Mathematical resilience : what is it and why is it important?

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Abstract

Many people have difficulties learning mathematics for many different reasons. However, many people, otherwise good learners, find mathematical tasks difficult, to the point that they steer clear of any engagement with mathematics. Such people may exhibit a high degree of phobia or anxiety, but many of them simply avoid any situation that might involve mathematical reasoning; we would say too many. This chapter is about what might be done to stop young learners from developing a need to disengage from mathematics.

Working explicitly to develop mathematical resilience (Johnston-Wilder & Lee 2010) seems to offer a way of recognising the issues that many people encounter when learning mathematics and enabling them to succeed despite those issues. The construct mathematical resilience indicates a positive approach to mathematics that allows people to overcome affective barriers presented when learning mathematics. Mathematical resilience can be developed by anyone; there are clear indicators from literature and from our research about how this can be done. Learners who display mathematical resilience will continue despite feeling ‘stuck’; they will persevere by recruiting resources to help them. These resources might be their peer group or possibly on-line resources or an adult who will listen or even their textbook. Above all, they will not accept the state of ‘being stuck’ as a permanent position. They will have a growth or incremental theory of learning (Dweck 2000) and therefore know that they can learn more mathematics, provided they find the support they need.

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