Keep Calm and Math On: 3 Facts About the Math Mindset
A teacher’s mindset about math matters.
Have you ever walked into a math lesson feeling completely confident and ready to go and then had another lesson where you thought, “Okay…how exactly am I going to teach this?”
You’re not alone.
As teachers, we bring our own experiences, beliefs, confidence levels, and feelings about math into the classroom. And those feelings can influence the way we approach teaching math.
That’s why a teacher’s math mindset is the first step in creating effective and engaging math lessons.
Before we think about manipulatives, math vocabulary, differentiation, assessment, or student engagement, it’s worth taking a moment to think about our own mindset about math.
Here are three things to consider.
Fact #1: A Teacher’s Math Mindset Matters
Educational research has found a relationship between teachers’ feelings toward mathematics and their students’ math learning (Ramirez, Hooper, Kersting, Ferguson, & Yeager, 2018).
That matters because our confidence, attitudes, and beliefs about mathematics can influence how we approach teaching particular math concepts.
Think about it.
If you feel confident teaching fractions, you may be more likely to approach a fractions lesson with enthusiasm and flexibility.
But if you feel uncomfortable teaching fractions, you may be more likely to approach the lesson with hesitation or even avoid certain strategies because you aren’t confident using them yourself.
That doesn’t mean you have to feel completely confident about every math concept you teach.
It means that becoming aware of your own math mindset is an important first step.
Try This: Check Your Math Confidence
Before teaching a challenging math concept, ask yourself:
- How confident do I feel understanding this math concept? Why or why not?
- How confident do I feel teaching this math concept to my students?
- What part of this concept do I understand well?
- What part of this concept do I need to explore more?
- What could I do to increase my confidence in this math concept before teaching this lesson?
Sometimes simply identifying why you feel uncertain can help you determine what you need next.
Maybe you need:
another example.
Practice working through a problem yourself.
Exploring different strategies
Chatting with a colleague who taught this concept
And that’s okay.
You don’t have to know everything before you teach a particular math concept. You do need to be willing to learn more about that math concept.
Fact #2: Math Anxiety Can Affect Teaching and Learning
Educational research has found that teacher math anxiety is related to students’ math learning (Sisler, 2017; Ramirez et al., 2018).
This is one reason it is important to reflect on our personal confidence, attitudes, and feelings about mathematics.
If you find yourself feeling anxious about teaching a particular math concept, don’t simply tell yourself, “I’m bad at math.”
Instead, get curious about the feeling.
Ask yourself:
What specifically is making me uncomfortable?
Is it…
- Understanding the math concept?
- Remembering the steps?
- Explaining the concept in a way students will understand?
- Anticipating student misconceptions?
- Choosing the right strategy?
- Knowing how to differentiate the lesson?
- Feeling prepared to answer student questions?
Once you identify the source of the anxiety, you can do something about it.
Build Your Math Confidence
One way to increase confidence is to spend time preparing to understand the mathematics yourself before asking students to understand it.
Look at examples.
Work through the problems.
Explore different strategies.
Watch an instructional video.
Read a professional resource.
Talk with another teacher.
And yes, ask for help.
Especially if you’re a beginning teacher, sometimes feeling shy to walk into a colleague’s classroom or ask someone for advice can feel intimidating.
But here’s the thing:
You don’t have to figure everything out by yourself.
Experienced teachers can be wonderful resources for strategies, materials, examples, and ideas for teaching challenging math concepts.
So go ahead.
Ask:
you teacher neighbor
An instructional coach
Your school’s interventionist
A grade-level team member
Teachers helping teachers is one of the best resources we have.
And if you’re looking for ways to develop positive mindset habits as a teacher, you may also enjoy Positive Mindset Habits for Teachers: 10 Steps to Reduce Stress, Increase Student Engagement and Reignite Your Passion for Teaching.
Fact #3: Preparation Can Build Teacher Confidence
Have you ever started teaching a lesson and suddenly realized…
Wait. Where are the manipulatives?
I forgot to print the student practice.
I thought I had another example.
What am I going to do if they finish early?
We’ve all been there.
Adequate preparation can help teachers feel more confident when teaching a math lesson. Strategic planning of math units and lessons, including student learning standards and outcomes, can help teachers implement instruction more effectively.
Teacher time-management skills have also been associated with improvements in classroom achievement (Nelson, 2012).
And while preparation can’t eliminate every unexpected moment in a classroom, it can eliminate some of the unnecessary stress and can help you feel more confident when teaching.
Try This: Prepare Before You Teach
Before teaching a math lesson, take a few minutes to make sure you have what you need.
Consider preparing:
- The learning standard or objective
- Your examples and models
- Manipulatives or hands-on materials
- Student practice activities
- Printouts or handouts
- Visuals or presentations
- Math vocabulary
- Questions you want to ask students
- Possible misconceptions students may have
- Differentiation or support you may need
- An assessment or quick check for understanding
You don’t need a 20-page lesson plan.
You do need to know what students are learning, how you are going to help them learn it, and what you are going to do if they need additional support.
A little preparation can go a long way toward increasing your confidence when teaching.
And let’s be honest…
There are few things more stressful than realizing you are missing something while you’re standing in front of your students trying to teach.
So save yourself the haunting teaching moment.
Prepare what you can ahead of time.
What Does Your Math Mindset Look Like?
A teacher’s math mindset doesn’t mean that you have to love every math concept.
It doesn’t mean that you have to feel confident every single day.
And it definitely doesn’t mean that you have to know everything.
It means being aware of your own beliefs, feelings, confidence, and experiences with mathematics.
You also need to be willing to continue learning.
So before your next challenging math lesson, take a moment to ask yourself:
How do I feel about this math concept?
Then ask:
What can I do to feel more confident teaching this math concept?
That small reflection can be the beginning of a much bigger change in the way you approach math instruction.
Keep calm and math on.
Want More Practical Math Teaching Strategies?
Math mindset is just Step 1 of the 10 Steps to Create Effective and Engaging Math Lessons.
Download the free guide to 10 Steps Guide to Create Effective and Engaging Math Lessons to learn more about the framework and begin reflecting on your own math teaching practices.
Then keep exploring the other steps to help you plan math lessons that are effective, engaging, and responsive to your students. Click here to grab the FREE guide!
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If you’re ready to keep improving your math instruction, check out the next practical math teaching strategy Step 2: Manage Your Math Lesson Time
Thanks for reading!
Dr. Karen Brown – July 9, 2020, Revised October 5, 2026
References
Nelson, I. (2012). Time Management for Teachers. doi: 10.4324/9780203062135
Sisler, S. M. (2017). Mindsets in the Classroom. Leadership in Mathematics Education.
Ramirez, G., Hooper, S. Y., Kersting, N. B., Ferguson, R., & Yeager, D. (2018). Teacher Math Anxiety Relates to Adolescent Students’ Math Achievement. AERA Open, 4(1)