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Case: Math Anxiety?
Virgil is an ESL (English as a Second Language) student who has acquired two languages in his upbringing. He is moving to the United States with his family. The entire family is anxious to learn English and the American way of life. Virgil's family is very proud of their heritage and cultural traditions. They have decided to learn English at school and work, but speak their other two languages at home. Virgil is an outgoing young man who experienced difficulties in learning mathematical concepts in his native country. He is hoping that math will be easier for him in the United States. Virgil's parents enroll him in Ms. Tucker's third grade classroom. Hearing the English language being spoken and observing his new environment frightens Virgil. Ms. Tucker decides to ignore Virgil's fearful facial expressions and allow him to be totally immersed in his new culture. She continues to teach the students exactly the way she has done in the past. After all, her teaching methods have been successful for many years. In the afternoon, when the classroom students begin to take out their textbooks with numbers printed on the cover, Virgil perceives that it is time for math. The same sinking feeling he experienced in his old school started to reoccur in his new classroom. Not only was the new language confusing, but the entire math period left Virgil feeling lost and uncomfortable. After a few weeks of math lessons, Ms. Tucker decides to refer Virgil to the Special Education director. It was obvious to Ms. Tucker that Virgil was not understanding the math lessons and he was scoring poorly on the assessments. She felt that perhaps Virgil had some learning disabilities which needed attention. While he was receiving special help with math, Ms. Tucker could conduct class as usual.
Questions:
1. Did Virgil suffer from "math anxiety?"
2. What interventions could Ms. Tucker implement before coming to her conclusions about Virgil?
3. Was total language immersion what Virgil needed?
Solution: (Rates are posted for this solution!)
Virgil does suffer from "math anxiety" because his behavior was consistent in every language. The "sinking feeling" that he describes at the beginning of math time is a tell-tale sign of anxiety. However, this anxiety is not being eased by Ms. Tucker's method of total language immersion, it is only being made worse by overwhelming him and leaving him "lost and uncomfortable". Ms. Tucker is going to have to differentiate her lessons to cater to his individual needs. Coming to the conclusion that Virgil is not comprehending the math concepts because he has a learning disability without giving him an alternative assessment was hasty of Ms. Tucker. Perhaps the assessment included lengthy word problems or instructions that he could not read. She should sit down with him and use physical objects that he can count and write down the numbers for or utilize an ESOL specialist to give him the test in his native languages to test his comprehension before assuming he has a learning disability. |
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Rating
| The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is relevant to the case |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is original |
Yes
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| Comments: |
| Rated On: February 14, 2013 8:20 pm |
| Rated By: Nicole Strenkowski |
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Rating
| The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is relevant to the case |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is original |
Yes
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| Comments: |
| Rated On: February 16, 2013 4:18 pm |
| Rated By: Melissa Moore |
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Rating
| The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is relevant to the case |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is original |
Yes
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| Comments: |
| Rated On: February 25, 2013 7:10 pm |
| Rated By: eMypur |
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Rating
| The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is relevant to the case |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is original |
Yes
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| Comments: |
| Rated On: February 26, 2013 11:11 am |
| Rated By: |
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Rating
| The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is relevant to the case |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is original |
Yes
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| Comments: |
| Rated On: March 3, 2013 8:10 pm |
| Rated By: yTuGyd |
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Rating
| The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is relevant to the case |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is original |
Yes
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| Comments: Ms. Tucker should be implementing differential instructional practices already in her classroom. In knowing that Virgil had difficulties in math prior to coming to the United States, she should have assessed Virgil's math abilities and utilized ESL services to assist her in the assessment. Determining whether a language barrier or lack of comprehension of mathematical concepts is the cause of Virgil's should be the first step taken. |
| Rated On: October 14, 2014 4:48 pm |
| Rated By: Denise Lukacik |
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Rating
| The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is relevant to the case |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is original |
Yes
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| Comments: I completey agree that Ms. Tucker's decision to refer him to special education was hasty. She did not have enough evidence to come to this conclusion. Nor did she try to accommodate the student with ESOL sevices. |
| Rated On: October 19, 2014 8:07 pm |
| Rated By: ySaryN |
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Rating
| The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is relevant to the case |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is original |
Yes
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| Comments: If I were in this situation, I would exactly do this |
| Rated On: October 18, 2015 10:45 pm |
| Rated By: punybu |
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Rating
| The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is relevant to the case |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is original |
Yes
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| Comments: I agree that the teachers approach is the deciding factor in the case. Virgil has math anxiety and may very well have a problem understanding the content. However the teacher ignoring his discomfort did not help in the slightest. |
| Rated On: October 19, 2015 1:29 am |
| Rated By: tygaBu |
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Rating
| The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is relevant to the case |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is original |
Yes
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| Comments: |
| Rated On: February 24, 2020 3:56 am |
| Rated By: amajuj |
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Rating
| The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is relevant to the case |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is original |
Yes
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| Comments: You have good insights |
| Rated On: October 19, 2020 12:11 am |
| Rated By: usuBuQ |
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