everyone together. when i say test anxiety you say dun dun dunnn!

my story about starting my job and getting this presentation and not having a computer to work on it last minute, which i hate to do. symptoms of "test or performance anxiety" I was feeling: couldn't think, headache, thoughts of failure, butterflies in my stomach. have any of you ever felt like that before and during an important test?

show video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnpQrMqDoqE

talk about how we create our own fight or flight reaction by what we think and what we tell ourselves (negative self talk) we don't have an animal trying to eat us, but our bodies react as if we do.

so our body is activated to fight or flight (run away run away!). blood goes to our muscles and not our brain. that makes it hard to think, the last thing you want to have happen during a test!

like the video said, when you are in fight or flight mode, you are less able to think clearly, learn or remember things. and in a testing environment, that can make your stress worse, making you even less able to think, learn and remember things. you have to break the cycle!

what types of things do people tell themselves that make them stress out about taking a test? (have students answer and throw them candy)

now lets take some of those negative, stress causing phrases and turn them into something helpful. (use their examples and have students make them positive)

ex: I am going to flunk this test - I studied and am going to pass this test.

so you are thinking happy thoughts, but your heart is still racing and you can't think. so we need another strategy.

does this person look stressed out? do they look relaxed? do they look stressed out AND relaxed? (impossible)

you can't be stressed out and relaxed at the same time! one easy way you can get yourself to stop being stressed out it to trick yourself into relaxing. it's easy to do this by just breathing.

breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. this simple exercise tricks your brain into believing that everything is okay.

now let's breathe in for four seconds and then out for five so we can slow our breathing. you can do this before a test or during a test. no one will notice, it's fast and it helps.

attention students: if you didn't study for a test, the information won't magically be in your brain when you need it.

you might feel stressed out because you are actually not prepared.

if you haven't studied you can't avoid the consequences you are afraid of. so accept the consequences and learn from it. realize this was your decision and be cool with it. now ask yourself, do I like how this feels? what could you do different next time?

no amount of breathing is going to help you avoid the consequences.

don't let this happen to you!

study for a test well before it's going to happen. a little each day is much better than a lot just before a test.

but more on this later.

now to our regular scheduled programming

when you are in fight or flight, extra energy builds up in your body. that energy has to be used up for you to relax.

ideas for exercise before a test: take a short walk,

in your seat: tense up each part of your body for 5-10 seconds, then release..

let's try this together.

start at your feet. try to make a "fist" with your feet. hold for five seconds, then release,

now your calves, upper legs, buttocks, stomach, shoulders, hands and arms

you can do this anytime and no one will notice

write important dates like project due dates and tests into a calendar. and then use that to plan your work.

before a test:
think about a study strategy that has you studying or reviewing your notes a little each day. several days before a test, plan to study more each day.

a little each day is better than not at all or all at once

a plan can help you avoid procrastination

just before the test starts:

don't talk about it with your friends about the test! they will have different ideas of what will be on the test and you may not have studied those things that well. it's a sure way to freak out and get yourself into fight or flight.

don't study right up to the test. take a short walk. do breathing exercises, think happy thoughts. if you keep studying you won't be relaxed and ready for the test. tell a joke, laugh.

power stance exercise

everyone stand up:
when you win a game what do you do with your body?

model it

this is a proven method for increasing your confidence! can you go into the restroom and do this before a test. or pretend you are stretching. who cares? if it gets you a better grade on the test

talk about short term and long term memory and how it works, see if I can find some stats on how much is retained by studying a little each day.

Important information is gradually transferred from short-term memory into long-term memory. The more the information is repeated or used, the more likely it is to eventually end up in long-term memory, or to be "retained."

remember this number 8005373950

repeat it for me

wait 20 seconds and then ask them to repeat the number.

now repeat it five times with me.

wait 20 seconds, what was the number?

could you do it? could you do it if you practiced it more?

remember: you can't recall information you don't know! it horrible to get a test question, especially the first question on a test, and know nothing about what it is asking.

if this happens: don't let it shake your confidence!!

your teacher probably covered it in class, but you have no memory of it. how does this happen?

a tired mind won't do its best

don't study all night or stay up late before a test. If you've studied and reviewed a little each day, you will be fine!

don't stress yourself out by telling yourself the consequences of doing poorly on a test are worse than they actually are!

what types of things do we tell ourselves that get in our way: