Exams are always accompanied by fear and stress. With CBSE board exams just around the corner, students and teachers are equally stressed. Lack of motivation to study is a major problem students face during this time. It is important to motivate students because without motivation, they won’t be able to retain information, they won’t be able to study properly and learn effectively. To help students, it is important to understand the source of the problem. More often than not, the lack of motivation is due to exam stress and exam fear.
Here are a few tips for teachers on how to help students cope with exam fear and exam stress
For teachers, getting children ready for exams can be somewhat of a balancing exercise. In addition to the fact that teachers have very restricted class time, they need to decide just precisely how much assistance they should give their students.
Now that classes are online, teachers need to find time to see to it that the exam stress doesn’t get to the students.
Coaching institutes and tutors conduct a lot of exams in an attempt to prepare the students for bigger exams. Here are five amazing tips for teachers, tutors, and coaching institutes on how to help students cope with exam fear and these tips are sure to work wonders!
How To Help Students Cope with Exam Fear
1.Sense of Control
One of the main reasons why students face exam stress and exam fear is because of the lack of control that they feel. As mentioned, it is important to understand the source of the problem and approach it accordingly. The symptoms of exam fear and exam stress will help teachers and parents to understand what the child is going through. One of the first things to do is to give them a sense of control. This can be done by allowing them to set their own goals, by asking them to come up with their own solutions & schedules and by self assessment methods. Once they feel that they have control over things, the fear factor is bound to fade away.
2.Encourage, Encourage and Encourage
Quite often, students feel discouraged and hopeless. Especially when the exams are around the corner. A little boost and nudge can go a long way. Inspire them with stories and quotes. These do have a huge impact on people. It is said that there are no limits to what you can achieve except the limits that you place on your own thinking. The words of encouragement from teachers can make students optimistic and help in reducing exam stress.
Check out motivational quotes for students here.
3. Revision Calendar / Doubt Clearing Sessions
Students are bound to have doubts and queries. Especially when the exams are nearing. They might be scared to ask the teachers at the Nth hour and this will add to the exam fear and stress that the students have. When you schedule revisions and doubt sessions in specific, this will help students to relax a little. It is easy to create on-demand doubt sessions on Teachmint. This would help students to clarify their queries.
4. Meditation and Activities
Exam fear is unavoidable. To cope up with exam stress and take students’ mind off of the tension and chaos, teachers can conduct various classroom activities. They can also meditate and do yoga in the classroom. This in turn will help students to improve concentration and focus. It is like a mutually dependent process. Students meditate, they become relaxed , they can study better. They study better, their stress reduces, they become relaxed.
5. Reinstate Belief in Them
“Believe and you are halfway there.” What happens most of the time is that when there’s too much to study, students just give up. They think that they don’t stand a chance and that they are going to fail. It is this thought that increases their stress and tension. Reinstate belief in your students by telling them that exams are not oceans that cannot be crossed. Taking inspiration from the second point, encourage them and inspire them with ideas to study quickly and encourage intrinsic motivation. This way, they won’t always require the nudge and push.
6. Let students know that they are not alone
One of the major reasons for exam stress is that the students fear that they are alone. Because of this, they develop an aversion, they get worked up unnecessarily and this adds to the stress. You might not be able to handhold them through the exams, but you can certainly support them and show that you are available all the time. This would in turn help the students to feel confident.
7. Flip the table
All said and done, it is impossible to remove the exam fear altogether. So, what you can do is turn the tables and use the nervousness and stress to your advantage. There is a concept called an optimum level of frustration. It is a state when the external stress is just the right amount. As teachers, you have the added advantage of being in a position that has the ability to inspire and motivate students. This is when you teach students to develop a positive mindset and strategize to make the best out of the situation at hand.
How to cope with exam fear and how to overcome fear in general is a commonly asked question. As discussed, during exam time, the fear and stress hits a high. A controlled amount of stress is necessary to increase energy and make the mind work faster and sharper. Teachers can help students to channel their exam stress in the right direction.
