Asee peer logo

Math Anxiety in Female and Underrepresented Minority Students: A Literature Review

Download Paper |

Conference

2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access

Location

Virtual On line

Publication Date

June 22, 2020

Start Date

June 22, 2020

End Date

June 26, 2021

Conference Session

STEM Issues in ET II

Tagged Division

Engineering Technology

Tagged Topic

Diversity

Page Count

11

DOI

10.18260/1-2--34954

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/34954

Download Count

801

Request a correction

Paper Authors

biography

Anne M. Lucietto Purdue Polytechnic Institute Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0003-0053-753X

visit author page

Dr. Lucietto has focused her research in engineering technology education and the understanding of engineering technology students. She teaches in an active learning style which engages and develops practical skills in the students. Currently she is exploring the performance and attributes of engineering technology students and using that knowledge to engage them in their studies.

visit author page

biography

Meher Rusi Taleyarkhan Purdue University at West Lafayette (PPI)

visit author page

Meher R. Taleyarkhan is a graduate student earning her Master’s in Engineering Technology degree from Purdue University, West Lafayette Indiana. She received her Bachelor of Science degree from Purdue University and majored in Mechanical Engineering Technology. During her undergraduate she was an undergraduate research assistant studying renewable energy with an emphasis on solar energy for residential and utility use. Current research as a Master’s student is in curriculum development for engineering technology programs, notably at Purdue University. Her thesis is on conducting an engineering and financial analysis for a local wastewater plant facility.

visit author page

biography

Therese M. Azevedo Sonoma State University

visit author page

Therese Azevedo is a third year student at Sonoma State University pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Statistics. Over the summer she had the opportunity to work with Dr. Anne Lucietto and Meher Taleyarkhan (Graduate Student) on a project related to math anxiety focused on female and minority students. Therese has been able to continue this project with her research advisor, Dr. Natalie Hobson, at her home institution.

visit author page

biography

Natalie Hobson Sonoma State University

visit author page

Dr. Natalie Hobson is an Assistant Professor in Mathematics and Statistics at Sonoma State University in California. Her research background is in areas of algebraic geometry and mathematics education. She received her PhD in mathematics and her masters degree in mathematics education at the University of Georgia.

visit author page

Download Paper |

Abstract

Educators have noticed that some students respond to exercises requiring mathematical calculations with numerical answers that are not correct and far from realistic. These student solutions are often given without further comment or calculation by the students and seem to such avoidance by the students to engage with the numerical calculations. Anecdotal evidence, by these educators, suggest that such responses are more prevalent in some groups — raising the question of whether demographics play a role in a students’ approach to numerical problems. Researchers have searched for existing work in this area and find that there are gaps in reports on factors that may contribute to students’ decision to avoid math in their problem solving and a lack of research on how to support students who respond in these ways. Further focus on previous studies on students exhibiting a fear or avoidance of mathematics is undertaken and shared through this document with the intent of sharing these findings and determine the gaps for work that may be done in this crucial area.

Lucietto, A. M., & Taleyarkhan, M. R., & Azevedo, T. M., & Hobson, N. (2020, June), Math Anxiety in Female and Underrepresented Minority Students: A Literature Review Paper presented at 2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual On line . 10.18260/1-2--34954

ASEE holds the copyright on this document. It may be read by the public free of charge. Authors may archive their work on personal websites or in institutional repositories with the following citation: © 2020 American Society for Engineering Education. Other scholars may excerpt or quote from these materials with the same citation. When excerpting or quoting from Conference Proceedings, authors should, in addition to noting the ASEE copyright, list all the original authors and their institutions and name the host city of the conference. - Last updated April 1, 2015