An Examination of the Influences of Mathematics Anxiety in Middle School Algebra 1 Students

Abstract

With an increase in the number of students enrolled in Algebra 1 during their middle school years, this explanatory sequential mixed-method study examined how mathematics anxiety influences middle-school Algebra 1 students’ cognitive and metacognitive processes as they complete cognitively demanding tasks duringa think-aloud. Findings from the study indicated that participants who identified as having moderate mathematics anxiety, struggled with accessing metacognitive strategies as the cognitive demand of the mathematical tasks increased. Low accuracy rates on the Algebra 1 tasks and overreliance on calculator usage to perform basic integer operations highlighted some participants’ challenges in completing the cognitively demanding mathematical tasks. This study also found that for some participants, preexisting levels of mathematics anxiety affected their mathematics performance on the assigned tasks. In addition, participants who identified as having low mathematics anxiety experienced task-dependent or content-specific mathematics anxiety affecting task accuracy and mathematical performance.