A Study of Mathematics Anxiety Remediated with the Vedic Math Program

Abstract

In this qualitative study, the benefits of the Vedic Math program to reduce the math anxiety levels of a student were studied. The student, a girl studying in a public school in Western New York, was taught multiplication of 2-digit numbers, with 2-digit numbers, using algorithms based on the Vedic Math program. Her math anxiety levels, before and after the program, as also her achievement, in terms of accuracy and speed of calculation were evaluated. The researcher also investigated the effects of parents' and teachers' attitudes towards mathematics and their perceptions about the student's capabilities, and how these reflected on the student's self-esteem and feelings about herself. After the completion of the Vedic Math program, there was a reduction in the student's math anxiety levels and she seemed to be more at ease while doing math. The researcher believes that this could be due to a combination of factors, including the utter simplicity and logic involved in Vedic math, one-on-one interaction with the researcher in a friendly, non-threatening environment, the freedom to ask questions to clear doubts in real-time, small successes that were achieved during each stage of the process and immediate praise given for the same. As this research study had only one participant, results cannot be generalized, but the success enjoyed by the participant was encouraging, and it might be interesting to see the results on a larger sample of students with learning difficulties.