Reducing the Grade 7 Level of Math Anxiety Through Math Checker

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Students considered Math as the toughest subject in the secondary level. They hate Math due to its difficult nature of computation and for them, Math is a scary four letter word. People who feel tension, apprehension, and fear of situations involving math are said to have math anxiety. Research has shown that math anxiety can negatively impact performance of basic numerical operations, which serve as the building blocks for more complex mathematical concepts (Maloney et al., 2010). Because math anxiety is widespread and often tied to poor math skills, it is imperative to understand when anxiety about math starts to emerge, where it comes from, and what we can do to alleviate it. This study focused on the use of Math Checker game as strategy to reduce the level of math anxiety.

METHODS

A descriptive method of research was used. Using purposive sampling, the respondents were all Grade 7 students which composed of 198 students out of 973 students of Bukal Sur National High School. Self-made questionnaires were used for data gathering. The results of the pre-test and post-test were compared if the Math Checker Game was of great help in reducing the level of math anxiety.

RESULTS

The study showed that the level of math anxiety before the utilization of the math checker game was very high which showed that most of them were anxious in studying and performing mathematical activities because they were not confident with their answers and might become the laughing stock in class. On the other hand, the level of math anxiety after the utilization of the math checker game was reduced which clearly stated that it can be used as tool to reduce the level of math anxiety.

DISCUSSIONS

The result of this study have proven the use of intervention materials, specifically the math checker game, is of great help in reducing the anxiety level of the students. Educators are advised to develop different interventions like math checker game that will enhanced students’ performance.