The Correlation Mechanism Between High School Mathematics Knowledge Representation and Math Anxiety: An Empirical Study Based on Mathematical Multiple Representations

Abstract

Math anxiety is a negative emotional response arising in mathematical contexts that hinders mathematical performance. It not only impacts students' math achievements but also exerts a profound influence on their mental health and life choices. To clarify the correlation characteristics between different representation forms of high school mathematics knowledge and math anxiety, and to provide empirical evidence for alleviating students' math anxiety through optimizing knowledge representation strategies in teaching, this study selected 300 high school students from an ordinary high school in a city in China, covering three grades (Grade 10 to Grade 12), including 116 male students and 174 female students. Based on the theory of mathematical multiple representations, this study classified the representation forms of high school mathematics knowledge into four types: symbolic representation, verbal representation, graphical representation, and situational representation. Data were collected through a questionnaire survey, and empirical research was conducted using methods such as descriptive statistical analysis, partial correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis. The results show that all different knowledge representation forms are positively correlated with math anxiety, among which graphical representation and verbal representation have a strongly positive correlation with math anxiety, indicating that these two forms are more likely to induce students' math anxiety. Meanwhile, the overall level of math anxiety can be effectively predicted based on students' anxiety levels under different knowledge representation forms, with a good prediction effect. This study can provide precise intervention strategies for high school mathematics teaching.