The most probable reasons for students developing a fear of maths and science subjects could be a combination of multiple factors. It includes less engaging methods for teaching, subject complexity, pressure to perform well, difficulty in understanding, etc. For most students, the problem-solving and critical thinking skills required in these subjects might be intimidating. The earlier struggles and failures in these subjects can be the leading contributors to their perceived fear of these subjects. To help such students, online tutoring services have provided an easy and more efficient way for students to get their doubts cleared and get 24*7 assistance in solving complex questions.
What could be done to eliminate this fear built for so long among students? Encouragement, motivation, effective teaching methods, and positive experiences may help students to make these fears less intense or severe for themselves. Now, we'll delve deep into the elaborative reasons why students fear maths and science subjects the most.
Performance and failure fear
Our education system is in a manner where the intelligence of a student is majorly judged by the marks obtained. Math and science are subjects that are often evaluated by exams and assignments. This instills performance pressure and fear of failure in students. They do not feel interested in engaging in these subjects as they fear disappointment. In an effort to avoid the judgmental eyes of parents, teachers, and peers, some students resent these subjects. It leads to stress build-up in students and impacts their overall motivation to study.
Less interactive teaching methods
The way a student perceives a subject depends on how it is presented to them by the teacher. Therefore, teaching methods play an important role in the interest of a student. Unlike arts and crafts, music, or some other creative subject, math and science are more conceptual and technical. They also involve a lot of memorization along with concept understanding. So it is very tough to teach them in more engaging and interesting ways. One has to study them seriously to understand and score in these subjects. One method that can be used to avoid fear of these subjects in students is drawing the relation of theory with real-life happenings. This will foster their interest in the subjects and will broaden their thought process as they will get to know the reasons behind the happenings around them.
Gloomy past experiences
The reason behind the interests or disinterests of a student in a particular subject also depends on their past experiences. Many times, if one gets lucky enough to get a very good teacher for a subject and also secure good grades and appreciation in the same, they tend to call it their favorite one. When they study this subject with this same positive perception, they perform continuously well in that. But if the case is, otherwise, that is, if a student feels difficulty in understanding a subject or is not able to score well even after continuous efforts, they start disliking it. They might also develop a fear of it, as is the case with math and science.
There could be many more reasons behind students fearing math and science. One can try online coaching classes for these subjects. In online classes, there are various digital ways to make learning fun and interactive for students. There should be the creation of a study environment where students should not be punished for their mistakes. Instead, mistakes should be embraced as a part of the learning system. It is not good for a student to fear something but at the same time, there is no compulsion to like a subject.