TCA Lectures Describe the terms of stress and anxiety for test. As a teacher what measures you suggest to reduce the test anxiety of the students. BEd

TCA Lectures Describe the terms of stress and anxiety for test. As a teacher what measures you suggest to reduce the test anxiety of the students. BEd

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Answer:

Many people experience stress or anxiety before an exam. In fact, a little nervousness can actually help you perform your best. However, when this distress becomes so excessive that it actually interferes with performance on an exam, it is known as test anxiety.

What does it feel like to experience test anxiety? You paid attention in class, took detailed notes, read every chapter, and even attended extra study sessions after class, so you should do great on that big exam, right? When the test is presented, however, you find yourself so nervous that you blank out the answers to even the easiest questions. If this experience sounds familiar, then you might be suffering from test anxiety.

What Is Text Anxiety?

Test anxiety is a psychological condition in which people experience extreme distress and anxiety in testing situations. While many people experience some degree of stress and anxiety before and during exams, test anxiety can actually impair learning and hurt test performance.

Test anxiety is a type of performance anxiety. In situations where the pressure is on and a good performance counts, people can become so anxious that they are actually unable to do their best. Other examples of performance anxiety:

• A high school basketball player becomes very anxious before a big game. During the game, he is so overwhelmed by this stress that he starts missing even easy shots.
• A violin student becomes extremely nervous before a recital. During the performance, she messes up on several key passages and flubs her solo.
• During a work presentation, a businessman freezes up and forgets the information he was going to present to his co-workers and manager.

While people have the skills and knowledge to do very well in these situations, their excessive anxiety impairs their performance.

The severity of test anxiety can vary considerably from one person to another. Some people might feel like they have "butterflies" in their stomach and while others might find it difficult to concentrate on the exam.

A little bit of nervousness can actually be helpful, making you feel mentally alert and ready to tackle the challenges presented in an exam. The Yerkes-Dodson law suggests that there is a link between arousal levels and performance. Essentially, increased arousal levels can help you do better on exams, but only up to a certain point. Once these stress levels cross that line, the excessive anxiety you might be experiencing can actually interfere with test performance.

Excessive fear can make it difficult to concentrate and you might struggle to recall things that you have studied. You might feel like all the information you spent some much time reviewing suddenly seems inaccessible in your mind. You blank out the answers to questions to which you know you know the answers. This inability to concentrate and recall information then contributes to even more anxiety and stress, which only makes it that much harder to focus your attention on the test.

Overcoming Test Anxiety

So what exactly can you do to prevent or minimize test anxiety? Here are some strategies to help:

• Make sure you're prepared. That means studying for the test early until you feel comfortable with the material. Don't wait until the night before. If you aren't sure how to study, ask your teacher or parent for help. Being prepared will boost your confidence, which will lessen your test anxiety.
• Banish the negative thoughts. If you start to have anxious or defeated thoughts, such as "I'm not good enough," "I didn't study hard enough," or "I can't do this," push those thoughts away and replace them with positive thoughts. "I can do this," "I know the material," and "I studied hard," can go far in helping to manage your stress level when taking a test.
• Get enough sleep. A good night's sleep will help your concentration and memory.
• Take deep breaths. If you start to feel anxious while you're taking your test, breathe deeply in through your nose and out through your mouth. Work through each question or problem one at a time, taking a deep breath in between each one as needed. Making sure you are giving your lungs plenty of oxygen can help your focus and sense of calm.
• Avoid the perfectionist trap. Don't expect to be perfect. We all make mistakes and that's okay. Knowing you've done your best and worked hard is really all that matters, not perfection.

Therapy and Medications Can Also Help

• If you need extra support, make an appointment with your school counselor or primary care physician.
• Depending on the severity of your symptoms, your physician may also recommend cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), anti-anxiety medications, or a combination of both. CBT focuses on helping people change both the behaviors and underlying thoughts that contribute to the unwanted behaviors or feelings.

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