雙語閱讀：數(shù)學不好和遺傳有關系

　　以下是小編整理的英語文章：數(shù)學不好和遺傳有關系， 希望能對大家的英語學習有幫助。

　　If the thought of a math test makes you break out in a cold sweat, Mom or Dad may be partly to blame, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

　　每當想到數(shù)學測驗的時候，你會不會一身冷汗?如果是的話，你爸或你媽可能要承擔部分責任——這項研究發(fā)表在最新一期《心理科學》期刊上。

　　A team of researchers led by University of Chicago psychological scientists Sian Beilock and Susan Levinefound that children of math-anxious parents learned less math over the school year and were more likely to be math-anxious themselves—but only when these parents provided frequent help on the child’s math homework.

　　美國芝加哥大學心理學家Sian Beilock和Susan Levine領導的研究團隊發(fā)現(xiàn)，當父母對數(shù)學存有畏懼心理、表現(xiàn)出“數(shù)學焦慮”時(math-anxious)，子女讀書時學到的數(shù)學也越少，并且越有可能感染上“數(shù)學焦慮”——尤其是在父母頻繁地試圖輔導子女的數(shù)學功課的情況下。

　　Previous research from this group has established that when teachers are anxious about math, their students learn less math during the school year. The current study is novel in that it establishes a link between parents’ and children’s math anxiety. These findings suggest that adults’ attitudes toward math can play an important role in children’s math achievement.

　　以往研究顯示，具有“數(shù)學焦慮”的教師，帶出來的學生在學校里學到的數(shù)學也更少;本研究則第一次揭示了家長“數(shù)學焦慮”和孩子“數(shù)學焦慮”之間的聯(lián)系，換句話說，成人對于數(shù)學的態(tài)度，對小孩子的數(shù)學成績影響巨大。

　　“We often don’t think about how important parents’ own attitudes are in determining their children’s academic achievement. But our work suggests that if a parent is walking around saying ‘Oh, I don’t like math’ or ‘This stuff makes me nervous,’ kids pick up on this messaging and it affects their success,” explained Beilock, professor in psychology.

　　“過去，人們并不認為父母對數(shù)學的態(tài)度能夠決定子女的數(shù)學成績?，F(xiàn)在，我們的研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，如果父母總是在孩子面前說些‘噢，我不喜歡數(shù)學”、“這些數(shù)學題弄得我精神緊張”之類的話，那么孩子也會受到這些信息的影響，潛移默化，在數(shù)學上的表現(xiàn)越來越差。“Beilock解釋說。

　　“Math-anxious parents may be less effective in explaining math concepts to children, and may not respond well when children make a mistake or solve a problem in a novel way,” added Levine, the Rebecca Anne Boylan Professor of Education and Society in Psychology.

　　“具有‘數(shù)學焦慮’的家長，向孩子解釋數(shù)學概念時，往往力不從心;當孩子做錯了數(shù)學題、或是采用了創(chuàng)新方法解答時，這些家長的反應也更遲鈍。”Levine補充道。

　　Four hundred and thirty-eight first- and second-grade students and their primary caregivers participated in the study. Children were assessed in math achievement and math anxiety at both the beginning and end of the school year. As a control, the team also assessed reading achievement, which they found was not related to parents’ math anxiety.

　　來自438個家庭的孩子和家長參與了這項研究，孩子都是小學一、二年級學生。學年開始時，研究者們記錄了每個孩子的數(shù)學能力和“數(shù)學焦慮”程度(math anxiety)，學年結束時，又重測了一遍這些指標;此外，研究者們還記錄了孩子的閱讀能力，作為對照指標(父母的“數(shù)學焦慮”不影響子女閱讀能力的發(fā)展)。

　　Parents completed a questionnaire about their own nervousness and anxiety around math and how often they helped their children with math homework.

　　同時，這些孩子的父母需要完成一份問卷，這份問卷測量了父母的“數(shù)學焦慮”程度，以及父母輔導孩子數(shù)學功課的頻率。

　　The researchers believe the link between parents’ math anxiety and children’s math performance stems more from math attitudes than genetics.

　　研究者們認為，父母具有“數(shù)學焦慮”，對子女數(shù)學成績的影響，更多地是由于(畏懼數(shù)學的)態(tài)度在起作用，而非遺傳在起作用。

　　“Although it is possible that there is a genetic component to math anxiety,” the researchers wrote, “the fact that parents’ math anxiety negatively affected children only when they frequently helped them with math homework points to the need for interventions focused on both decreasing parents’ math anxiety and scaffolding their skills in homework help.”

　　“盡管‘數(shù)學焦慮’可能在一定程度上受到遺傳因素的影響，”研究者們寫道，“然而事實上，我們的研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，只有當父母頻繁地輔導子女數(shù)學功課時，才會把自身的‘數(shù)學焦慮’傳染到子女身上——說明父母在輔導子女數(shù)學功課時流露出來的、對數(shù)學的畏懼態(tài)度，才是真正的罪魁禍首。未來工作不僅應該關注如何降低父母的‘數(shù)學焦慮’，還應該關注如何提高父母輔導功課的技巧。”

　　Maloney said the study suggests that parent preparation is essential to effective math homework help. “We can’t just tell parents—especially those who are anxious about math—‘Get involved,’” Maloney explained. “We need to develop better tools to teach parents how to most effectively help their children with math.”

　　另一名主要作者、芝加哥大學博士后Maloney表示，父母在輔導子女數(shù)學功課之前，應該做好更多準備。“我們不能只告訴父母去參與，尤其是患有‘數(shù)學焦慮’的父母。”Maloney解釋道，“我們要開發(fā)一些效果更好的工具，幫助父母如何有效地幫助子女提高數(shù)學成績。”

　　These tools might include math books, computer and traditional board games, or Internet apps that “allow parents to interact with their children around math in positive ways,” the researchers wrote.

　　研究者們建議，比如借助數(shù)學參考書、學習軟件、網(wǎng)絡應用、甚至桌面游戲的形式，父母可以更積極、更有效地與子女互動，以利于數(shù)學學習。