MATH THERAPY Featuring Vanessa Vakharia 2026

This workshop, presented by Vanessa Vakharia, focuses on healing math trauma and helping students build better relationships with mathematics. It aims to provide educators with actionable strategies to identify and address math anxiety and avoidance in students. The session will cover Vanessa's 5 Steps for 'Math Therapy': Mythbust, Moderate, Motivate, Makeover, and Measure. Attendees will learn practical tools to empower students, fostering a positive growth mindset and excitement for learning math, moving them from 'I can't do math' to 'I can do this' mindsets. The content aligns with the Illinois Comprehensive Math Plan, addressing positive mathematical identity, math anxiety, equity, growth mindset, conceptual understanding, real-world relevance, and teacher reflection.