4 Which strategies might work for you?
Within this session you have been introduced to various ideas which may help to manage your maths anxiety levels. Some of these will be easy to implement (e.g. a positive affirmation at the beginning of each study session) while others might take some more time (e.g. reading up on the resources around the growth mindset and thinking about how this knowledge can be used to impact positively on your maths anxiety state). Every individual will have their own personal preferences about what works for them. In order to maximise the benefits of this session, you are now encouraged to reflect on what might work for you, and how you can put this into practice to ensure that it has a long-lasting effect.
Activity 1 Making a plan
Some of the strategies suggested in this session are actually fairly obvious and simple to implement, while others may take more thought, planning and proactive engagement. Think about which of these strategies might work for you, and what would enable you to maximise their success. Make some notes in the boxes below.
| Think about: | Your notes |
|---|---|
| Which strategy/strategies I’d like to try | |
| My goals/aims | |
| Next steps | |
| How will I ensure that I continue to embed this strategy into my life? (if it works) |
Comment
Here’s a completed version of the table.
| Think about: | Your notes |
|---|---|
| Which strategy/strategies I’d like to try | You may have only selected one strategy to try out, or you may have selected several strategies, and there will be some which you will naturally be more open to than others. There isn’t any right or wrong approach, although you might consider trying a change that’s not necessarily within your comfort zone, along with an easier-to-implement change to your practice, such as removing your mobile phone from your study environment. |
| My goals/aims | Your goals and aims will be personal to you, and they’ll depend on your measures of success. Your goal may be something that is focused on an academic outcome, such as completing the maths component of your next assignment. Or it may be more focused on managing your anxiety levels, such as being able to embark on your maths study sessions without triggering an extreme stress response. |
| Next steps | Make a plan of what you will be doing and when, ensuring that each step is small and specific. For example, you may commit to repeating your affirmation that you aren’t bad at maths at the start of each study session. You may also wish to add in a step to reflect on what you have tried and whether it worked for you. |
| How will I ensure that I continue to embed this strategy into my life? (if it works) | In order to make a lasting change, you will need to repeatedly make the change to your practice, doing it enough times so that it becomes a habit. Taking the example of making the affirmation that you aren’t bad at maths at the beginning of each study session, you could add a post-it note to your computer or study books that is clearly visible to you at all times. |