News from the Erasmus plus project “Mind Maths”: freeing children from maths anxiety

The Erasmus plus project MIND MATHS (FLIPPED LEARNING PRACTICES TO RELEASE MATHS ANXIETY WITH THE USE OF ROBOTICS) of which Scuola di Robotica is a partner has entered its second year and the Partners are completing Output 2, the videos of the lessons dedicated to future primary school teachers on different Learning Scenarios, among which 6 dedicated to the use of educational robotics.

We present here the second Newsletter with different information: Mind-Maths 2nd e-newsletter

About the project

A good knowledge of mathematics is one of the keys to professional life in today’s world. Mathematics is one of the most effective tools for reducing poverty, social exclusion and inequality, as we use mathematics in every aspect of our lives, in practical daily activities and at work, such as solving problems, managing personal finances, organising a business plan and using the quantitative skills required by a large number of jobs.

Future primary school teachers play a crucial role in the education of boys and girls, as their future is in their hands. Even taking into account individual differences in learning mathematics, we know that excessive maths anxiety can lead to a negative emotional state towards this subject, and a relative low performance. Although an acceptable degree of maths anxiety might motivate students to study and focus on the task at hand, for the most part, anxiety about maths is a negative factor for many students that prevents them from understanding it.

Our aim as educators is to explore new tools to reduce mathematics anxiety in primary school mathematics teaching. Among many alternatives, we have chosen here the flipped learning method as a valid means to reduce the level of mathematics anxiety of primary school students with the use of robotics.

The main objective of this project is to improve the competences of future teachers enrolled in primary school teacher training programmes with regard to methodologies and tools for eliminating mathematics anxiety. In particular, this two-year project plans to implement:

• A modular curriculum designed with flipped learning, or flipped classroom, which includes hands-on learning practices
  A video library including explanations of the use of robotics in mathematics education in primary schools.
  In particular, the project aims to achieve the following objectives:
• Increase future teachers’ awareness of maths anxiety
  To support future teachers who will face challenges while teaching children with mathematics anxiety (MTA)
  Providing future teachers with innovative teaching activities that can be used to accelerate the learning processes of children with maths anxiety
  To obtain real, valid and reliable data on the needs of future teachers in relation to teaching activities to engage children with maths anxiety in the learning process more effectively.