Use expressive writing before math situations to offload worry and protect working memory resources¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 1 claim (1 mixed) · 2 studies (1 causal, 1 quant-synthesis), q3–q4 · 2 of 2 report an effect size

Description¶

For the WM/affective-drop pathway, the authors recommend expressive writing — having learners write out negative affect and worry before exams and other math situations. They report that such writing "lowered ruminating behavior and thus mitigated the negative impact on WM resources which in turn had a positive influence on mathematical performance", citing prior intervention studies with promising results.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• A brief writing window before the math task or exam in which the learner articulates worries

Constraints¶

• Evidence comes from prior intervention studies cited by the authors, not from an experiment in this article

Target Learners¶

• students facing math exams or math-heavy assessments
• adults with mathematics anxiety

Target Learning Goals¶

• arithmetic and math test performance
• reduced rumination during mathematical tasks

Claims¶

• Brief expressive writing before an exam can raise test-anxious students' scores, but across the wider literature its effect on test performance is negligible [~M]

Related Strategies¶

• Expressive Writing Before Assessment
• Expressive Outlets
• Math Anxiety Reduction
• Test Anxiety Reduction

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Skagerlund K, Östergren R, Västfjäll D, Träff U (2019) How does mathematics anxiety impair mathematical abilities? Investigating the link between math anxiety, working memory, and number processing. PLoS ONE 14(1): e0211283. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0211283