How to overcome your fear of geometry?

Some students find geometry easy while some find it challenging. There are students who ace in algebra yet have a hard time when it comes to geometry. Geometry is a branch of mathematics that deals with shapes, sizes, properties of space, and the relative position of figures. Geometry might be simple, but studying it makes it complicated and even the way many teachers teach it also makes it complicated.

Many students find themselves getting tensed when thinking about geometry. They suffer from what we call anxiety brought about by geometry. For some students, solving geometric problems may stir negative emotions such as fear of failure. This fear or anxiety may hinder their ability to perform. When a student gets anxious over geometry, it can affect his or her working memory which is not good at all. Students need to overcome their fear of geometry in order to survive higher levels of mathematics and geometry that are required in many courses in college.

Causes of Geometry Anxiety

 

Pressure from tests

Solving geometric problems causes pressure for students because they are expected to grasp equations and be able to solve geometric problems once the teacher has taught the equations in class. Solving geometric problems under a limited amount of time adds more pressure to students because it makes them feel more anxious that they tend to forget concepts and equations that they have no problem remembering at home.

Fear of being embarrassed in public

Students don’t like it when other people, let alone teachers, embarrass them in class for giving a wrong answer. It can worsen the anxiety of the student.

Influence of teachers

A student’s perception of geometry can be affected by how a teacher feels about it. If a teacher shows how interesting geometry is, then the students will be able to pick it up and appreciate it. If the teacher feels negative about it to the point that he or she may show how hard the subject is, then it can terrorize the students and make them feel negative about it.

Lack of understanding of geometry concepts

Geometry is a major subject in high school. Although it is not a part of the curriculum in the earlier stages of schooling, the basic concepts are discussed in these earlier stages and they should have been clear to students.

The geometrical understanding of students progresses through different levels and these levels cannot be skipped. For example, in the earliest stage, a student learns about shapes and would know how to identify them. In the next level, the students learn how to define and differentiate the shapes based on analytical thinking. In the next level, the student should be able to understand and come up with abstract definitions and understand the relationship between various shapes. The student should also be able to differentiate important conditions for a concept. In the next level, the student should be able to define concepts by deductive reasoning by using theorems, definitions, and axioms. They should be able to justify and prove statements which is usually taught and learned in high school. In the last level, the students should be able to confidently construct formal reasoning and compare various axiomatic systems which is the level needed for college mathematics. If any of these levels are skipped, then the student would have a problem in learning higher levels of geometry and mathematics in general.

Cognitive development of a student

Students have varying capabilities of learning. It is expected that in a certain level in school, not all students have the same level of cognitive development. There are a few exceptional students who can easily pick up geometric concepts at an early age while there are quite a lot who have a slower cognitive development and have a hard time picking up geometric concepts. A student needs to achieve a level of cognitive development also known as formal operational stage to be able to understand and construct proofs and do formal reasoning.

how to overcome geometry anxiety?How to Overcome Geometry Anxiety

Most of the time, it’s not the fault of the students why they fear geometry and math in general. It’s not their fault if they have a slow cognitive development and they have a hard time grasping concepts in class. It doesn’t mean that there is no hope for them. There are always a lot of things to help you overcome your fear of geometry. Here are some of them:

• Have a positive attitude. Don’t let your fears come in the way of learning geometric concepts. Come to class with a positive attitude and believe that you will be able to grasp concepts.
• Always ask questions in class. Don’t be afraid that you will be judged by your teacher and classmates if you don’t understand concepts. Most of the time, half or even more than half of the class don’t understand the concepts but are just afraid to show it because they might be branded as stupid or slow.
• Ask for help. You can hire a tutor to help you understand lessons in geometry that you have difficulty understanding. You can also ask your friends and classmates for help in trying to breakdown concepts for you to be able to understand it. They might have a way of teaching you concepts in a way that you would understand it.
• Check websites that offer online homework help in geometry. You can use these websites whenever you need help in answering your homework in geometry.
• Don’t wait for the tests to come before practicing solving problems. Try to solve problems as often as you can until you are able to absorb the concepts and equations on your own.
• Be persistent. Geometry and math can be really hard, and everyone makes mistakes. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes and learn from them.

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