Like other types of performance anxiety, such as stage fright, math tests can lead to panic and cause the mind to go blank. Students overcome by math anxiety may feel a disabling frustration that can lead to full-fledged panic. Math anxiety is real, but can be brought under control with understanding and practice.

Prevent math fright by gaining perspective:

• Think of math as a foreign language that requires daily practice to master.
• Spend time working on math. Don’t just memorize or follow examples blindly.
• Be stubborn and tenacious about solving math “puzzles” correctly.
• Stay positive about your ability. Avoid negative self-talk. You can do math.
• Math is cumulative, so make sure you’re in the right level class for your experience.

Reduce math anxiety by improving your study habits:

• Don’t rush through math homework. Slow down and work at your own pace.
• When you get stuck, read your math textbook and refer to example problems.
• Ask for help from a teacher or tutor as soon as you need it.
• Practice math every day, even if no homework is assigned.
• Check each answer and try again if you make mistakes.
• Math is cumulative, so don’t avoid the work or fall behind.

Don’t fall for these age-old math myths. See how they are soundly debunked in this Platonic Realms MiniText.

Myth #1: Aptitude for math is inborn.
Myth #2: To be good at math you have to be good at calculating.
Myth #3: Math requires logic, not creativity.
Myth #4: In math, what’s important is getting the right answer.
Myth #5: Men are naturally better than women at mathematical thinking.

Mastering math is not about having a natural gift. Instead, learning math takes time and effort along with trial and error. As your knowledge and ability increase, so too will your confidence and test performance.

“Reimagining Learning,” the 2010 Digital Media and Learning Competition, was unveiled at the White House on November 23. Set to launch December 14, the $2 million competition sponsored by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, seeks proposals that will transform learning using digital media.

Applicants will focus on participatory learning experiences that incorporate the principles of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Participatory learning, as defined by the competition, is a form of learning connected to individual interests and passions, inherently social in nature, and occurring during hands-on, creative activities.

“Lifting American students from the middle to the top of the pack in STEM achievement over the next decade will not be attained by government alone,” said President Obama. “I applaud the substantial commitments made today by the leaders of companies, universities, foundations, non-profits and organizations representing millions of scientists, engineers, and teachers from across the country.”

The competition is open to designers, inventors, entrepreneurs, researchers, and others interested in building digital media experiences that help young people interact and explore in new and innovative ways.

Information about past winners and the current competition is available at www.dmlcompetition.net.

With all the hoopla about interactive math and science learning, who’s looking out for the poor humanities?

I found countless static websites to help students make sense of the classics, identify themes, or gain historical insight, but nothing interactive until I stumbled across Dr. Roger Travis. This Associate Professor in the Modern and Classical Languages department at the University of Connecticut uses online gaming as a course requirement when teaching the classics.

Dr. Travis, who first noticed a connection between modern video games and the classics while teaching Virgil’s Aeneid, suggests that the bards’ audiences were interactive with epic poems in much the same way that today’s video gamers interact with a software-generated adventure tale.

He has gone so far as to turn his course, “Classics in Ancient Mediterranian Studies” into an online class he affectionately refers to as, “gaming Homer.” Students are assigned to read Homer as well as secondary sources about Homer’s improvisational tradition. They then play video games to grasp that myth is not just something from 2,500 years ago.

“Like today’s gamers, the bards’ audiences didn’t know what was going to happen next, so they were immersed in the story and were interactive with it in a very real way,” Travis says. “The popular notion that video games are unique in their interactivity overlooks a tradition well over 2,000 years old.” Video games “bring back to life an essential part of the sort of storytelling to be found in the epic tradition of the Homeric bards.”

In her acclaimed novel The Elegance of the Hedgehog, Muriel Barbery captivates with a stop-you-in-your-tracks answer to the question of why grammar matters.

To usher in this eloquent grammatical tirade, twelve-year old character, Paloma Jesse, writes Profound Thought No. 10 in her journal. In this entry, the youngster tells of a schoolmate who puts voice to the question on every student’s mind, “What’s the point of grammar?”

As the teacher huffs, “The point is to make us speak and write well,” Paloma’s blood boils. “I thought I would have a heart attack then and there. I have never heard anything so grossly inept.”

She, or rather Barbery, proceeds to defend the wondrous essence of grammar as if it were a smell or taste to be savored. “Personally I think that grammar is a way to attain beauty. When you speak, or read, or write, you can tell if you’ve said or read or written a fine sentence. You can recognize a well-turned phrase or an elegant style. But when you are applying the rules of grammar skillfully, you ascend to another level of the beauty of language. When you use grammar you peel back the layers, to see how it is all put together, see it quite naked, in a way. And that’s where it becomes wonderful, because you say to yourself ‘Look how well-made this is, how well-constructed it is! How solid and ingenuous, rich and subtle.”

As Barbery illuminates the nuance of grammar, her reader is enticed to delight in the way beautifully crafted language, like a dazzling sunset or moving sonata, can enrich the senses and soul. When composed as “end in itself,” grammar is magically transformed from basic tool to work of art, “…it becomes obvious that grammar is an end in itself and not simply a means: it provides access to the structure and beauty of language, it’s not some trick to help people get by in society.”

My son recently asked if he could sign-up for Challenge Day at his school. He had no idea what the day was about, but said other students had highly recommended the program and, more importantly, attending would get him out of an entire day of class.

Am I ever glad I said yes to this request! He came home from school bubbling with new insights into how people conceal their true selves, the importance of finding common ground, and “being the change” through acts kindness.

Since I still couldn’t quite get my arms around the purpose of this one-day event, I visited the Challenge Day website. Far more powerful than any words, these emotionally charged videos reveal the pain that undermines so many students, and demonstrate how Challenge Day strives to fulfill its vision for every child to live in a world where they feel safe, loved and celebrated.

Teen Files 15 Minute Preview from Rodrigo Torres on Vimeo.

Bully Solution 10 Minute Preview from Rodrigo Torres on Vimeo.

“Challenge Day helps people learn to connect through powerful, life-changing programs in their schools and communities. The day-long, interactive Challenge Day program provides teens and adults with tools to tear down the walls of separation, and inspires participants to live, study, and work in an encouraging environment of acceptance, love, and respect.”

Since 1987, Challenge Day has served more than 1,000,000 youth in grades 7-12. More information can be found in the program’s FAQ. To bring Challenge Day to your school, fill out their online program request form.

We can all remember that teacher who made a class or subject intolerable. Perhaps your children too have experienced a poor interpersonal relationship with a teacher, one that took a toll on their love for learning.

Fortunately, the flip side is also true, “If the teacher has a good relationship with the pupils then their interest for the subject taught is greater, and if the teacher exerts a large influence on what happens in class, the pupils learn more.”

According to a new study, it is difficult, if not impossible, for a teacher to fundamentally change a disrupted relationship with students once it occurs. It is therefore best for teachers to build a good relationship based on a large degree of influence (teacher dominance versus submissiveness) and proximity (teacher cooperation versus opposition) with a class right from day one.

A joint report by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research and Utrecht University concludes, “The relationship between a teacher and class is important for the learning achievement of pupils and their pleasure in learning.” Dutch researcher Tim Mainhard discovered, “Teacher-class relationships are very stable over the course of a school year. Consequently if teachers get off to a bad start, it is almost impossible to put things right.” If, however, a single poor lesson occurs when the relationship is good, the situation often returns to normal over the course of a week.

When it comes to schoolwork, “Learning how to focus and get something done is about more than just good grades it’s the foundation for success in life.”

While many students have heard it before, these tips based on the TeensHealth.org article, Staying Focused on Schoolwork, serve as good reminders about how focusing not only helps get the job done, but gets it done well. As we like to say around our house (while hoping we’re not wasting our breath), “You’re going to do it anyway, so you might as well do it right.”

Get organized. Organization makes everything you do easier, focuses your efforts on what’s important, and keeps you from dropping the ball. Expect to try various techniques before finding find a system that works for you.

Plan ahead. Setting and enforcing your own deadlines helps you manage your time and makes it easier to stay focused on the task at hand.

Claim your workspace. A quiet, orderly environment is essential for focusing on schoolwork. Find ways to escape all distractions to get your work finished faster.

Don’t even think about multi-tasking! Studies show that all of us perform poorly on tasks when we try to squeeze-in additional activities such as talking on the phone, listening to music, checking email, texting, and IMing. If you want to absorb knowledge and retain information, do whatever it takes to avoid these temptations. Then give them 100% of your focus when the work is done.

If the hassle of getting organized, planning, and concentrating doesn’t seem worth the effort, it might help to know that students who train themselves to stay focused 1) perform better in school and 2) have more free time than those who allow disorganization and interruption to derail their work.

Today’s students can choose to earn their high school, associate, undergraduate, and even graduate degrees online. National Distance Learning Week (NDLW), November 9-13, 2009, promotes distance learning programs offered by schools, businesses, and government.

At the secondary school level, over 700,000 high school students are now taking one or more courses online, and nearly 40 states have established state-wide or state-lead virtual schools. Michigan became the first state in 2007 to require high school students take at least one online course for graduation. Furthermore, over 3.5 million college students are currently taking online courses and/or earning online college degrees.

NDLW is sponsored by the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA), a nonprofit organization dedicated to distance learning research. The learning communities that USDLA addresses are: pre K-12, higher education, continuing education, corporate training, military and government training, home schooling and telemedicine.

• A study at the University of Washington comparing human and electronic teaching methods demonstrates young children learn best through social interaction and finds that the “social aspects of learning are very important at all ages.”
• Early childhood test scores and self-control dramatically improve for children who participate in Tools of the Mind, a program that enables children to learn on their own.
• Research at the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology found that, “Behavioral and brain measures identify infants and young children at risk for dyslexia, and preventive intervention is often effective.”
• The gap between students who fail, yet remain determined to master new challenges, and those who simply give up, can be closed using a simple technique developed by Stanford University’s Carol Dweck.

Parents and teachers can get bombarded by fascinating educational studies with great potential to improve learning. Unfortunately, very few have the spare time it takes to read, analyze, and, if results turn out to be valid, apply breakthrough findings to their homes or classrooms.

“Insights from many different fields are converging to create a new science of learning that may transform educational practices,” reports Andrew Metzoff, co-director of the University of Washington’s Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences.

Rather than test new trends by turning students into classroom guinea pigs, neuroscientists are teaming with education researchers to measure brain activity while robiticists join forces with psychologists in efforts to blend technology with social instruction.

This emerging “Science of Learning” field holds the promise of a huge boon to educators and students. But only if scientists first sift through and agree on the most valuable findings, systematically share key principles with those on the front lines of teaching, and provide the training needed to put best known methods into practice.

Daniel Willingham also cautions that in order to bridge information from neuroscience to behavior, researchers need to build-in supporting information about anatomic structure, cognitive process, and children’s minds. In other words, be wary of “get-smart-quick” programs that lack a strong foundation.

When the bridge from neuroscience to behavior is strong, children can safely and easily skip across. “Our brains have evolved to learn and adapt to new environments; if we can create the right environment for a child, magic happens” says Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator Terrence J. Sejnowski. For studies that meet the criteria of scientists, including skeptics like Willingham, the next step is to find a way to disseminate information so that children everywhere can experience the magic.

In the meantime, TeamUP! Tutors will continue to search high and low to bring our readers the latest and greatest educational findings.

In 2009, the College Board calculated that families can expect to pay in the neighborhood of $25,000 per year for a private four-year college (up 5.9 percent from last year), and $6,585 for a public four-year college (up 6.4 percent from 2008).

I wonder… if more families know about opportunities to get a free, or partially free, college education, starting in the high-school years, would they encourage their college-bound children to give it a whirl?

Not only can students who earn college credit in high school reduce their time in college, but they can do so at no cost to their families. I know this firsthand because I did it way back in the 80s, and now there are even more options for students to consider:

Advanced Placement (AP) Courses: Probably the most popular and widely known choice for high schoolers, AP classes are college-level courses delivered by high school teachers. If your school does not offer the class you want, try looking online. The nonprofit Consumers Guide to Online AP Courses provides information, reviews, and links to state AP programs. Student who score three or higher on an AP exam qualify for college credit.

Direct Credit: College courses offered at your high school are referred to as direct credit. In some cases, a college will offer a post-secondary education at a high school by sending a professor or training a high school teacher to deliver college-level course material, which may be applied to high school exit requirements and count toward college credit.

Dual Enrollment: With a dual enrollment program, qualified high school students are able to earn college credit by spending part of their school hours in high school and the rest of their day taking classes with college students. Families may be responsible for some fees and textbook purchases, but classes are usually covered by the school district. Dual enrollment students should get their course selection pre-approved by a guidance counselor and have the discipline, drive, and maturity to work at the faster college pace.

Early Admission: A form of dual enrollment, early admission lets qualified high school students in good standing attend college full-time. Before being admitted, students must earn a specified number of high school credits and meet test criteria set by the institution. Once enrolled, students are required to take classes that fulfill high school graduation requirements. Like dual enrollment, most college costs are waived.

Middle College: Middle College High Schools are located on or near college campuses and give students the opportunity to take classes to earn their high school diploma and up to 60 transferable college credits at no cost. This collaborative effort targets student populations that are historically under-served and underrepresented in college.

International Baccalaureate (IB) Program: Known for high standards and pedagogical leadership, IB-designated schools are an alternative for students who wish to be pushed academically and develop greater intercultural understanding. Some colleges will grant credit for IB students who who demonstrate mastery in the rigorous junior and senior programs and associated assessments. Course costs are covered by school districts, but families are expected to pay for the assessments.

Any high school student is eligible to earn college and high school credit at the same time, but families should be aware that some programs have prerequisites and not all colleges welcome every form of credit. Interested students can ask their high school guidance counselor for program recommendations, information about which colleges are likely to accept AP or IB credits, and possible social or emotional ramifications.

While the above options are certainly not suited to all students, those who feel ready for an increased challenge can earn credit toward high school graduation while simultaneously getting a jump start on their college courses… plus a potential reduction in tuition.