Cognitive Restructuring for Changing MATHEMATICS Beliefs

Jeannie Hollar

Lenoir-Rhyne College

hollarj@lrc.edu

Anita Kitchens

Appalachian State University

kitchnsan@appstate.edu

One of the foremost problems confronting higher education is the lack of student success in remedial college mathematics courses. Beliefs about learning mathematics inhibit students’ ability to focus on being successful in mathematics courses that they see as emotionally draining and cognitively difficult. This paper discusses the theory of cognitive restructuring as used in psychotherapy along with the implications of this framework for the mathematics classroom.

Most mathematics teachers see themselves as cognitive specialists, comfortable with mathematics, but believing that the affective component of their students' learning is out of their domain. This lack of focus on the affective domain leaves students who are unsuccessful with traditional teaching techniques with little hope for success and without an approach to learning. The affective component must be addressed. One of the most promising approaches offered by psychology is cognitive restructuring- a therapeutic approach seeking to modify irrational beliefs. The goal is to increase awareness of negative self-statements and images, resulting in a change of beliefs. The merging of cognitive restructuring and mathematics education gives hope to teachers. Routinely questioning negative self-statements from their students is a first step in the use of cognitive restructuring. Students may then reflect on the validity of these long-held self-statements. With cognitive restructuring the student “can come to understand that his affective experiences and maladaptive behaviors are a result of his particular thinking process—processes that he is capable of changing and correcting by himself (Beck, 1970).”

Reference

Beck, A.T. (1970). Cognitive therapy: Nature and relation to behavior therapy. Behavior Therapy, 1, 18-200.