getting over math phobia

[jessmarimba]

I was a math minor and I took several equation-based classes, but the class that I really enjoyed (called Foundations of Higher Math or something equally as descriptive) was sort of a concept/language based course. Not like word problems like Moe, Joe, and Zoey, but concepts like and, or, and not, etc. I'm not sure how to describe it, it was almost like taking a computer programming class that was translated for the other side of your brain (and trust me, it was the total opposite. I got a D in my C++ class, and a 97 in this class). Our textbook was about a quarter of an inch thick, labeled something like "logistics" and it just made everything make so much sense.

I think a lot of math phobics are people who have always been taught to approach math the same way, and the way math is almost always taught appeals to the wrong side of a math phobics brain. Even standard word problems don't really manage to circumvent the usual approach. And since math teachers are people who "got" math, they can't see how to teach it any differently than what works for them.

[GLC1968]

I think a lot of math phobics are people who have always been taught to approach math the same way, and the way math is almost always taught appeals to the wrong side of a math phobics brain. Even standard word problems don't really manage to circumvent the usual approach. And since math teachers are people who "got" math, they can't see how to teach it any differently than what works for them.

This. Big time.

I was good at math as a child but when I changed HS middle of my freshman year, I got tracked at a level lower than the good math students and while I got 'A's in the courses I did take, they weren't the tough math courses. I ended up in college in a sociology major because I just didn't gravitate towards math anymore because I felt I'd missed out on so much and was 'behind'. My best grade in my enitre sociology degree was in my statistics classes but that still didn't enlighten me.

Fast forward a decade or so and I found myself back in school with a bent towards engineering because I really, really enjoyed calculus now that I was taking it (finally). And I was getting all A's because math (and science) came easy to me. Who knew? Funny thing was, I was also asked by my calculus teacher to tutor because I seemed to have a different approach to the problems than the other students. I ended up tutoring algebra (not calculus) and really helping some math phobics 'get it' because I came at everything in a different way than their teachers or text books did. For me, it was about seeing the problem as they saw it and then finding a way to explain it that made sense to them. Of course, as a tutor working in a one-on-one situation, I had a luxury that teachers don't have. I could custom tailor my approach.

Anyway, for anyone who can't 'get' math - a good tutor can make all the difference. And I would also say that if you can't find a good tutor, keep looking. Finding one you connect with is KEY and one size does not fit all.

[badger]

my boyfriend and I looked at some math problems online. I was able to remember a lot of the algebra ones, but oh.my.goodness, I was so sorely lost with trigonometry. Sin, Cos, Tan, yikes!! I remember having a horrible go of it, and like back then, my mind quickly shut down. It was quite sad.

He's reading a book on quantum physics right now, and I must say most of what he's telling me is utter gibberish to me.

[Owlie]

my boyfriend and I looked at some math problems online. I was able to remember a lot of the algebra ones, but oh.my.goodness, I was so sorely lost with trigonometry. Sin, Cos, Tan, yikes!! I remember having a horrible go of it, and like back then, my mind quickly shut down. It was quite sad.

He's reading a book on quantum physics right now, and I must say most of what he's telling me is utter gibberish to me.

Remember, if you think you understand quantum physics, you don't understand quantum physics.

[pll]

I was a math minor and I took several equation-based classes, but the class that I really enjoyed (called Foundations of Higher Math or something equally as descriptive) was sort of a concept/language based course. Not like word problems like Moe, Joe, and Zoey, but concepts like and, or, and not, etc. I'm not sure how to describe it, it was almost like taking a computer programming class that was translated for the other side of your brain (and trust me, it was the total opposite. I got a D in my C++ class, and a 97 in this class). Our textbook was about a quarter of an inch thick, labeled something like "logistics" and it just made everything make so much sense.

Sounds like formal logic to me... loved that subject when I was an undergrad!