January is prime season for taking exams. The first half of the year is over and it's time to show all you've learned until now.
The only problem is students get incredibly stressed and anxious when it's time to remember the mounds of information they've accumulated.
But, according to Jim Sarris, veteran teacher and author of Memory
Skills Made Easy, there are things students can do to manage their
anxiety and feel more confident and prepared on test day.
Here are the 7 tips he offers:
1) Feed your brain the good stuff - the day of the test, stay away
from junk food and load up on proteins, complex carbohydrates, fruits
and vegetables. This helps to avoid any "sugar crashes" that cause brain
fog and produce anxiety.
2) Speak with the teacher - be certain you know what's important to study and what is (and IS NOT) going to be on the test. This way you will only spend time on things you need to know. You can pay closer attention to the material the teacher has labeled "important."
3) Get organized a few days in advance - make sure you have the
notes, the handouts, worksheets, the book and any tests or quizzes from
the first semester. By doing this a few days early, you leave yourself
time to get any information you don't have.
4) Memory strategies - use memory strategies to help file and retrieve information. It does you no good to understand the information at home if you can't remember it the next day. Most anxiety attacks during exams come from not being able to remember what you knew five minutes before.
5) Begin studying two nights before the test - this allows you time to find answers to questions you may have and still have another night to calmly complete your studying so you're prepared the next day.
6) Visualize your success - take some time, sit by yourself undistracted, and imagine yourself entering the classroom totally confident. See yourself sit down, receive the test and begin answering questions without a worry in the world. Feel what it's like to confidently look at the test when you're done, hand it in with a smile on your face and get back a great grade.
7) Get a good night's sleep - cramming is not the answer. Sleep
allows the neurons to calmly organize what you've studied so that the
next day it's all neatly packaged and ready to go.
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