Transcript Why give tests? • To evaluate your understanding of the material covered in textbooks & lectures • To help you to synthesize, or.

Why give tests?
• To evaluate your understanding of the
material covered in textbooks & lectures
• To help you to synthesize, or pull together,
all the different elements of the curse
covered over a period of time.
How do you usually study?
4 Stages of Test Preparation
• Stage 1 – Day to Day Preparation
• Stage 2 – Concentrated Preparation
• Stage 3 – The Test (What to do during the test!)
• Stage 4 – Follow-Up (What to do after the test!)
Stage 1 – Day to Day Preparation
• What you can do in the beginning!
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Attend Class
Listen Actively
Ask Questions
Read Actively
Take Notes
Get Involved
• The best way to prepare for exams is to treat them
like an Olympic Event!
Stage 1 – Day to Day Preparation
(contd.)
• Steps of a 5 Point Study Plan
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Schedule your time
Review notes and make summary sheets
Anticipate test questions
Use a study group or tutoring
Evaluate your process
Stage 2 – Concentrated Preparation
• Schedule time to study – 2 hours outside of
class for every hour in class
• Review 3-5 minutes after class
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Study during daylight hours
Make study schedule
Review previous days notes
Use strategies that fit your learning style
Study for comprehension (reflection)
Study in 50-minute increments
2 - Concentrated Preparation Contd.
• Maintain a balanced lifestyle:
Nutrition, rest, exercise, water
• Regulate intake of caffeine and sugar
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• Use your study group
• Study with an ARC tutor
“ALL-NIGHTERS” DON’T WORK!
Learning requires a good night's sleep.
Harvard study, Dr. Stickgold:
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Learning is a matter of forming memories.
Harvard Harvard study showed that a person trying to learn
something does not improve his or her knowledge until after they
have had more than six hours of sleep (preferably eight).
The brain needs time to file new information and skills away in the
proper slots so that it can be retrieved later.
Without enough sleep to do all this filing, new information does not
get properly encoded into the brain's memory circuits.
Why six or eight hours,? The kind of sleeping which occurs at the
beginning of a night's sleep, and the sort you do at the end are
different.
Both are required for efficient learning.
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Txtwriter Inc. Dr. George Johnson, ON SCIENCE,
http://www.txtwriter.com/Onscience/Articles/sleep.html
Dr. Stickgold, Harvard University (research study)
Stage 3 –What to do during the test
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Know the time and place
Bring extra pens and pencils
Listen carefully
Read the directions
Scan the entire exam
Plan your time
Relax, breathe, and dive in
What to do during the test contd.
• Scan test quickly
• Check to see if professor has listed point values for
different sections
• Answer high point questions first
• If values not given, do easiest questions first
Stage 3 – True/False Questions
• Always read test questions carefully.
• Longer items that give more information are more likely
to be true.
• If any part of the question is false, the whole question is
false.
• Qualifying words like always, never, none, everyone,
usually indicate incorrect answers.
True/False Questions Contd.
• Qualifying words like some, usually, probably,
many, are more likely to be correct.
• True/False Tests frequently have more correct
answers than false. If you must guess, mark it
true.
Stage 3 – Matching Questions
• Be sure to read all items in both columns carefully
before marking answer.
• Check to see answer may be used more than once.
• Look for the best match.
• If only one answer possible for each question, cross
them off as you go. You may use the process of
elimination for answers you don’t know.
Stage 3 – Multiple Choice Questions
• Read all answer choice before marking answer.
• Check to see if questions call for more than one
answer.
• First answer is usually the best.
• Answer question in your head before looking at
answer choices.
Stage 3 – Multiple Choice Questions (Contd.)
• Guessing Guidelines:
• If two answers are similar, choose one of these.
• If two answers have similar sounding words,
choose one of these (intermediate, intermittent).
• If the answer calls for a sentence completion,
eliminate answers that would not make
grammatically correct sentences.
• If two quantities are almost the same, choose
one.
Multiple Choice Questions (Contd.)
• If answers cover a wide range, choose one
in the middle.
• Instructors are less likely to place the correct
response last.
• If there is no penalty for guessing, and above
techniques do not help, shut your eyes and go
for it.
Stage 3 – Essay Questions
• Organize and outline your answer
• Put strongest ideas first
• Use elements of good writing
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(process, grammar, spelling)
• Be neat
• Provide adequate support for conclusions
• Proofread
• Check your answers
Stage 4 – Follow-up (What to do after the test!)
• Examine questions missed and find answers
• Recall the study techniques that worked best
• Evaluate the process
• Take advantage of campus resources (Library,
tutoring, etc.)
• Celebrate and reward yourself for hard work!
Test Anxiety
• A special intense kind of nervousness arising from the
total test situation.
Causes of Test Anxiety
• Anxiety is a learned response to a negative/threatening situation
• Unrealistic expectations by others or self
• Being evaluated in a life situation/outcome is important to you
• Concerns about how others will view you if you do poorly
• Concerns arising from threats to your own self-image
• Concerns about your future security
Causes of Test Anxiety
• Concerns about not being prepared for test
• Have become conditioned to respond to threatening
stimuli
• The more difficult the test/the more intense the
anxiety
Results of Anxiety
• Anxiety produces negative results (mentally or
emotionally & physically)
• Attempt to perform task well
• You react
• (auditions, play try-outs, sports,
competition, pledge week, interview, tests)
• Emotions clutter thought processes
• Worry scatters attention process
• Situation becomes intimidating
Results of Anxiety Contd.
• Mobility/Immobility
• Insecure feelings come/Muscle tension
• Try to rid ourselves of unpleasant feelings
• Motivated to find relief or safety
• A few educators say a little of tension is good
• A negative nervous reaction/more harm than good
• Excessive anxiety, like alcohol, is a depressant
Overcoming Test Fears
• Need to pinpoint sources of anxiety
• Avoidance of analysis of problem
• First response is to protect feelings
• Step 1: Take honest look to detect problems
• Step 2: Take steps to unlearn
– Preparation
– Review
– Self-Testing
– Expect to Succeed
– Exercise & Breathing Exercises for Relaxation