I CAN do math!

Confidence is a huge part of mathematical success yet something that is so fragile. It takes only one small event to crush mathematical confidence and so much more work to regain or establish it. This often leads to less resilience in mathematics classrooms.

When I learn a new skills (anywhere but in the math classroom), I expect to make lots of mistakes and learn from them. If I'm not making mistakes, then I am not learning. I've learnt to play the piano and hitting a wrong note was not a big deal. You just played the correct note and carried on with the song. I swam competitively in high school and I didn't give up when I lost goggles on a dive in some races. Yet mistakes in the mathematics classroom often seem to mean something completely different.

Often what students in math classes think is "If I can't get it perfect on the first attempt, then I will never be able to do it" or "I have to be able to perform quickly or else I am not good at math". There is no room or time for mathematical mistakes and as soon as I make a mistake, it must mean I am not good at math.

So why am I so concerned with mathematical confidence? If I have confidence in my mathematical abilities, I will
1. be able to critically look at my work.
2. be able to look for minor arithmetic errors in my work instead of assuming I know nothing because my final answer does not match the answer at the back of the book.
3. be able to answer questions instead of questioning each step I make.
4. practice my skills and want to make mistakes in my homework so I know what part of my thinking is incorrect.
5. learn from my mistakes on a test instead of jumping to the conclusion that I can never do math after getting a low mark.
6. know when to continue practicing and when I have mastered the skill (without seeing a mark on the test).

As a teacher, I try to build student confidence in my classroom by
a) encouraging mistakes. I ask students to explain why they said their answer and then as a class we learning to correct our thinking from the mistake.
b) having conversations with students. I sit down with each student and talk through the solution to a question. I ask a lot "why is that _____" for both correct and incorrect answers so that students don't just assume when I question them they are incorrect. They start to justify all their answers with confidence.
c) letting students investigate ideas and collaborate. Instead of lecturing to students and simply giving them all the information that they need, I attempt to have them develop the idea in groups or as a class building on concepts that they attained in previous courses or units.