Math Made Fun: Breaking Free From Math Anxiety
Turn math dread into delight, one fun game at a time
Math anxiety has a significant impact on student confidence and performance on math-related tasks. The disorder is not uncommon for students to experience when confronted with math content, activities, and assessments.
Often simplified and labeled as an overreaction, math anxiety can have a major impact on academic achievement. If the disorder goes unidentified or unmanaged, it can also influence college and/or career decisions as well as interfere with daily tasks. Studies found that students with math anxiety tend to choose easier, low-reward math problems over harder, high-reward ones - a tendency that could lead them to skipping more advanced math classes and the career trajectories reliant on those skills.
Math anxiety is a specific fear that emerges when students are asked to solve math problems, take assessments, or sometimes even simply to think about numbers. While studies slightly vary, evidence suggests that 20-25% of kids experience moderate to high levels of math anxiety that persists into adulthood. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the organization responsible for the administration of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) exams, reported that a majority of students taking the assessment reported feeling worry and tension specifically related to math.
Even in early grades, math anxiety can present in students as knots in the stomach, nausea, difficulty breathing, or even disruptive or avoidant behaviors not typical of a student outside of math instruction. Thankfully, Breakout EDU offers a way to turn mathematics instruction into immersive experiences that students look forward to.
Managing math anxiety with Breakout EDU
Breakout EDU helps relieve anxiety by transforming traditional math instruction into low-stress, high-excitement activities where kids can engage with content in a relaxed and fun way. Gamified, hands-on challenges empower students to approach math with curiosity and enthusiasm instead of dread!
Working as a team with their friends, students enthusiastically solve puzzles, crack codes, and unlock hidden clues while honing their math skills in a supporting and inclusive environment. By emphasizing collaboration over competition, Breakout EDU helps strengthen students’ mathematical proficiency as well as nurture important social and emotional skills like communication, teamwork, and problem-solving.
Emmie Pawlak, the director of math, science, and accelerated pathways at Cicero School District reflects how their instructional team “love how the standards and curriculum work is embedded in a game. [Students] are having fun doing math and we're still working on all of those great SEL and collaboration skills.” All Breakout EDU games are tagged with standards in a simple, intuitive way so that teachers are easily able to search for games relevant to the standards they are currently working towards.
The low-stakes competition inherent in Breakout EDU games serves as a powerful motivator for students as they persevere through challenges - both mathematical challenges and those arising from symptoms of math anxiety. Danielle Jackson, a district technology integration specialist with the Plattsburgh School District loves “how Breakout EDU transforms students who often struggle into achievers and leaders. We call it secret learning--having fun without realizing all the authentic learning”.
Children are naturally inclined to play and explore - so give them the opportunity! Standards-aligned games designed for both fun and learning allows students to confront their fears, build resilience, and revel in their achievements.
Support for all ages and stages
Math anxiety can appear in students of all ages. Some may experience subtle feelings of tension and discomfort while others might present with more visible symptoms associated with intense panic or stress. Regardless of where a student falls on the spectrum of math anxiety, one common denominator is low confidence. Thankfully, Breakout EDU offers a wide variety of games that help students at all age and grade levels impacted by math anxiety.
Take younger students who are developing lower level math skills on fun-filled quests to build confidence with these games:
A Power-Up Puzzle: This game takes students on an exciting adventure to collect power-ups while they practice fundamental math skills such as addition, subtraction, and number recognition.
Koala Class Confusion: Invite your students to join a classroom of adorable koalas as they navigate a series of math challenges. From sorting and counting through pattern recognition, each puzzle students solve brings them one step closer to solving a mystery without the company of anxiety.
Koi Story - Place Value Pond: The koi fish who live in Place Value Pond need help finding their way home. Students can show them the way by practicing the concept of place value. This game transforms a traditionally abstract concept into a tangible experience.
Fish Figures: Introduce your students to geometry - under the sea! Students are sure to enjoy helping this friendly school of fish navigate the ocean depths while practicing shape identification. Along the way, students will be challenged to measure angles and solve assorted geometric puzzles.
The abstract nature and complexity of middle school mathematics can cause students to experience a spike in math anxiety - or even to experience anxiety for the first time. Try some of these Breakout EDU games to continue driving academic progress while protecting student mental wellness:
Circle Center Circuit: Geometric concepts like radius, diameter, and circumference are the keys to crack the codes in this electrifying adventure. Spark curiosity and enthusiasm with this STEM-based game.
Donut Shop Decimals: The bakers want to prepare delicious desserts for their customers, but are having trouble calculating quantities. Treat your students to the opportunity to help the bakers deliver tasty treats by solving mathematical challenges embedded in real-world scenarios.
Game Status - Unlocked: Do your students love mysteries? Let them join forces with fellow special agents on a top-secret mission to unlock the mysteries of fractions, decimals, and percentages. Students won’t even realize they are utilizing complex mathematical concepts as they work to unravel this thrilling espionage plat.
Secret Agent Mission - Fractions, Decimals, Decode: One thrilling mystery game is never enough! Grab students’ attention and nurture a positive attitude towards math with this secret mission requiring students to decode hidden messages using fractions, decimals, and percentages.
These captivating Breakout EDU games not only provide students the opportunity to practice essential math skills with a positive mindset, they also promote critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration. Instruction coach Judy Green has found that “students who might struggle in the classroom often find a lot of success in Breakout EDU games - and it forces the students who often get things correct on the first try to work on resiliency and grit. It also builds students' skills in so many areas, most especially in the 4Cs.”
Try Breakout EDU today
Every classroom has a diverse and unique set of students who deserve access to high-quality instruction and materials. Math anxiety doesn’t need to stand in the way of fun and learning! Click here for a free trial of Breakout EDU.