Transcript Managing Test Anxiety - Riverland Community College

A Connect to Success Presentation
MANAGING TEST ANXIETY
Strategies for Stress Reduction and Better Test
Performance
What is Anxiety?
A physiological and psychological response to a
perceived danger or threat
Two types of test anxiety
Anticipatory:
Situational:
Felt when thinking about and/or
studying for a test
Felt while taking a test
How do you deal with it?
Anxiety Symptoms
Physiological:
Psychological:
Upset stomach
Restlessness
Sleep problems
Muscle tension
Headaches
Back pain
Confusion
Memory blocks
Irritability
Impaired concentration
Poor judgment
Frustration
More symptoms
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Muscles tense
Blood pressure rises
Stress hormones are released…
Head feels like it’s in a clamp.
Stomach hurts.
Sweating.
I studied this stuff yesterday, why can’t I remember?
Can’t think!
I know the answers both before and after the test, but
not while taking the test!
Do you often times feel like this?
Assess Yourself
Calm
Very anxious
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What causes test anxiety?
•Lack of preparation!
•Past experiences of blanking out or performing
badly on exams.
•Focusing too much on the outcome.
•Focusing too much on how other classmates and
friends are doing.
•Issues outside of school distracting you from studying
for or concentrating on exam.
Separate lack of preparation
with test anxiety.
•If you spent the previous night cramming material,
or even started studying the day before, you are
NOT prepared.
•When you study like that, you are creating a shortterm memory, not storing the material.
It is very difficult retrieve material you
haven’t stored.
•You should study at least a week in advance of the
exam!
Understanding Stress
•Learn to understand the stress response
•Stress is not something we can avoid
•Stress is a response to any physical,
emotional, psychological, or intellectual
demand that requires a readjustment of the
individual in some way.
Stress is a fact of life.
•When you’re in a situation that you
perceive to be stressful your brain will
switches to a fight or flight mode.
•It releases adrenaline and
nonadrenaline, the Hormonal system
releases.
•The response is both physical and
emotional
The Stress Response
Say you encounter a bear in the forest…
As a result of seeing this bear, your body
prepares for fleeing from it:
•your heart rate goes up,
•your lungs start breathing faster,
•you are (understandably) very nervous
•you have dry mouth.
Your brain stops working, because its already
told your body to RUN and now it can turn
itself off in preparation for flight.
Remember how we said
that “Stress is a fact of
life?”
Stress can be a good
thing…in fact, some stress is
a necessary thing for success.
Three approaches to managing test
anxiety
Efficient
Study Techniques
Cognitive
Restructuring (negative
self-talk to positive)
Relaxation
Techniques
Cognitive Restructuring
Changing the way we think –
Changing the things we dwell on
Negative Self-Talk Traps
Previous Problems with Test Performance
 Fear of Exposure
 Focusing on the Grade vs. Learning the
Materiel
 All – Or – Nothing Thinking
 Self-Labeling
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More Negative Self-Talk
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Well, you’ve waited ‘til the day before the exam
because you’ve said to yourself,
 “I can only study when I feel energized and now I feel
really energized. But, since I’ve waited so long, I’m
not sure I can do very well because I may not have
enough time to study everything.”
 “And,
since I may not have enough time to study
everything, it might be that what I study won’t be on
the test and what I don’t study may be on the test.”
And
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More Negative Self-Talk….
I always panic and my mind goes blank
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What if I really bomb the exam?
What if I just freeze?
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When I can’t answer the first question, I panic
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If I don’t pass this test, it means I’m stupid
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If I don’t pass this test, I’ll flunk the class
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If I flunk the class, I’ll flunk out
of college.
Now, instead of actually studying, you close
your eyes and picture yourself going to the
exam, full of dread, knowing that you don’t
know. You see yourself sitting in the desk as
the test papers get passed back. You can
clearly see yourself looking at the top page of
the exam and blanking out completely.
 And you rehearse this over and over again
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So, you go to class the next day, full of dread and
when the test hits your desk, you look down at the first
page and blank out.
No surprise here. You have just demonstrated the
power of positive thinking!
What you think will happen has a
dramatic and often direct effect
on how you behave.
What you see is what you get!
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Each time you imagine something or ask yourself
questions, or make statements to yourself, a part of
you hears each of these as a suggestion for action.
Remember how you get good at things - practice,
practice, practice.
If you practice how awful you will perform, it is
likely that that is how you will act.
Take responsibility for yourself
We are solely responsible for our
choices, and we have
to accept the consequences
of every deed, word, and
thought throughout our lifetime.
Things to dwell on…………..
I have done what I could, now I am going to do
my best
 I have a choice as to how I perceive this
situation
 Will I remember this in 10 years?
 There is more to life.
 “Life is not a problem to be solved,
but a reality to be experienced.”
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Learn to Relax
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Deep breathing (adds oxygen to the brain)
Inhale for slow count of 6. Exhale for slow
count of 8
Think of breathing in peace with each inhale.
Visualize blowing out tension, negativity with
each exhale.
Progressive Relaxation
Take a Mind Vacation
… visualize yourself in
a wonderful place.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSgPDKG6bB0&feature=related
Progressive Relaxation Exercise
Here is the Progressive Relaxation Exercise:
 Take
a deep breath – completely fill your lungs. Now
release as much air as you can. Repeat this three times.
Now focus on your toes. One by one, relax each toe.
Take your time. Allow each muscle in your foot to relax
as you allow this warm sensation of relaxation to move
through your foot and to your ankle.\
 Notice
how you are breathing deeply, and with each
exhale a little more tension is released from your body.
Progressive Relaxation Cont’d
Now
allow the warm sense of calm to
gently move up your legs. Slowly allow
each muscle.
Progressive Relaxation
 Now
focus on the base of your neck and allow the
calm, warm sense of relaxation to move up the back
of your neck, slowly up over the top of your scalp
and finally relax your forehead, ears, eye lids, nose,
lips, and jaw.
 Notice how your breathing deeply and a great sense
of relaxation, focus and calm has taken over your
body and mind.
 Now is a great time to take a couple of deep
breaths and begin to study, or take an exam. Best
wishes to you.
Tips for Doing Relaxation
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Set aside 30 – 45 minutes
NOT after a meal
Quiet, distraction-free environment
Dim lights
Warm temperature
Loose clothing
Lie down or sit in a comfortable chair
Benefits of Relaxation
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Physiological Effects
Relaxation of skeletal
muscles generalized to
smooth muscles
 Effective
in treating
migraine and tension
headaches
 Effective in treating
backaches
Psychological Effects
 Increases self-concept
and self-esteem
 Reduces anxiety
 Reduces depression
 Helps insomniacs
sleep
Use Efficient Study Strategies!
Study SMARTER
Review material effectively and
often throughout the semester.
Conduct review sessions 10 minutes a day for each
class. Seeing, hearing, or interacting with the class
material often will help you remember it.
-Study in short spurts (an hour or less) and take
breaks, rather that studying straight through for
several hours.
-Aim for understanding the material, not just
memorizing
The Curve of Forgetting illustrates why cramming
for any exam is not the smartest way to study
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Within 24 hours of the lecture, if you spend ten
minutes reviewing–rewriting your notes, rereading
the text for example—you can raise the curve to
almost 100% again (the orange line in the above
graph). On Day 7 it will take you only five minutes
to recall the information, again raising the curve to
almost 100%. If you review every week, by Day
30 it will take your brain only two to four minutes to
report back the information.
Think you don’t have time to review every day?
I would tell you that you can’t afford not to
review every day, for without reviewing
frequently, you’ll need to spend 40 – 50
minutes re-learning each hour of lecture
notes. Do the math.
 Do you have that much time to devote to
cramming for the test?
What can it hurt to try a new method?
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If you continue with the same habits, you will have the
same results.
Prepare well in advance
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Don’t go without sleep the night before
Stop studying an hour or so before the test and
relax and compose yourself
Avoid speaking with any fellow students
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Who have not prepared
Who express negativity
Who will distract your preparation
Talking about the test raises your anxiety
Tips for In and Out of Class
Meet your teacher. Attend office hours.
 Attend class regularly
 Take careful notes
 Get the names and phone numbers of some
people in your class.
 Form/join a study group.
 Talk with your advisor
 Schedule free tutoring
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Visit the Student Success Center
507-433-0356
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Free Tutoring
Study Groups
Organization Tips
Time management tools
Study Skill Advising
Disability Services
More…..
We all need a little help now and then
Your best advocate can be…..
…….YOU