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Fit to sit exams
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For many years, students have come along to the
Psychological Counseling service to report on their experiences of
examinations. We help. And we learn from it. The following article is
based on this experience and is intended to help you cope better with
stress before and during exams.
The semester is coming to an end
and it's that time again: the exams are piling up. The result: inner
tension builds up. There are some written exams with a failure rate of
50% or more, so this is hardly surprising. Aside from this, however,
exams cause stress and stress increases tension.
Moderation is the key
Increased tension in an exam - or before it - is
not a bad thing in principle. On the contrary: increased tension can
even improve performance. But only to a certain extent! Beyond this,
the situation becomes out of control and tension has an equally
detrimental impact on performance.
Even in the run-up to exams,
too much tension can bring significant problems in its wake:
headaches, stomach and bowel complaints or problems with sleeping are
not uncommon, or it can simply make you more susceptible to illness.
It often results in difficulties in concentrating, or in anxiety and
panic attacks just from thinking about an exam. This proves one thing:
learning is not a purely cognitive act. Learning and emotions are
closely interconnected! (This is also shown by findings in
neuropsychology.) If you are aware of this, then you can use it to
your advantage.
Blackouts and what you can do
The stress starts as
soon as you begin reviewing for all your exams. The situation can
become quite fraught if you feel that your intelligence - or even your
worth as a person - is being tested in an examination. If any signal
in an exam is unknowingly perceived as a signal of anxiety, it can
then trigger the following reactions: the amygdala, the emotional
memory, is activated in the limbic system. Stress hormones are
released. Heart rate and blood pressure increase. And the body is
poised for fight or flight. This can mean that we react with anxiety
to something without even knowing why.
"I was really worked
up, then the first question came up. And it was as if everything I
knew had suddenly disappeared....!“ And afterwards: "I couldn't
answer this question, what on earth will the professor think of me
now! It's over, I need to get out of here.....“ The examiner's
questions are still getting through, but the student is preoccupied
with himself and the imagined catastrophe. The fatal consequences of
this are that access to what has been learned continues to be blocked
and the flight impulse becomes stronger.
There are nevertheless
ways of counteracting this situation: the overreaction of the amygdala
can be controlled by cortical mechanisms. This is because all parts of
the brain are interlinked. We can use reasoning (cerebrum) to alter
the nature and intensity of our feelings (limbic system). Analyzing
and assessing the exam as a non-hazardous situation (prefrontal
cortex) means that the emotion-activating function of the amygdala is
suppressed.
Another important way of dealing with these anxiety
reactions is to confront what is seen as a threatening situation - the
effect of this is to turn the experience into a positive one and thus
strengthen your self-confidence. This can happen in well-prepared
simulated exam conditions, for example.
Be clear about the fact
that it's not the end of the world if an exam fails to get off to a
good start, or if something unexpected comes up during the exam. And
try to concentrate on the examiner's questions and the subject matter.
Take back the initiative. You should inform the examiner if you
realize that you are unable to shake off this state of anxiety,
because a severe anxiety reaction often causes the examinee to clam up
and it is hard for the examiner to judge what the candidate actually
knows.
The same applies to written exams: it is pointless to
conduct internal monologues on how good or bad you are and whether you
can manage, or to get annoyed about difficult assignments. Here too,
it is just as important not to question yourself as a person if things
don't run smoothly in written exams. It has nothing to do you as a
person. Perhaps you do not yet have sufficient knowledge. Try to keep
calm and refocus on doing your work (see above); you should be
collecting points, not getting bogged down.
How should I behave in the oral exam?
We often hear:
"I only say what's absolutely necessary, and only if I'm quite
certain to make sure I don't say something wrong by mistake or talk
about a subject that I'm not very familiar with." Or: "I
wait passively, I would never think out loud or elaborate on
contextual details without being asked. It could all be wrong."
That's a bit like playing dead. It is common for this to turn into a
tough, arduous and unproductive question and answer session.
But
it need not be so. If you know something, it is far better to
demonstrate it, to explain interconnections, to give examples and, in
some circumstances, to think out loud. Actively. The exact opposite of
playing dead, in other words! Last but not least, it gives the
examiner a chance to follow your thought processes and to support you
if you get stuck. You will find that he does this, because a fluent
exam is more pleasant for him as well.
Time to reflect
Students often say: "I must
answer a question immediately, it's expected of me. I haven't got time
to think about it.“ After exam simulations, students in our
counseling service are often heard to say that they spent far too long
thinking and must have said nothing at all for 10 minutes. A
subsequent analysis of our video recordings shows: it wasn't even 10
seconds.
Unless definitions are asked for - if your approach to a
subject is sought for example - then a certain detachment is
necessary. And that needs time. It may take time. Say that you are
thinking about it.
Preparation for exams
- 1. Review your aims
- 2. Revise the subject matter in different ways
- 3. Practice out loud!
- 4. Simulate the exam!
- 5. The study group is important!
1. Review your aims
It is clear that being well prepared is the best
way to ensure exam success.
However, the desire to feel safe in
an exam situation and to be successful often leads to an aspiration to
learn the subject by heart and master it completely. A lofty
aspiration! It entails ambitious plans! "Get up early every
morning - work through, 8, 9 hours - stop seeing other people - allow
no leisure activities." These plans always come to grief. They
lead to feelings of failure and, quite often, to exams being
deferred.
A more promising approach is to find out exactly what
is required for the exam and then to make realistic, continuously
reviewed plans. And under no circumstances to forget about leisure
time. We are not study machines. Taking study breaks is proven to be
essential when reviewing what you have learnt.
2. Revise the subject matter in different ways
We are better at learning things that we associate with stored knowledge, that stand out, that appeal to as many of the five senses as possible, that mean something to us and that use the capabilities of both sides of the brain. In many cases, taking notes is the only study aid used (linear and monochrome); this can lead to the brain switching off because it cannot find any keywords, colors or associations. It is well worth looking at memory techniques and above all: trying them out.
3. Practice out loud!
Many students preparing for an oral exam only practice the subject matter by writing it down, as with a written examination. They then find it difficult to compose a spoken answer to a question in the context of an oral exam. And yet this is so easy to practice. Even if it sounds silly, it is well worth speaking out loud and clearly when practicing. This will help you to concentrate more on content during the exam and not waste your energy searching for words.
4. Simulate the exam!
Working in simulated exam conditions is a crucial element of exam preparation. The more realistic the set-up, the more effective it is. Don't get upset if things don't go according to plan. Give yourself the opportunity to practice some more and to turn the exam situation into a positive experience. And it can even be fun if you work in a group.
5. The study group is important!
When it comes
to preparing for exams, the study group and teacher supervision play a
really vital role: An example from researchers: A study at the Dana
Center for Mathematics and Science Education by U. Treisman on the
significantly better academic performance of Chinese students compared
with black and Hispanic students revealed that the Chinese students
not only worked individually, but also met up regularly to compare
notes.
A project was consequently devised in which group work was
promoted in the same way as the development of communal life, with the
focus on the shared interest in mathematics. The results were
impressive! Not only did the black participants catch up with their
white and Chinese peers, they also outperformed them!
Meeting up
to exchange notes with fellow students, tutors and lecturers, doing
sample papers, working in simulated exam conditions - these are all
effective strategies when preparing for exams. The group is not just
important for discussing technical issues. Constructive criticism,
affirmation, recognition and solidarity strengthen social networks and
are far more conducive to successful study than isolation and
competition.
We wish you much success!
Room 0059/60/61/62
Main building
Straße des 17. Juni 135
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