Reducing anxiety in science classes: an experiment involving some models of class interaction

Abstract

Anxiety has consistently been shown to have a depressing effect on students’ achievement in science. The effects of three models of class interaction ‐ co‐operative, indirect teacher interaction and co‐operative learning with indirect teacher interaction ‐ in reducing the anxiety levels of students were examined. Data were collected from 163 students involved in a pre‐test‐post‐test experiment with a control group. The three models of interaction were found to be better than the control in reducing students’ level of anxiety. Of the three models, the co‐operative learning with indirect teacher interaction technique was found to lead to the greatest reduction in anxiety level. The implications of the results of this study for the classroom teacher in reducing anxiety in science classes are discussed.