A DESCRIPTION OF A PILOT PROGRAM TO REDUCE MATH ANXIETY AND INCREASE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN A SUBSEQUENT REQUIRED PRE-COLLEGE LEVEL BASIC MATHEMATICS COURSE

Temple University's Special Recruitment and Admissions Program (SRAP) department's Summer Workshop of 1983 appeared to be the first attempt for an intact group of students to participate in a math anxiety reduction workshop prior to participation in an assigned mathematics course. The workshop, which addressed the issues of mathematical skill deficiencies and conceptual deficits, employed no psychological component.; The purpose of this study was to describe the structure, implementation, and results of such a workshop and attempt to investigate the relationship, if any, between math anxiety and mathematics achievement as a result of this effort.; The workshop designed by Temple University's Special Recruitment and Admissions Program (SRAP) department in Philadelphia, PA was conducted during five, two-hour daily sessions from August 29 to September 2, 1983.; Of 200 students tested, 138 students scored less than 25% of the total test score on the Mathematics Placement Test, a test constructed and administered by the SRAP department. Although all 138 students were requested to attend the workshop designed to reduce math anxiety, 75 students chose not to attend the workshop, while 63 students attended the first and final workshop sessions, during which students levels of math anxiety were pre- and post-tested using the Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Anxiety Scale (MAS).; During the Fall of 1983, all 138 students entered the basic levels mathematics course, Elements I. This course met three hours weekly for fourteen weeks. Pupil achievement was determined by the final examinations constructed by each section's instructor.; The levels of achievement for 75 students who elected not to attend the workshop were compared to the levels of achievement of the 63 students who attended the first and final workshop sessions. In the subsequent mathematics course, a larger percentage of workshop students attained A's or B's than did non-workshop students. Although more workshop students attained F's than non-workshop students, non-workshop students had greater rates of attrition.; Due to the nature and limitations of this study, no conclusions can be drawn. However, decreases in levels of math anxiety for workshop students are reported. Recommendations are made for an alternative program for SRAP as well as for future research.