The point of the divided-page exercise is to teach the math-anxious to give themselves permission to explore their own confusions and to find out what is making the problem or the new material seem difficult. We find that, as they become more and more familiar with their own learning styles, learners become more adept at discovering flaws in their thinking. Most importantly, doing the exercise permits them to keep on working.

One purpose of the divided-page exercise is this: when learners are stuck and not able to put anything down on the right-hand side of the page, they can still be writing their thoughts and feelings on the left. That means they can continue working, even if they are not doing math calculations.

So long as they are writing, they are thinking, and thinking in mathematics (doing, writing down random feelings and thoughts)

It breaks the tension and their sense of isolation. Soon their ability to analyze their own problems becomes a source of insight into the math problem itself. In time, the two mental processes become so entwined that no one can say with certainty whether the insights that finally crack a problem come from the problem itself or from the learner’s self-assessment.

Best of all, the tuning-in process teaches learners about their idiosyncrasies. In talking with people who are successful in math, you will find that they are not necessarily smarter than the rest of us but that they seem to know themselves better.

• They can anticipate the difficulties they are going to have.
• They know what kinds of questions and actions will give them the power and confidence to continue.
• They know when to skim and when to focus on a paragraph, sometimes for hours at a time.
• They are never bored because they are busy.
• They never quit because they recognized long ago that progress in mathematics very often involves making just a little headway, one step at a time.
• They do not judge themselves as harshly as we judge ourselves when answers do not come outright.
• They are patient, tenacious, and rarely very fast.

The goal of all this training is not to turn out mathematical geniuses but to offer students (and instructors) math mental health, which involves the willingness to learn math they need when they need it.

Math-anxiety workshops can be organized for instructors as well as for students. There is no blueprint, but it is advisable to include at least some of the following:

1) the solicitation of every participant’s “math autobiography” in a one-on-one interview.

2) the creation of six or more sessions of math-anxiety reduction, including relaxation training, group discussion of difficulties in confronting mathematics, and training in keeping a journal and divided-page work.

3) the development of traditional slow-paced math sessions where no more than twenty minutes of new material is introduced by a math instructor, and this instruction is followed by at least as many minutes for processing led by a counselor. (Each participant should be assessed in an exit interview before being encouraged to enroll in a mainstream math class.)

4) a return to mainstream mathematics with a weekly group session to discuss feelings and “left-hand side of the page” comments, and

5) assertiveness training to transform the passive learner into an active and demanding one.