Reducing mathematics anxiety among Madrasah Ibtidaiyah students in Surabaya througha “FunMath Camp” program

Mathematics remains a source of anxiety for most students. This is because of their mindset which thinks that mathematics is only about numbers, calculations, and complicated formulas. This kind of impression causes students to feel reluctant and have difficulty in learning mathematical concepts. To address this issue, an attractive program called "FunMath Camp” has been conducted to help students in managing their mathematics anxiety. The participants of the program are students from three Madrasah Ibtidaiyah in Surabaya, Indonesia. The program consists of six different activities, each designed to engage students and raise students' enjoyment in learning mathematics. Perception and discomfort tests were administered to the students before and after the main activities. The purpose of these tests is to gauge students’ perception of mathematics and their level of discomfort when faced with mathematical situations. The result of the perception test shows that there are positive changes in the student’s perception of mathematics. In addition, for the discomfort test, the post-test results shows that the level of discomfort among the students is reduced.