The gap between people who perform mathematical operations without any difficulties and those who have the hardest time understanding essential math concepts is growing at a disturbing pace in the United States. This piece mentions several reasons why some individuals struggle with math.
Year after year, responses to the annual Gallup Youth Survey reveal that teenagers list math as the subject in which they encounter the most difficulty. The difficulties tend to follow these teenagers well into adulthood, as evidenced by the sheer number of developmental and remedial math class offerings at colleges and universities across the US. According to Lopukhova (2012), mathematics was the most common remedial course reported by beginning post-secondary students: 15% of students in all types of educational institutions were enrolled in remedial mathematics in 2004.
And statistics are dismally worse at junior colleges, partly as a result of open admissions policies that allow anyone to enroll without regard to ability to successfully handle collegiate level coursework. Nationwide, almost 70 percent of all incoming community college students must enroll in non-credit remedial math courses before taking college level math classes. Remedial math often leads to deferred dreams because the vast majority of students who enroll in these courses never end up inside a college-level math class. We all know that most degree plans require satisfactory completion of at least one college-level math course such as College Algebra, Finite Mathematics or Elementary Statistics prior to graduation. Without a college-level math course on one's transcript to meet general education requirements, no degree will be conferred.
Why do many students struggle with math? The theories are abundant. I will mention a few of them.
Math is a sequential subject.
Math is a highly objective subject, which means each problem has one correct solution and an infinite number of wrong answers. It is also a sequential subject, so what you learn today builds upon the math you learned in the past. Also, the math you are learning today is the foundation of all future mathematical learning. If the basic concrete foundation (read: arithmetic) has cracks, you will almost certainly struggle with future mathematical learning that involves more complexities and abstractions (read: algebra and beyond). Unfortunately, many students move into more abstract math courses with a dangerously crumbled foundation in the essentials. All too often, this spells disaster.
Neurobiological issues may hinder the acquisition of mathematical concepts.
Students think, learn and process information in different ways. The left hemisphere of the brain is regarded as the analytical side, whereas the right brain is commonly known as the global half. Left-dominant learners tend to be analytic thinkers who demonstrate a preference toward acquiring new information in a sequential, logical, step by step manner. On the other hand, right-dominant learners tend to be less analytic, more artistic, more holistic and with a preference to acquire new information starting with very general ideas before breaking them down into specifics. Thus, left-dominant learners usually grasp mathematics and logic with ease.
People fail to connect math with real life.
Many students look at a linear equation with a bunch of letters, numbers, and funky-looking symbols while wondering, "What is the point? Why do I need to know this?"
Associating math lessons to real life is important, especially for adult learners. Making a connection to everyday life has been proven to increase peoples' interest level in math and prompt them to actually want to learn it. Knowing how all those symbols translate to real life is crucial to how satisfactorily a person will retain an abstract topic.
To satisfactorily learn advanced math, a person needs the ability to think in abstractions. Abstract thinking employs concepts and ideas that contain symbolic interpretations. However, many people have not crossed the bridge from concrete thought to abstract thought. According to Wadsworth (1989), one-half of the adults in the United States do not develop beyond concrete operations. Concrete operations address an individual's capacity to think about things that are real and concrete rather than logical and abstract. A student who struggles with abstract thinking may also struggle with higher level mathematics.
Math requires practice and patience.
To succeed in math, students must exert plenty of time, effort, practice and mental energy. After all, practice makes perfect. However, we live in a society in which immediate gratification is prized, so some people demand the answer now instead of patiently working toward the solution. Patience is a virtue that is gradually becoming lost on people.
Dyscalculia might be a legitimate problem.
Some individuals who have difficulty grasping math might suffer from dyscalculia, a neurocognitive affliction that impedes the ability to learn essential numeric and arithmetic concepts. Dyscalculia is supposed to be the numerical equivalent of dyslexia.
This is a good topic and you’ve made some very valid points. I do think Math is a technical subject and that’s partially why it can be challenging. Another reason many are unable to grasp it easily is due to how it’s delivered and the lack of consistency starting from the early stages. When you think about English, History, Social Studies, Science...most teachers are so passionate about these subjects that it shows in how they teach it. They make it their own and find ways to engage the learner and modify their teaching method if it’s not effective. Contrarily, because math is not quite as abstract, I feel many of the teachers, regardless of how committed and passionate they are, find it difficult to make the subject “fun” and connect the student to it. It seems more like memorization rather than learning the hows & why’s. (there’s always a how and why, even in Math lol!) Then there are so many components of math that create that “why am I even doing this” thought…statistics, geometry, algebra….how does it tie in. How many people can say they’ve been taught why these subjects matter and how they are related?
As for me personally, I never really thought I was a good math student. I didn’t think it was difficult…it just did not excite me so I didn’t have an interest in it. Subsequently, my grades were just mediocre. But I had one professor in college that made me see things in a different way. And almost everyone in that teachers class did exceptionally well despite the material and exams being extremely difficult.
Although there are some genetic/cognitive issues that can affect how an individual learns I don’t think anyone is born disliking a particular subject….it’s learned.
Btw, anyone struggling w/ math and need a review, I think Khan academy (www.khanacademy.org) is awesome!
My children are in elementary and middle school now and Common Core (not to start a political debate AT ALL) is wrecking it. It is so convoluted, kids cannot grasp it.
I agree. My son is in 4th grade and they are teaching long division the absolute longest, most difficult route to getting the solution. I hate it!
It needs to be taught correctly, early. Not too many teachers are good at teaching math, therefore, students don't understand it-become afraid of it and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
in math you have to know your basic addition/subtraction/mult/div facts in order to add in the algorithms for advanced operations.
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Common Core (not to start a political debate AT ALL) is wrecking it. It is so convoluted, kids cannot grasp it. I have one child who is like me: very linear and concrete.
My review of Common Core math is that it is a right brained teaching approach for a left brained subject aimed at reaching a minimum level of competency in students without a need to progress to higher level math (and by higher level I mean Algebra). They'll be able to make small change at the register without counting on their fingers, but don't expect them to go on to STEM with a Common Core foundation in math.
It is shortchanging students who could succeed in STEM.
I absolutely love math. It just comes natural to me and I understand how it's used in the real world. I was a math tutor during the first 2 years of college, but for the life of me I can not get it to click with my oldest son who is now in 6th grade and I can see him falling behind because he didn't completely learn the things in previous grades.
I do know people that were horrible at math, but took remedial classes and it finally clicked, but then there are those where it seems they will just never understand it, no matter what you do.
Math to me has always been difficult. I have a severe problem with visually processing numbers--they move around on the page (no kidding), or assume different shapes.
At times I will be writing down what I think are numbers, and what comes out on the page are letters. A "4" becomes an "s" on paper. I frequently reverse order of numbers. 548 will be written 485 even though I'm "thinking" of the number 548.
That said, I recently took two remedial algebra courses, and managed to pass with B's/B+'s. (I failed algebra way back when in high school.) I took the classes online because I was too afraid to face it in the classroom. But a magical thing happened. When I "taught myself" to learn it the way my brain processes, it was so much easier than sitting in a classroom trying to follow the scrawl and scribble on a blackboard. It was not easy, but I did it.
Just finished Mat 146 (Stats) tonight. Hoping for an A. :)
Now that I am in my 30's, and I finally am on the path I was meant to take, I realize I am actually NOT bad at math. I just need more time to learn it than most, and I don't learn in the same way as others.
I found it's better for me to take my classes online, so I can work at my own pace. Yes, It's harder because I have to essentially teach it to myself, but I can take as much time as I need on the things I am struggling with and I can move past the things I feel comfortable with.
The other thing I've noticed, is along with not remembering some of what I learned in high school, I was never taught half of what I am learning now. I was labeled learning disabled, (and I am, to a point) given an IEP, and given up on. No one took the time to tell me that I could do it, (besides my parents), and I really started to think I couldn't.
I've been diagnosed as an adult with ADHD, am medicated now, and I am getting straight A's. I am taking a med calculation class that is supposed to be difficult, and it's easy as pie for me. Ask me to do long division of a polynomial, though, and I will cry. (Seriously, polynomials can kiss my hiney).
Anywho, that's my story. ;-) Thank you for the read.
I believe it. I was placed in remedial math, (Contemporary Math) and not allowed to use a calculator. (I guess that's common....amazing how dependent we are on them)
It took me three freaking times to pass it. NOT because I couldn't do it, but because it scared the crap out of me, and I kept giving up. I would withdraw from it because I told myself I couldn't do it. I CAN do it, I DID do it, and I have one more to go before I am done with math classes for good! (HALLELUJAH!!)
I think you hit the nail on the head by noting that math is completely and totally objective (Unless you are Sheldon Cooper and working in theoretical physics...).
You can BS through many, many subjects, but math has one correct answer, and there is no extra credit for pretty penmanship or sucking up to the instructor. Over years of teaching medication math to LPN students, I also noticed that neatness and precision is rare in younger students....lack of clarity of a decimal place, not using units of measurement, and a failure to work the solution backwards to see if it MAKES SENSE can kill a potential career in nursing (and many, many other well compensated jobs).
For example, if you want to give 200 mgs of a med, and concentration is 50 mg in 5 ml, does 2000 ml REALLY sound like a med dose to you???
HA! I am taking a class now in Dimensional Analysis, and that is how I get my A's. (Damn if I didn't just get a question wrong for writing 2.0 ) I just ask myself if it sounds right, and if it doesn't I do it again.
Math to me has always been difficult. I have a severe problem with visually processing numbers--they move around on the page (no kidding) or assume different shapes. At times I will be writing down what I think are numbers, and what comes out on the page are letters. A "4" becomes an "s" on paper. I frequently reverse order of numbers. 548 will be written 485 even though I'm "thinking" of the number 548. That said, I recently took two remedial algebra courses, and managed to pass with B's/B+'s. (I failed algebra way back when in high school.) I took the classes online because I was too afraid to face it in the classroom. But a magical thing happened. When I "taught myself" to learn it the way my brain processes, it was so much easier than sitting in a classroom trying to follow the scrawl and scribble on a blackboard. It was not easy, but I did it. Just finished Mat 146 (Stats) tonight. Hoping for an A. :)[/quote']
The numbers switching around on paper but not in my head happens to me too!
I've had a fear of math since grade school. Division scares me the most. Something about it makes me break into a cold sweat.
Math is the only reason why I didn't go into nursing right away. I kept pushing it off. It almost caused me to fail in nursing school too but I went on khan academy and taught myself. I made it through though. But going back for my RN is giving me anxiety again just thinking about it.
Concrete Rose
61 Posts
This is a good topic and you’ve made some very valid points. I do think Math is a technical subject and that’s partially why it can be challenging. Another reason many are unable to grasp it easily is due to how it’s delivered and the lack of consistency starting from the early stages. When you think about English, History, Social Studies, Science...most teachers are so passionate about these subjects that it shows in how they teach it. They make it their own and find ways to engage the learner and modify their teaching method if it’s not effective. Contrarily, because math is not quite as abstract, I feel many of the teachers, regardless of how committed and passionate they are, find it difficult to make the subject “fun” and connect the student to it. It seems more like memorization rather than learning the hows & why’s. (there’s always a how and why, even in Math lol!) Then there are so many components of math that create that “why am I even doing this” thought…statistics, geometry, algebra….how does it tie in. How many people can say they’ve been taught why these subjects matter and how they are related?
As for me personally, I never really thought I was a good math student. I didn’t think it was difficult…it just did not excite me so I didn’t have an interest in it. Subsequently, my grades were just mediocre. But I had one professor in college that made me see things in a different way. And almost everyone in that teachers class did exceptionally well despite the material and exams being extremely difficult.
Although there are some genetic/cognitive issues that can affect how an individual learns I don’t think anyone is born disliking a particular subject….it’s learned.
Btw, anyone struggling w/ math and need a review, I think Khan academy (www.khanacademy.org) is awesome!