MbShea@PWP@English@UMCP

Abstract:
The United States is ranked 27th in education in the world. The math proficiency among young students have not changed in decades and the U.S ranks 32nd in the world in math proficiency with a 32 percent math proficiency rate, far below developed nations like Korea, Finland, Switzerland, Japan, Canada and the Netherlands. One other factor besides the outdated teaching methods in which could be attributed to the low proficiency is math anxiety. Math anxiety and phobia has been passed on to youth for generations. Within the past decade, researchers have examined interventions and methods that could improve the skills young children need to for mathematical development. This guide serves as a module to parents and perhaps teachers to address the concerns of math education as well the interventions and methods that have been backed by research to be effective in students’ mathematical abilities. In the first section of this module, I will address the concern with American education, especially during the early stages. The section will include information on math anxiety and the effect anxiety plays in decreased math performance. In the second section of this module, I will detail the various interventions and methods that have been implemented into a controlled academic environment and yielded positive results. The third and final section of this module will address the reservations parents and teachers may have in implementing these interventions. I will provide suggestions on how to parents and teachers could work together to effectively implement some of these interventions without overwhelming the students with a sudden change.

Reader’s Profile:
The reader might be a parent who has a young child who is just starting school or is currently in school. Ideally, the reader would have a child between ages 4-7 years old.

Reader’s Response:
I want my children to do well in school and this module is very informative and well written, however, there is just a lot of information to process and understand. How would I be able to figure out which methods work best for my child? Do you suggest trial and error? I wish you could organize the information in a way to guide my choice for one of these methods such as differentiating which methods are most effective for children who are visual or auditory learners. You could also try to give follow ups on the interventions you mentioned. How many schools have implemented this method since the experiment? What are teachers saying about the method?

I --- you narrowed to math anxiety. I think that is am important aspect to this larger goal for you to improve math instruction.

I would use formal APA citation for this PTA adversary document.