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.
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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.
