Student Response to a Systematic Program of Anxiety-Reducing Strategies in a Graduate-Level Introductory Educational Research Course.

In this study of 53 graduate students enrolled in an introductory course in educational research, the instructor employed strategies noted in the literature as effective in reducing anxiety in statistics classes: (1) addressing the anxiety; (2) using humor; (3) applying statistics to real world situations; (4) reducing fear of evaluation; and (5) encouraging students to work in cooperative groups. Students were asked to respond to a question about what the instructor did to reduce anxiety in the statistics class. The 86 responses could be classified into two groups: the teaching-related behaviors of the instructor; and the interpersonal style of the professor. Few responses related directly to strategies the instructor used to alleviate anxiety. In two focus groups of nine students, responses mirrored the written responses. The conclusion drawn from these findings is that students perceive specific teaching behaviors and the interpersonal style of the instructor as being helpful in reducing anxiety. Effective teaching behaviors included giving individual help, expressing concern about anxiety, breaking the material down into small steps, using humor, and giving the students activities to help them grasp the concepts. Interpersonal factors include having a positive attitude and being encouraging, reassuring, supportive, and calm. (Contains 2 tables and 19 references.) (Author/SLD) ******************************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ******************************************************************************** Statistics Anxiety Reduction: Student Response I Running Head: STATISTICS ANXIETY REDUCTION: STUDENT RESPONSE Student Response to a Systematic Program of Anxiety-Reducing Strategies in a Graduate-Level Introductory Educational Research Course U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This docurnent has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. 0 Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. Vicki A. Wilson Muskingum College PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY wz1s0A TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Montreal, Canada, April 19-23, 1999 2 BEST COPY AVAILABLE Statistics Anxiety Reduction: Student Response 2 Abstract Anxiety about statistics can result in impaired performance, mental anguish, and avoidance of statistics courses needed for professionl advancement. In this study of 53 graduate students enrolled in an introductory course in educational research, the instructor employed strategies noted in the literature as effective in reducing anxiety in statistics classes: addressing the anxiety, using humor, applying statistics to real-world situations, reducing fear of evaluation, and encouraging students to work in cooperative groups. Students were asked to respond to the prompt: "What, if anything, did your instructor do to reduce anxiety in the statistics class?" The 86 responses could be classified into two groups: teaching-related behaviors of the instructor (44.2% Of the responses) and the interpersonal style of the professor (55.8%). Few responses related directly to the strategies specifically employed by the instructor to alleviate anxiety. In two focus groups of nine students, responses mirrored the written responses. The conclusion drawn from this study is that students perceive specific teaching behaviors and the interpersonal style of the instructor as being helpful in reducing anxiety in the educational research classroom. Effective teaching behaviors include giving individual help, expressing concern about anxiety, breaking down the material into small steps, using humor, and giving the students activities that help them grasp the concepts. Interpersonal factors include having a positive attitude and being encouraging, reassuring, supportive, and calm.