The MindfulMath Tutor: A Mindfulness-Infused Learning Environment to Battle Math Anxiety
Mirella Hladký, Mareike Silber, Tomohiro Nagashima
CHI Extended Abstracts April 25, 2025 DOI: 10.1145/3706599.3719922 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled experiment Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 31 |
| Population | Secondary school students with medium to high math anxiety |
| Topics | Anxiety Meditation |
| Keywords | Education |
| Key findings | The MindfulMath Tutor, which integrates mindfulness language and breathing exercises, significantly reduced students' state math anxiety while achieving learning benefits comparable to a tutor version without mindfulness components. The authors argue it offers an interactive math learning environment that supports learning while reducing math anxiety. |
Abstract
Math anxiety is a widespread issue that affects students’ emotional well-being and math learning. We developed the MindfulMath Tutor, an interactive mindfulness-infused math learning system with a pedagogical agent that provides both cognitive and socio-emotional support, using positive mindful language and breathing exercises. Our experiment with 31 secondary school students (with medium to high math anxiety) showed that the MindfulMath Tutor helped students significantly reduce their state math anxiety while achieving a similar level of learning benefits, when compared against a tutor version without mindfulness components. Our mindfulness-infused math tutor offers an interactive math learning environment that effectively supports student learning while reducing math anxiety.