Math anxiety is actually very common, and one of the ways to reduce it is to make students aware of the problem. It’s not as simple as saying “just don’t worry”, but in my experience as a tutor, it can be helpful to give gentle reminders that everyone learns at their own pace and that it may take some effort to understand a concept.
Math is all about trying many blind alleys before you figure out the correct approach, and teaching using examples where you try many wrong approaches first can help students understand that you don’t have to “get it” immediately, and it’s ok to struggle through it sometimes. It’s less “this is hard” and more “this often takes some effort to understand completely, so don’t panic”.
Simply telling people not to worry about that doesn’t… actually work, does it? That would genuinely surprise me.
Math anxiety is actually very common, and one of the ways to reduce it is to make students aware of the problem. It’s not as simple as saying “just don’t worry”, but in my experience as a tutor, it can be helpful to give gentle reminders that everyone learns at their own pace and that it may take some effort to understand a concept.
Math is all about trying many blind alleys before you figure out the correct approach, and teaching using examples where you try many wrong approaches first can help students understand that you don’t have to “get it” immediately, and it’s ok to struggle through it sometimes. It’s less “this is hard” and more “this often takes some effort to understand completely, so don’t panic”.