it reflects quantity, not quality,” said Boateng.

At the workshop, Boateng is expected to share the tools she has been using with both teachers and learners to reduce anxiety toward these subjects and her experiences using these tools.

By Anita Roji