Controlling-Supportive Homework Help Partially Explains the Relation between Parents’ Math Anxiety and Children’s Math Achievement

Previous research has shown that math homework help of higher-math-anxious parents impedes children’s math learning and facilitates the development of math anxiety. In the present study, we explored a possible explanation for this phenomenon by examining the relations between parents’ math anxiety, their math homework-helping styles (i.e., autonomy- and controlling-supportive), and their child’s math achievement. Parents of children ages 11 to 14 completed an online survey. Using path analysis, we examined the relations among parental factors (i.e., math anxiety, math ability, and homework-helping styles) and child math achievement. Parents’ math anxiety was positively related to both autonomy-supportive and controlling-supportive math homework-helping styles. Notably, controlling-supportive style partially mediated the relation between parents’ math anxiety and their children’s math achievement. Thus, it is possible that the use of a controlling-supportive math homework-helping style may explain why the homework help offered by higher-math-anxious parents is detrimental to their children’s math learning. Identifying negative relations between parent factors and children’s math outcomes is crucial for developing evidence-based math learning interventions.

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A Meta-analysis of the Relation Between Math Anxiety and Math Achievement

10.31234/osf.io/pd872 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Connie Barroso ◽

Colleen Marie Ganley ◽

Amanda McGraw ◽

Elyssa A Geer ◽

Sara Ann Hart ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Math Achievement ◽

Math Anxiety ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Number System ◽

Effect Sizes ◽

Future Research ◽

Statistics Anxiety ◽

Math Ability ◽

Negative Effect ◽

Meta Analyses

Meta-analyses from the 1990s have previously established a significant, small-to-moderate, and negative correlation between math achievement and math anxiety. Since these publications, research has continued to investigate this relation with more diverse samples and measures. Thus, the goal of the present meta-analysis was to provide an update of the math anxiety-math achievement relation and its moderators. Analyzing 747 effect sizes accumulated from research conducted between 1992 and 2018, we found a small-to-moderate, negative, and statistically significant correlation (r = -.28) between math anxiety and math achievement. The relation was significant for all moderator subgroups, with the exception of the relation between math anxiety and assessments measuring the approximate number system. Grade level, math ability level, adolescent/adult math anxiety scales, math topic of anxiety scale, and math assessments were significant moderators of this relation. There is also a tendency for published studies to report significantly stronger correlations than unpublished studies but, overall, large, negative effect sizes are under-reported. Our results are consistent with previous findings of a significant relation between math anxiety and math achievement. This association starts in childhood, remains significant through adulthood, is smaller for students in grades 3 through 5 and postsecondary school, is larger for math anxiety than for statistics anxiety and for certain math anxiety scales, and is smaller for math exam grades and samples selected for low math ability. This work supports future research efforts to determine effective math achievement and math anxiety interventions, which may be most helpful to implement during childhood.

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Effects of Evidence-Based Instruction applied to after-school Tier 2 intervention on Math Achievement of Students with Math Learning Disabilities and Students with Math Learning Difficulties

10.47635/kjld.2018.15.3.177 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 15 (3) ◽

pp. 177-202

Author(s):

Hyunju Yoo

Keyword(s):

Learning Disabilities ◽

Math Achievement ◽

Learning Difficulties ◽

After School ◽

Evidence Based ◽

Tier 2 ◽

Math Learning ◽

Tier 2 Intervention ◽

Based Instruction

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Effects of Evidence-Based Instruction applied to after-school Tier 2 intervention on Math Achievement of Students with Math Learning Disabilities and Students with Math Learning Difficulties

The Korea Learning Disabilities Association ◽

10.47635/klda.2018.15.3.177 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 15 (3) ◽

pp. 177-202

Author(s):

Hyunju Yoo

Keyword(s):

Learning Disabilities ◽

Math Achievement ◽

Learning Difficulties ◽

After School ◽

Evidence Based ◽

Tier 2 ◽

Math Learning ◽

Tier 2 Intervention ◽

Based Instruction

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True Grit in Learning Math: The Math Anxiety-Achievement Link Is Mediated by Math-Specific Grit

Frontiers in Psychology ◽

10.3389/fpsyg.2021.645793 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Youqing Yu ◽

Liyun Hua ◽

Xingwang Feng ◽

Yueru Wang ◽

Zongren Yu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Math Achievement ◽

Math Anxiety ◽

Math Learning ◽

Mediation Analyses ◽

Mediating Role ◽

Math Success ◽

The Face ◽

The Relationship ◽

11Th Grade

In this study, we tested a possible mechanism of the association between math anxiety and math achievement: the mediating role of math-specific grit (i.e., sustaining effort in the face of adversity when learning math). In Study 1, a sample of 10th grade students (N = 222) completed a battery of personality and attitude questionnaires, and math achievement was indexed by curriculum-based examination scores. Mediation analyses indicated that math-specific grit, but not domain-general grit, mediated the relationship between math anxiety and math achievement. In Study 2, we replicated and extended the above findings with another sample of 11th grade students (N = 465). Mediation analyses indicated that math-specific grit and math-specific procrastination played sequential mediating roles in the relationship between math anxiety and math achievement. That is, individuals with higher math anxiety were less gritty in math learning, possibly further leading them to be more procrastinated in performing math work, which may finally result in worse math achievement. In summary, the current study provides the first evidence that math-specific grit may mediate the relationship between math anxiety and math achievement. Furthermore, it also demonstrated the value of math-specific grit over domain-general grit in predicting math success, which invites a broader investigation on subject-specific grit.

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When and why do people act on flawed science? Effects of anecdotes and prior beliefs on evidence-based decision-making

Cognitive Research Principles and Implications ◽

10.1186/s41235-021-00293-2 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Audrey L. Michal ◽

Yiwen Zhong ◽

Priti Shah

Keyword(s):

Educational Interventions ◽

Evidence Based ◽

Prior Beliefs ◽

Learning Experiment ◽

Apply Research ◽

Evidence Quality ◽

The Media ◽

The Impact ◽

Learning Interventions

AbstractToday’s citizens are expected to use evidence, frequently presented in the media, to inform decisions about health, behavior, and public policy. However, science misinformation is ubiquitous in the media, making it difficult to apply research appropriately. Across two experiments, we addressed how anecdotes and prior beliefs impact readers’ ability to both identify flawed science and make appropriate decisions based on flawed science in media articles. Each article described the results of flawed research on one of four educational interventions to improve learning (Experiment 1 included articles about having a tidy classroom and exercising while learning; Experiment 2 included articles about using virtual/augmented reality and napping at school). Experiment 1 tested the impact of a single anecdote and found no significant effect on either participants’ evidence evaluations or decisions to implement the learning interventions. However, participants were more likely to adopt the more plausible intervention (tidy classroom) despite identifying that it was unsupported by the evidence, suggesting effects of prior beliefs. In Experiment 2, we tested whether this intervention effect was driven by differences in beliefs about intervention plausibility and included two additional interventions (virtual reality = high plausible, napping = low plausible). We again found that participants were more likely to implement high plausible than low plausible interventions, and that evidence quality was underweighed as a factor in these decisions. Together, these studies suggest that evidence-based decisions are more strongly determined by prior beliefs than beliefs about the quality of evidence itself.

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Older and Wiser? The Need to Reexamine the Impact of Health Professionals Age and Experience on Competency-Based Practices

SAGE Open Nursing ◽

10.1177/23779608211029067 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 ◽

pp. 237796082110290

Author(s):

Jing Xu ◽

Kristen Hicks-Roof ◽

Chloe E. Bailey ◽

Hanadi Y. Hamadi

Keyword(s):

Health Professionals ◽

Online Survey ◽

Evidence Based Practice ◽

Core Competencies ◽

Healthcare Services ◽

Interdisciplinary Teams ◽

Evidence Based ◽

Health Providers ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

The Impact

Introduction Delivery of healthcare services makes up a complex system and it requires providers to be competent and to be able to integrate each of the institute of medicine’s (IOM) 5 core competencies into practice. However, healthcare providers are challenged with the task to be able to understand and apply the IOM core competencies into practice. Objective The purpose of the study was to examine the factors that influence health professional’s likelihood of accomplishing the IOM core competencies. Methods A cross-sectional study design was used to administer a validated online survey to health providers. This survey was distributed to physicians, nursing professionals, specialists, and allied healthcare professionals. The final sample included 3,940 participants who completed the survey. Results The study findings show that younger health professionals more consistently practice daily competencies than their older counterparts, especially in the use of evidence-based practice, informatics, and working in interdisciplinary teams. Less experienced health professionals more consistently applied quality improvement methods but less consistently used evidence-based practice compared to their more experienced counterparts. Conclusion There is a need to understand how health professionals’ age and experience impact their engagement with IOM’s core competencies. This study highlights the need for educational resources on the competencies to be tailored to health providers’ age and experience.

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First-year students’ math anxiety predicts STEM avoidance and underperformance throughout university, independently of math ability

npj Science of Learning ◽

10.1038/s41539-021-00095-7 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Richard J. Daker ◽

Sylvia U. Gattas ◽

H. Moriah Sokolowski ◽

Adam E. Green ◽

Ian M. Lyons

Keyword(s):

Math Anxiety ◽

First Year ◽

Math Skills ◽

First Year Students ◽

First Semester ◽

Math Ability ◽

Current Thinking ◽

Attitudes Toward Math ◽

Show Evidence ◽

Stem Outcomes

AbstractMath anxiety is widely considered a potential barrier to success in STEM. Current thinking holds that math anxiety is directly linked to avoidance of and underperformance in STEM domains. However, past evidence supporting these claims is limited in important ways. Perhaps most crucially, it is possible that math anxiety predicts STEM outcomes merely as a proxy for poor math skills. Here, we tested the link between math anxiety and subsequent STEM outcomes by measuring math anxiety, math ability, and several covariates in 183 first-semester university students. We then tracked students’ STEM avoidance and achievement through four years at university via official academic transcripts. Results showed that math anxiety predicted both a reduction in how many STEM courses students took and, separately (i.e., controlling for one another), lower STEM grades. Crucially, these associations held after controlling for math ability (and other covariates). That math anxiety predicts math-related academic achievement independently of Math Ability suggests that, contrary to current thinking, math anxiety’s effects on academic performance likely operate via mechanisms other than negatively affecting math ability. Beyond this, we show evidence that math anxiety can account for associations between math ability and STEM outcomes, suggesting that past links between math ability and real-world outcomes may, in fact, be at least partially explainable by attitudes toward math. These findings provide clear impetus for developing and testing interventions that target math anxiety specifically and suggest that focusing on math ability without additional attention to math anxiety may fail to optimally boost STEM outcomes.

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Would You Share This Video? Factors Influencing Willingness to Share Online Health Misinformation. (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.30323 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Alla Keselman ◽

Catherine Arnott Smith ◽

Gondy Leroy ◽

David R. Kaufman

Keyword(s):

Immune System ◽

Information Sharing ◽

Information Literacy ◽

Online Survey ◽

Science Literacy ◽

Survey Methodology ◽

Interpersonal Trust ◽

The United States ◽

Evidence Based ◽

Information Competencies

BACKGROUND The rapidly evolving digital environment of the social media era increases the reach of both quality health information and misinformation. Platforms such as YouTube enable easy sharing of attractive, if not always evidence-based, videos with large personal networks as well as the general public. While much research has focused on characterizing health misinformation online, it has not sufficiently focused on describing and measuring individuals’ information competencies that build resilience. OBJECTIVE This study 1) assesses individuals’ willingness to share a non-evidence-based YouTube video about strengthening the immune system, 2) describes types of evidence that individuals view as supportive of the claim by the video, and 3) relates information-sharing behavior to several information competencies: information literacy, science literacy, knowledge of the immune system, interpersonal trust, and trust in health authority. METHODS The study employs an online survey methodology with 150 individuals across the United States. Participants were asked to watch a YouTube excerpt from a morning TV show featuring a wellness pharmacy representative promoting an immunity-boosting dietary supplement produced by his company; answer questions about the video and say whether they would share it with a cousin who was frequently sick; and complete instruments pertaining to the information competencies outlined in the objectives. RESULTS Most participants (105 out of 150) said that they would share the video with their cousin. Their confidence in the supplement would be further boosted by a friend’s recommendations, positive reviews on a crowdsourcing website, and statements of uncited effectiveness studies on the producer’s website. While all information literacy competencies analyzed in this study had a statistically significant relationship with the outcome, each was also highly correlated with each other. Information literacy and interpersonal trust independently predicted the largest amount of variance in the intent to share the video (17% and 16%). Interpersonal trust was negatively related to the willingness to share the video. Science literacy explained 7% of the variance. CONCLUSIONS People are vulnerable to online misinformation and are likely to propagate it online. Information literacy and science literacy are associated with lesser vulnerability to misinformation and lesser propensity to spread it. Of the two, information literacy holds the greater promise as an intervention target. Understanding the role of different kinds of trust on information sharing merits further research.

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