Mathematics Anxiety, Instructional Method, and Achievement in a Survey Course in College Mathematics.

Two instructional strategies were used in different sections o fa survey course in college mathematics at each of two colleges. One strategy consisted of a series of lectures structured to assist students in mastering an organized body of knowledge; the other was based on questioning sequences that guided students in discovering mathematical principles. Achievement was measured by an examination covering course content. Students with a high level of mathematics anxiety had significantly lower achievement (p < .01) than students with a low level of anxiety. A significant interaction between method of instruction and level of anxiety (p < .01) suggested that students with high anxiety benefited more from the expository approach, whereas students with low anxiety benefited more from the discovery approach.