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1. ROLE OF GRIT AND OTHER FACTORS IN MITIGATING MATH ANXIETY IN COLLEGE MATH STUDENTS

   Ogden, L; Darrah, M; Leppma, M (November 2023, Proceedings of the forty-fifth annual meeting of the North American Chapter of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (Vol. 2). University of Nevada, Reno.)

   Lamberg, T; Moss, D (Ed.)

   Math anxiety refers to feelings people get when facing computational challenges. The fear of failure often causes people to avoid activities, like taking challenging mathematics courses or choosing majors that require mathematics. Grit describes how people persist or persevere in the wake of failure. This article looks at factors that contribute to a person having grit and the interaction of grit and math anxiety. Students (N = 258) enrolled in college math classes at a large university completed a set of surveys that indicated their levels of self-compassion, mindfulness, self-efficacy, math anxiety, and grit. The analyses of the data found that grit predicted math anxiety, and that self-compassion, mindfulness, and self-efficacy predicted grit. The results of this study suggest that promoting factors that help students develop grit can in turn affect their math anxiety and thus their persistence in mathematics courses and STEM majors. 

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2. Qualitative Review of Interventions used to Mitigate Math Anxiety

   Ogden, L; Darrah, M (November 2024, Kent State University)

   Math anxiety is pervasive in our society, and it is causing problems for students who want to enter a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) pathway. Recent research has suggested that math anxiety, and not math ability, is a better predictor of performance and perseverance in STEM. Interventions to mitigate this anxiety must get to the root of the problem and provide students tools to help ease these feelings when they come to disrupt performance. Our approach uses techniques from mindfulness and self-compassion, which have been linked to reducing anxiety. We have developed modules that can be used in a math (or science) courses to help students understand the anxiety they face. In this paper we examine one of the interventions used, the pre-exam writing, and how it showed a 75 percent increase in statements of confidence and a doubling of statements of positive feelings over the semester. 

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3. Examining STEM Diagnostic Exam Scores and Self-efficacy as Predictors of Three-year STEM Psychological and Career Outcomes

   https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--34614  

   Bradford, Brittany; Beier, Margaret; McSpedon, Megan; Wolf, Michael (June 2020, American Society for Engineering Education)

   In this research-based paper, we explore the relationships among Rice University STEM students’ high school preparation, psychological characteristics, and career aspirations. Although greater high school preparation in STEM coursework predicts higher STEM retention and performance in college [1], objective academic preparation and college performance do not fully explain STEM retention decisions, and the students who leave STEM are often not the lowest performing students [2]. Certain psychosocial experiences may also influence students’ STEM decisions. We explored the predictive validity of 1) a STEM diagnostic exam as an objective measure of high school science and math preparation and 2) self-efficacy as a psychological measure on long-term (three years later) STEM career aspirations and STEM identity of underprepared Rice STEM students. University administrators use diagnostic exam scores (along with other evidence of high school underpreparation) to identify students who might benefit from additional support. Using linear regression to explore the link between diagnostic exam scores and self-efficacy, exam scores predicted self-efficacy a semester after students’ first semester in college; exam scores were also marginally correlated with self-efficacy three years later. Early STEM career aspirations predicted later career aspirations, accounting for 21.3% of the variance of career outcome expectations three years later (β=.462, p=.006). Scores on the math diagnostic exam accounted for an additional 10.1% of the variance in students’ three-year STEM career aspirations (p=.041). Self-efficacy after students’ first semester did not predict future STEM aspirations. Early STEM identity explained 28.8% of the variance in three-year STEM identity (p=.001). Math diagnostic exam scores accounted for only marginal incremental variance after STEM identity, and self-efficacy after students’ first semester did not predict three-year STEM aspirations. Overall, we found that the diagnostic exam provided incremental predictive validity in STEM career aspirations after students’ sixth semester of college, indicating that early STEM preparation has long-lasting ramifications for students’ STEM career intentions. Our next steps include examining whether students’ diagnostic exam scores predict STEM graduation rates and final GPAs for science and math versus engineering majors. 

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4. Causal decomposition analysis in disparities research: investigating the effect of self-efficacy on the gender gap in STEM

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-025-02110-0  

   Quintana, Rafael; Park, Soojin; Kang, Suyeon (March 2025, Quality & Quantity)

   The underrepresentation of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields has been a subject of extensive research and policy debate. However, there is limited clarity regarding the specific mechanisms that generate these disparities, and which interventions are most effective in reducing the gap. In this study, we use causal decomposition analysis to estimate how the gender gap in STEM participation would change if we were to intervene on women’s self-efficacy beliefs in mathematics. Women tend to underestimate their abilities in math-related fields, which can affect their educational and career choices. The question we ask is to what extent the gender gap in individuals’ enrollment in STEM majors and identification with mathematics would be reduced if self-efficacy in mathematics were set to be equal across gender categories. The results suggest that equalizing this target factor will reduce the observed disparities in math identity by 53%, and in the enrollment of STEM majors by 2.5%. The modest influence of self-efficacy on enrollment disparities suggests that it is not the predominant factor. We discuss the implications of our empirical findings, as well as how causal decomposition analysis can benefit social and behavioral disparities research. 

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5. Gender differences in mathematics and its cognitive and non-cognitive predictors in community college students

   Boada, C.; Cirino, P.T. (February 2023, International Neuropsychological Society)

   Objective Historically, numerous studies have supported a male advantage in math. While more recent literature has shown that the gender gap is either decreasing or non-significant, a gender difference remains for higher level math (high school and college) (Hyde et. al. 1990; Casey et. al. 1995). It is known that both cognitive and non-cognitive factors influence math performance. There is little evidence for gender differences in working memory (Miller & Bichsel, 2004), which is a key predictor for mathematics. There is, however, evidence for gender differences in the non-cognitive domain, including math anxiety, with females having higher levels (Miller & Bichsel, 2004; Goetz, et. al. 2013). This study evaluates gender differences in both standardized and everyday math performances, and the way that cognitive and non-cognitive factors impact math. The study is focused on a very understudied group with high levels of math difficulty, namely community college students. We expected to find gender differences in math, and expect these to be in part accounted for by gender differences in strong mathematical predictors, particularly non-cognitive factors. Participants and Methods Participants included 94 community college students enrolled in their first math class (60 female; 34 male). Participants were administered the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement – 3rd edition (KTEA3): Math Computation (MC) and Math Concepts Application (MCA) subtests, as well as an original Everyday Math (EM) measure which assessed their math ability in the context of common uses for math (e.g., financial and health numeracy). Additional measures included math anxiety, self-efficacy, and confidence. Finally, measures of complex span working memory tasks were administered to assess verbal and spatial working memory. Analyses were performed using correlation and regression to examine relationships between the cognitive and non-cognitive variables and standardized and everyday math measures. Results Correlations showed that all cognitive and non-cognitive variables are significantly correlated with all three math measures (all p < .05). There were no significant gender differences for any of the math measures, nor the working memory, or non-cognitive measures. Regression showed that across all three math outcomes, math anxiety and verbal working memory are significantly predictive of math performance. Overall R2 values were significant (range 27% to 37%, all p < .001). Working memory and math anxiety were unique predictors in all three regressions (all p < .05), but other non-cognitive variables such as self-efficacy did not show unique prediction (all p > .05). Conclusions There was no evidence for gender differences on any studied variable. This stands in contrast to prior studies, although few studies have included community college students. On the other hand, both cognitive and non-cognitive factors were complimentary in the prediction of math outcomes, which is consistent with prior work. Among non-cognitive predictors, math anxiety was particularly prominent. This study clarifies prior conflicting work regarding gender differences, and highlights the role of both math anxiety and working memory as relevant for multiple math outcomes. 

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