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Math PK-2

Systems Change

Factor Connections

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Emotions are complex psychological states stemming from a person's experiences. They affect our minds and bodies and therefore can support or hinder learning. Students' from diverse backgrounds and cultures, as well as students with learning disorders or ADHD, may have different ways of expressing their emotions, or different ways that they perceive emotion in others.

Main Ideas

Several aspects of Emotion can drive mathematical development:

  • Emotion knowledge is understanding what emotions are and properly recognizing them in others' facial expressions and speech,and typically begins to develop in early childhood. Evidence suggests that Emotion knowledge is vital for Emotion regulation.
  • Emotion regulation is the ability to control emotional arousal in order to learn adaptive functioning (the ability to complete daily tasks, cope with changes in the environment, and function successfully in a classroom), supports mental health, and is an important aspect of social competence.
  • Mental health is the combination of our emotional and psychological well-being and adjustment. Emotions are dynamic and will always fluctuate over time, so it is normal to experience both positive (e.g., excitement, joy) and negative (e.g., anger, sadness) emotions. However, students who tend to experience more positive than negative emotions overall, and who are able to successfully manage and minimize stress, will have better overall psychological well-being.

It is important to note that educators may misinterpret students' emotional states due to biases such as being more likely to perceive Black students as angry or hostile. As a result of different social norms and experiences around Emotion, students may benefit from linguistically and culturally-responsive approaches to addressing emotions.

Math anxiety is a specific Emotion associated with discomfort around doing math and can negatively impact math performance and self-confidence. Providing extra support for students to feel more positively about math can help shift their mindsets and boost their self-confidence. It is important to distinguish between math difficulties that arise from this anxiety and those that are associated with developmental dyscalculia, as they should be addressed in different ways. See Stereotype Threat for more discussion of math anxiety.

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