Everyone is a Math Person: Yes, Even You!

By Dr. Sherri Lorton and Constance Hallemeier

How many times have you heard someone say, “I’m just not a math person “ or “I’m not good at math”? Maybe you’ve even said it yourself. But what if we told you that’s a myth? Research shows that mathematical ability isn’t innate–it’s developed. Mathematics isn’t about being born with a unique talent; it’s about learning, perseverance, and growth. Just like reading, writing, or playing an instrument, math is a skill that can be developed with practice and the right mindset. Yet, so many students and even adults carry math anxiety, convinced that numbers and problem-solving are beyond their reach. Let’s explore how we can shift mindsets and help students see their potential in math.

Collective efficacy, coined by psychologist Albert Bandura, is a group’s sense of mutual trust and confidence in tackling a challenge. When studied by educational researcher John Hattie, this phenomenon can contribute to students’ learning growth of more than a year. Having a “growth mindset” by both teachers and students helps develop this collective efficacy.  It means fostering an environment where stakeholders believe their mathematical abilities can be developed through effort and practice, embracing challenges, learning from mistakes, and understanding that intelligence is not fixed but can grow, encouraging them to persevere even when facing complex problems.

Key aspects of a growth mindset in a math classroom

Educators, parents, and peers all play a role in shaping students’ attitudes toward math. Here are a few ways to foster a more math-positive environment.

Focus on the process, not just the answer
Emphasize students’ strategies and steps to solve problems, not just whether they get the correct answer, encouraging them to explain their thought process. Asking questions like “How does your work compare to your partner’s work?” encourages students to think about their process and not just the answer they got, even if they both came up with the same answer.

Celebrate mistakes as learning opportunities
Normalize making mistakes as a natural part of the learning process and encourage students to analyze their errors to improve their understanding. Psychologist Carol Dweck’s research has shown that people who believe their abilities can grow through effort—those with a growth mindset—tend to achieve more than those who believe intelligence is fixed. Understanding that struggling in math is part of learning increases student’s willingness to tackle challenges and builds resiliency.

Positive language and feedback
Use language highlighting effort, perseverance, and growth potential, like “You can do this with practice” or “This is a great challenge to work on.” Specific feedback is essential for nurturing a growth mindset in students of all ages. It gives them a clear direction for improvement, and seeing their progress is a powerful confidence builder in math. 

Provide challenging tasks
Offer problems that push students beyond their comfort zone, encouraging them to develop new strategies and resilience. In building thinking classrooms, it’s suggested that students be given hints and extensions to help them stay in the flow of a problem or set of problems, encouraging them to ask “keep thinking” questions instead of “stop thinking” questions. This is easy to do when students are given problems that have been thin-sliced to help them grow their understanding of a concept to the challenging tasks.

Encourage collaboration and peer support
Foster a classroom environment where students can work together, share ideas, and learn from each other. In Building Thinking Classrooms, Peter Liljedahl suggests using visibly random grouping, where the grouping of students is in the moment. This highlights the actual randomization and removes social barriers and ability stigmas. Helping students feel comfortable working with various students increases their communication skills, deepening their understanding.

How to implement a growth mindset in a math classroom

So, how do we change the narrative around math? Here are some strategies to help students build confidence and embrace a growth mindset. 

Ask open-ended questions
Encourage students to explain their reasoning and justify their answers, not just provide a single solution. Offering guiding questions to help them find a starting point can be crucial for building their confidence and showing them they can do math. 

• What is this problem about?
• What can you tell me about it?
• How would you interpret that?
• Would you please reword that in simpler terms?
• Is there something that can be eliminated or that is missing?
• Would you please explain that in your own words?
• Can you draw a picture, use a number line, or other manipulatives to help you get started?
• Which words were most important? Why?
• What do you know about this part?

Use “yet” language
When students struggle, say, “You haven’t mastered this concept yet” instead of “You can’t do this”.

Provide differentiated instruction
Cater to diverse learning needs by offering multiple problem-solving pathways and access support when necessary. Too often, math is taught in a one-way approach.  Showing students that there can be different ways to approach a problem can help them see themselves as mathematicians. Use hands-on activities, real-world applications, puzzles, and discussions to make math feel approachable and enjoyable.

Praise effort over correctness
Highlight perseverance and problem-solving strategies rather than just correct answers.

Model a growth mindset
Show students, especialy if you are a parent, your CHILD(REN), that you also learn from mistakes and continue to grow in your mathematical understanding.

Conclusion: A Call to Action

If we want people to embrace math, we must start by shifting our own mindsets. Math is not an exclusive club—it’s a language of problem-solving and logic that belongs to everyone. By fostering a positive math mindset, we empower students to see themselves as capable mathematicians and thinkers.

So the next time you hear someone say, “I’m not a math person,” remind them that everyone is a math person. It’s just a matter of believing it and allowing yourself to grow.

What about this instead of the last paragraph:

Starting today, challenge yourself and those around you to rethink what it means to be “a math person.” Encourage students, friends, and even yourself to embrace mistakes as part of the learning. After all, math is for everyone—it just takes the right mindset.

References

Boaler, J. (2015). Mathematical Mindsets: Unleashing Students’ Potential Through Creative Math, Inspiring Messages and Innovative Teaching. Wiley.

Brock, A., & Hundley, H. (2016). The Growth Mindset Coach: A Teacher’s Month-by-Month Handbook for Empowering Students to Achieve. Ulysses Press. 

Hattie, J. (2008). Visible Learning: A Synthesis of Over 800 Meta-Analyses Relating to Achievement. SAGE Publications.

Liljedahl, P. (2020). Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics, Grades K-12: 14 Teaching Practices for Enhancing Learning. Corwin.