Fostering a Love for Math: Strategies to Combat Math Aversion
Date: October 3, 2024 | Source: EdSurge
Steve Holifield’s breathing was labored.
A respected math teacher at a K-12 public charter school in Apple Valley, California, Holifield was in steep physical decline.
His students had watched the effects of his disease creep across his body. At first, he stumbled and, his hands weak, relied entirely on teaching assistants to write equations on the board for him. Then, his voice became so feeble he could only be heard with a helpful boost from a microphone. It also amplified his strained breathing and its halting rhythm.
“The biggest core memory for me from Holifield’s class is the sound of his heavy breathing, where he would just, like, stop for a good 10 seconds,” Christina Lynn Wallace, a student of his, says more than a decade later. “We just wouldn’t hear him take a breath, and then he’d start again and [we’d] be like, ‘Holy shit. Is he gonna die in our classroom?’”
The school put on a festival to fundraise for medical bills resulting from his diagnosis with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. But within a short span, Holifield would be dead.
The challenges in math education in the United States invite a re-evaluation of cultural attitudes towards math proficiency. The stereotype that some individuals are inherently “bad at math” has been scrutinized for its potential to perpetuate bias and exclusion in fields such as science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). These barriers can displace capable students from pursuing profitable and essential STEM careers.
Holifield’s demise became a well-known tragedy in the High Desert, a patch of California desert about halfway between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, where he taught at the Academy for Academic Excellence, in part because Holifield was esteemed as a devoted math teacher.
More than a decade later, I tracked down several of his former students. The lesson I learned: A good teacher seems to make a big difference in how students view their math potential and whether they embrace the “not-mathy” label.
Rekindling Interest in Math
During my investigation into why students struggle with math nationwide, conversations often circled back to the influence of culture. Declaring oneself as a “non-math person” has become normatively acceptable, unlike the stigma associated with lack of proficiency in reading. Parents who read bedtime stories to children underscore the importance of reading intuitively. But how many parents are engaging their children with bedtime equations?
Reflecting on this broader trend, I recalled my own experiences in Holifield’s Algebra II class during my ninth-grade year. Despite my self-proclaimed lack of math affinity at the time, it was clear Holifield’s empathetic teaching style impacted many students positively, drawing them into the subject even amidst his personal health struggle.
The Power of Resilient Instruction
Interviews with Holifield’s former students revealed the profound influence he had on their self-perception in mathematics. While some students, like Natalie Snyder, felt weak in their mathematical abilities, Holifield’s ability to connect math with real-world applications made a noticeable difference. His talent lay in fostering environments where students felt capable and intrigued by math, despite any initial reluctance or self-doubt.
The journey from hesitation to curiosity emphasizes the importance of having supportive mentors in teaching roles. Holifield’s methods demonstrate how enthusiastic instruction and personal encouragement can help break the cycle of math aversion, bolstering students’ confidence and helping them overcome preconceived limitations about their abilities.
Understanding Math Identities
Research supports the notion that self-description as a “math person” or “non-math person” often solidifies during late childhood or early adolescence. External factors, including implicit messages from educators and parents, significantly shape these identities. Studies show that perceptions of math as a fixed skill rather than a learnable process can discourage engagement and perseverance.
Holifield’s students, including Felisha Cullum and Kreddow Feskens, described varied educational paths influenced by his teaching legacy. Though some shifted away from math-centric careers, the positive reinforcement they received during his classes stayed with them. Their stories are reminders of the enduring impact teachers can have and the necessity of promoting diverse inclusivity in math education.
For instructional designers, Holifield’s story provides a template to develop engaging, personalized eLearning experiences that resonate with learners’ unique journeys. It serves as a timely reminder of how empathy and creativity in curriculum design can inspire a new appreciation for math and other traditionally challenging subjects.
