Math: Building Math Identities

This T2T engagement question on Twitter prompted teachers to share the factors that contribute to students’ insecurity in math, along with their approach to building math confidence. It received a wide range of responses to the question, “What’s the biggest factor that impacts whether a student believes in their own math abilities?”

  • “How the teacher engages in problem solving, explores mistakes, and encourages mathematicians to take risks! Our excitement for teaching and learning mathematics should be authentic and provide positive experiences for learners!” —Educator in Texas
  • “Acknowledging and combatting the greatest inequity that has held back opportunities to demonstrate their ‘math abilities’ – time constraints.” —Math Educator in Hawaii
  • “Allow students to have a sense of leadership in their own learning. Let them develop their own strategies to learn and collaborate. Let them track their own data. When students have reflective leadership in their learning, it helps eliminate the ‘either you can or can’t do it.’” —Teacher in Minnesota 
  • “Knowing that mistakes are okay and they are opportunities to learn.” —Teacher in New Jersey
  • “Making mistakes needs to be seen as a part of math just like it is in scientific research.” —Teacher in Washington 
  • “Math is a concept that can be presented two ways: Real application and theory… when students realize that they already know math, understand the ways numbers work, and the language of math, they become more confident. Overall encouragement through relatability also helps!” —Educator
  • “Being able to solve problems! When I teach a concept I break down the topic into simpler math skills & give students the chance to be successful mathematicians while solving practice problems that require them to use what they know. I also let them celebrate math discoveries!” —ESL Teacher in New York
  • “Entity orientation toward math, previous negative experiences with math, having fixed mindset, and math anxiety.” —Middle School Math Teacher in New York