Why give tests?

• To evaluate your understanding of the material covered in textbooks & lectures

• To help you to synthesize, or pull together, all the different elements of the curse covered over a period of time.

How do you usually study?

4 Stages of Test Preparation

• Stage 1 – Day to Day Preparation

• Stage 2 – Concentrated Preparation

• Stage 3 – The Test (What to do during the test!)

• Stage 4 – Follow-Up (What to do after the test!)

Stage 1 – Day to Day Preparation

• What you can do in the beginning!

• Attend Class• Listen Actively• Ask Questions• Read Actively• Take Notes• Get Involved

• The best way to prepare for exams is to treat them like an Olympic Event!

Stage 1 – Day to Day Preparation (contd.)

• Steps of a 5 Point Study Plan• Schedule your time• Review notes and make summary sheets• Anticipate test questions• Use a study group or tutoring• Evaluate your process

Stage 2 – Concentrated Preparation

• Schedule time to study – 2 hours outside of class for every hour in class

• Review 3-5 minutes after class• Study during daylight hours• Make study schedule• Review previous days notes• Use strategies that fit your learning style• Study for comprehension (reflection)• Study in 50-minute increments

• Maintain a balanced lifestyle:• Nutrition, rest, exercise, water• Regulate intake of caffeine and sugar

• Use your study group• Study with an ARC tutor

2 - Concentrated Preparation Contd.

“ALL-NIGHTERS” DON’T WORK! Learning requires a good night's sleep.

• Learning is a matter of forming memories. • Harvard Harvard study showed that a person trying to learn

something does not improve his or her knowledge until after they have had more than six hours of sleep (preferably eight).

• The brain needs time to file new information and skills away in the proper slots so that it can be retrieved later.

• Without enough sleep to do all this filing, new information does not get properly encoded into the brain's memory circuits.

• Why six or eight hours,? The kind of sleeping which occurs at the beginning of a night's sleep, and the sort you do at the end are different.

• Both are required for efficient learning.

• © Txtwriter Inc. Dr. George Johnson, ON SCIENCE, http://www.txtwriter.com/Onscience/Articles/sleep.html

• Dr. Stickgold, Harvard University (research study)

Harvard study, Dr. Stickgold:

Stage 3 –What to do during the test

• Know the time and place• Bring extra pens and pencils• Listen carefully• Read the directions• Scan the entire exam• Plan your time• Relax, breathe, and dive in

What to do during the test contd.

• Scan test quickly

• Check to see if professor has listed point values for different sections

• Answer high point questions first

• If values not given, do easiest questions first

Stage 3 – True/False Questions

• Always read test questions carefully.

• Longer items that give more information are more likely to be true.

• If any part of the question is false, the whole question is false.

• Qualifying words like always, never, none, everyone, usually indicate incorrect answers.

True/False Questions Contd.

• Qualifying words like some, usually, probably, many, are more likely to be correct.

• True/False Tests frequently have more correct answers than false. If you must guess, mark it true.

Stage 3 – Matching Questions

• Be sure to read all items in both columns carefully before marking answer.

• Check to see answer may be used more than once.

• Look for the best match.

• If only one answer possible for each question, cross them off as you go. You may use the process of elimination for answers you don’t know.

Stage 3 – Multiple Choice Questions

• Read all answer choice before marking answer.

• Check to see if questions call for more than one answer.

• First answer is usually the best.

• Answer question in your head before looking at answer choices.

Stage 3 – Multiple Choice Questions (Contd.)

• Guessing Guidelines:• If two answers are similar, choose one of these.

• If two answers have similar sounding words, choose one of these (intermediate, intermittent).

• If the answer calls for a sentence completion, eliminate answers that would not make grammatically correct sentences.

• If two quantities are almost the same, choose one.

Multiple Choice Questions (Contd.)

• If answers cover a wide range, choose one

in the middle.

• Instructors are less likely to place the correct response last.

• If there is no penalty for guessing, and above techniques do not help, shut your eyes and go for it.

• Organize and outline your answer

• Put strongest ideas first

• Use elements of good writing • (process, grammar, spelling)

• Be neat

• Provide adequate support for conclusions

• Proofread

• Check your answers

Stage 3 – Essay Questions

Stage 4 – Follow-up (What to do after the test!)

• Examine questions missed and find answers

• Recall the study techniques that worked best

• Evaluate the process

• Take advantage of campus resources (Library, tutoring, etc.)

• Celebrate and reward yourself for hard work!

Test Anxiety

• A special intense kind of nervousness arising from the total test situation.

Causes of Test Anxiety

• Anxiety is a learned response to a negative/threatening situation

• Unrealistic expectations by others or self

• Being evaluated in a life situation/outcome is important to you

• Concerns about how others will view you if you do poorly

• Concerns arising from threats to your own self-image

• Concerns about your future security

Causes of Test Anxiety

• Concerns about not being prepared for test

• Have become conditioned to respond to threatening stimuli

• The more difficult the test/the more intense the anxiety

Results of Anxiety

• Anxiety produces negative results (mentally or emotionally & physically)

• Attempt to perform task well• You react• (auditions, play try-outs, sports,

competition, pledge week, interview, tests)

• Emotions clutter thought processes• Worry scatters attention process• Situation becomes intimidating

Results of Anxiety Contd.

• Mobility/Immobility

• Insecure feelings come/Muscle tension

• Try to rid ourselves of unpleasant feelings

• Motivated to find relief or safety

• A few educators say a little of tension is good

• A negative nervous reaction/more harm than good

• Excessive anxiety, like alcohol, is a depressant

Overcoming Test Fears

• Need to pinpoint sources of anxiety• Avoidance of analysis of problem• First response is to protect feelings

• Step 1: Take honest look to detect problems• Step 2: Take steps to unlearn

– Preparation– Review– Self-Testing– Expect to Succeed– Exercise & Breathing Exercises for Relaxation