Multi-Step FCM Approach in Exploring the Strategies of Mitigating the Fear of Mathematics among the Engineering Students

The field of education is filled with wide range of opportunities for the student community and it is a powerful device that decides their destiny. The students of today are very ambitious and in particular the engineering students are much determined to achieve in various domains. The acquisition of the practical knowledge of the engineering concepts and strong theoretical backgrounds is very essential, but the students finds many hurdles in acquiring the degree because of the academic constraints and one such is the fear towards the mathematical courses in their programme which deals with the science of reasoning, logical thinking and comprehension of the conceptualization of engineering principles and phenomena. This fear diminishes the subject interest and paralyse the performance and further affinity towards the courses. This emotional aspect disintegrates the channel of learning mathematics. To refurbish the minds of the students a profound investigation has to been undertaken for which this paper is a step towards it. The method of multi-step FCM (Fuzzy Cognitive Maps) approach is applied in this paper to uncover the measures of mitigating the fear of mathematics among the engineering students from the teaching perspective. This method has more practical application as it helps in decision making in all fields. The results obtained will certainly facilitate the educators and academicians to device suitable strategies of mitigating the mathematical phobia in the students and streamline the optimistic waves to make them dive in positive initiatives.