Wednesday, November 22, 2017

Use diagrams, maps to prevent brain freeze



Use diagrams, maps to prevent brain freeze 

Have you ever felt that your mind freezes during the exam? Have you ever been in a situation when you sit down at the examination desk and realise that all that you’ve been revising for the past few months is forgotten? Does your heart race or do you find it hard to breathe during exams? This particular form of stress is known as exam anxiety, and some people are more susceptible to it than others.

In a study published by Martyn Denscombe (2000) found teenagers suffer from exam stress due to four reasons: the future occupational consequences associated with the outcome of the exam; they related their selfesteem with the grades (students are likely to have higher selfesteem if they have higher grades); unrealistic expectations from parents and teachers leading to performance pressure; and fear of getting judged by their peers.

RECOGNIZE THE NEGATIVE EMOTIONS To deal with exam- related stress, it is essential that children recognize the negative thoughts. Once they examine these thoughts, they will be able to see how unrealistic they are. Challenge the thoughts that say you are a failure and can’t succeed. Replace self- criticism with self- correction.

Instead of getting discouraged by the result of the previous exam, children must identify their weak areas and work on them. Indulge in more positive self- talk like ‘I can do it,’ ‘It is just an exam.’
TIME MANAGEMENT All work, no play leads to exam stress. Teachers and parents should help children identify their concentration span and facilitate their studies with appropriate breaks during the exam.

Time management plan can be made for all the subjects so that adequate time can be given to all the subjects and revision time is adequately sought. Children should build in their timetables with activities which they enjoy like watching their favourite TV programme, going out with their friends, going to play football in the park or listening to their favourite music for an hour. ‘ACTIVE’ STUDY STRATEGIES There are active strategies which can be employed by the students while preparing for their exams. Students can teach or explain the lesson to someone else which can be implemented efficiently in group studies. Think about the questions expected in the exam and write the answers. Students can prepare graphic designs and semantic maps which offer a visual representation of ideas.

When abstract information is laid in concrete, and visual form such as a chart, diagram, word, map event, scene, experiment or character (from a story) are readily retrieved later.

ROLE OF PARENTS Jane D Hull stated that ‘At the end of the day, the most overwhelming key to a child’s success is the positive involvement of the parents.’ Parents must acknowledge that children can sometimes fail to do well if they are unable to cope with the stress. They should provide a conducive environment to their children which is positively reinforced.

They should commend their child’s performance with positive statements like ‘well done,’ ‘you can do better’ rather than saying ‘that was not enough.’ Parents should celebrate the efforts of their child instead of solely focusing on the result.

They must avoid setting unrealistic expectations on their children as it enhances stress and performance pressure on children. ENSURE THAT YOU ARE HEALTHY There is a famous quote which says that the body achieves what the mind believes. There is a close connection between our mind and body. The simple rule is that children should listen to their body during exams: Eat when you’re hungry, rest when you are tired, relax when you are stressed and step back when you feel overwhelmed. It is seen that during exam, some students start binge eating while some don’t feel like eating.

Parents must ensure that their kids are eating a healthy diet which includes green salad and fruits. Children also face problems related to irregular sleep cycles or insomnia during exams. Parents should make sure that their kids try to keep a fixed time for sleeping as far as possible. Children should avoid afternoon prolonged sleeping; a short nap may be helpful. They should avoid taking any food or liquid which contains caffeine and chocolate three hours before their sleep time. Most children complaint that they have no time for play and exercise during exams. Whereas, exercise is all the more necessary during exams because they act as ‘stress buster.’ Simple exercises such as stretching, jogging and running relieve the stress and ensure physical fitness during exams.

Source | Hindustan Times | 22nd November 2017

Regards

Pralhad Jadhav  

Senior Manager @ Knowledge Repository  
Khaitan & Co 



Twitter Handle | @Pralhad161978

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