A couple of weeks ago I produced a test for the class and afterwards I asked them their thoughts and feelings about it.
Janice and Mathilde both said that they had experienced extreme anxiety before the test. Janice couldn't sleep or relax the whole weekend before the test, but once she had done it then she could relax as nothing could be done after that.
Mathilde was very anxious and said she felt Red (in the Red Zone) during the test a lot of the time. She also said that she had been very distressed the night before receiving the results and had had problems with sleep.
Ariana said that she wasn't feeling well on the day and was very anxious in the morning and at the start of the test. She settled down a bit and gradually relaxed into the test after completing a few questions.
I shared with them that I had felt stressed during submission of one of my recent Psychology MSc assignments and my hands had been shaking when obtaining the results.
I tried to encourage them by saying that in the past I had studied both German and Japanese but that I can't use those languages now and that it is similar with mathematics - it takes time to get the fluency back. Maths is a subject that requires various skills and foundational knowledge and it takes time to get it practised and retained.
I encouraged them not to compare themselves to others as both Janice and Mathilde had expressed how they were comparing themselves and perceiving themselves to be less fluent and knowledgeable than others. I asked if they know what is going on for people that appear to be knowledgeable - we don't know their stories and previous maths experiences so it is hard to compare. Comparison with others is simply not helpful and can tie us up in knots, especially as the conclusions we come to may not even be true!
