Hey Guys! Welcome back to part 3 in my mini-series all about how to increase student’s motivation in the math classroom! Part 3 is going to be all about how to increase confidence in math.
Here is a recap in case you missed it:
Part 1: How to Motivate Secondary Math Students
Part 2: Ideas to motivate students in the secondary math classroom
And
In case you missed my top 5 secrets:
How to Increase Confidence in Math
Now you might be thinking to yourself, ummm ok what in the world does confidence in math have to do with having students be motivated in math class?
I’m here to tell you everything! If a student doesn’t feel confident about doing the math itself then they are most likely not going to be motivated to actually do the math!
Most students will stall or not do the work at all if they think they are going to make mistakes in their work.
Students are oftentimes afraid to make mistakes! Let’s as math teachers normalize mistakes!
I always tell my students that’s why erasers are made and all mathematicians including myself make mistakes.
Even good old Albert Einstein said, “ Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new!”
I actually had a poster of this hanging in my classroom for years. Time to dig that bad boy out and rehang it!
Why is confidence important?
Having students gain confidence in their math skills will help keep them engaged in their assignments.
Let’s picture this scenario:
Student A lacks confidence. Barely finishes any assignments. Afraid to ask questions because they don’t want to be “wrong.” So they may randomly write down an answer but rarely have work written down. If they did have any work written down, they erase it, because they know it’s wrong, but they don’t even know what to ask.
They appear not to care or even say god forbid that they hate math!
Student B also lacks confidence. Mostly finishes all of their assignments but lacks confidence when they are working on something that is out of their comfort zone. They shut down when presented with new material or a word problem! (more on that to come at a later date! Stay tuned!)
So what do both of these students have in common?
They both need to build confidence in their math abilities to stay engaged and motivated to work the entire time.
Definition of Confidence in Math
What does confidence in math look like, sound like, and feel like?
In my classroom, confidence looks like students working independently trying every question before they ask for help.
If they are working in a group, they are all working cooperatively together as a whole. Not one person “copying” off of the others.
Confidence sounds like “Oh I remember how to do this! Remember when Mrs. Cornecki said to….”
Confidence feels amazing as a teacher to see their students working hard, staying engaged, and motivated the whole time.
I know as a former student myself, being confident in math gave me the courage to persevere in problem-solving.
I would become slightly obsessed with solving the problem and getting it correct. Especially if I was struggling.
Getting the correct answer felt amazing! This is the feeling we want all of our students to have too!
If a student looks at a problem and immediately says “I don’t know what to do”, then they are lacking the confidence they need in order to move forward.
This also leads to a lack of motivation for the student to continue their work. So how as teachers can we build confidence in math?
Since I’m a math teacher, I have to incorporate some type of formula here!
Engaging Activity + Confident Student = Motivated Math Student (working efficiently the entire period!)
Increasing Student’s Confidence in Math
My #1 tip is normalizing mistakes! Instead of telling students “Try Again” when they answer incorrectly. Then moving onto another student, try giving them confidence-boosting statements instead.
Stick with the student and say something like “I really like the way you’re thinking! Tell me how you got your answer.
You could also say “Tell me why you think your answer is ….”.
This will lead to a discussion and I can guarantee you that together they will find the mistake and feel more confident in trying more problems!
My good friend Juliana over at CollaboratEd has an amazing post 4 Questions To Ask Your Math Students That Build a Mathematical Classroom Community
Self-Confidence in Mathematics
Ultimately it is a mind over matter issue with it comes to building confidence in the classroom. As a teacher, I thought that my students needed to change while I was not interested in changing my ways.
I once had a principal who was also my friend. I was “complaining” about my students not wanting to work in math class and telling her that what I was doing wasn’t working. That my students just didn’t get it.
She looked at me and said well if it’s not working then YOU need to find something that does!
Back to Albert Einstein again with his definition of insanity “ Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results!”
I was essentially doing the same thing every day with my students and when they were unmotivated to do their math work, I blamed them. I never took it upon myself to change my mindset that my students needed more help than what I was giving them.
Building their confidence levels in math was my #1 priority.
When I started focusing on building their confidence levels, I talked about their self-confidence levels that started with their mindset.
I would tell them all the time, that they could do it. If they said they couldn’t do something, then they wouldn’t be able to. I helped them be kinder to themselves. Over the years, I have helped students become more confident in their mathematical abilities.
I hope you enjoyed this 3 part mini-series all about how to motivate your math students in the secondary classroom.
I hope you stick around because I have plenty of tips and strategies to share with you in the upcoming weeks!
Need more ideas?
Love, Robin
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