6/16/2008 9:25 PM Test Phobia (4 Comments)
- Çhêħ‡
- 19, United States
Test Phobia
TEST PHOBIA
20 Sure-Fire Ways To Help You Cope
What you can do to help yourself is to tune in and turn on to some positive ways of dealing with these self-defeating attitudes. We take tests in all facets of our lives, and by learning how to develop a more relaxed attitude, we can improve our test taking habits.
For openers, let's recognize the fact that a fear habit is like any bad habit. We've "learned" it. We've been conditioned to fear tests. Our psyches have been "insta-tuned" to respond negatively to tests -- any kind of test. Since grammar school, we've had to continuously "prove on paper" that we were learning something. What we need to do, to start with, is look this problem squarely in the face, and hit it hard.
That's one way of dealing with it. However, there are more practical solutions. Like any habit, it can be broken. In order to understand where this habit originated, we need to take a self-awareness, self-knowledge inventory. That is the most effective way of dealing with a fear habit.
Start by getting acquainted with yourself. Off with the old, on with the new. Examine the various types of stress in your life that seem to influence your behavior and affect you the most around test time. Learn ways to improve the quality of your lifestyle. Accept your limitations and frailties. You can on y do so much, but give yourself credit for trying! Be assertive. Communicate your needs in positive ways.
Get to know your instructor. Very important!! You'd be surprised how helpful they can be. Ask your instructor how he/she coped with tests. Confide your test phobia. Ask about the scope of the test. Ask for specifics. What material you should study, etc. Remember, your instructor can only teach you the academics. How you apply them afterwards is not his/her problem, it's yours. Following is a list of 20 sure-fire ways to help you pass a test:
1. Use self-discipline in your study habits. Get rid of your distractions. Be prepared. Start studding at least a week before the test. If you wait until the night before the test, it's too late.
2. Follow your usual routine. Minimize your stress by not making any drastic changes in your life. Arguments and stressful circumstances can really sabo-tage your test scores. Put everything on "hold" until after the test. Once you learn to recognize these self-defeating stresses, you can start eliminating them one by one and then watch test scores rise!
3. Study the hardest parts first. Don't cram. Study in short periods of 3045 minutes, you'll retain more.
4. Review your notes the morning of the test. not memorize unrelated facts by rote. Organize your notes. Be concise.
5. Test yourself. Force yourself to formulate theories and recite them Use mnemonic devices (e.g. SPA - Socrates, Plato, Aristotle). Use silly-sentence memory aides. Use anything that will help you. Give yourself a big fat chance at that test. Go for it! Force yourself to be interested. Reward yourself later in some "special way".
6. Get to class on time. No rushing.
7. Eat breakfast. Your brain needs the nourishment. Protein does it.
8. Read-skim the whole test. Make a mental note of the time limit. Apportion your time. Answer easy questions first.
9. Notice word clues.
10. Take enough time. Read carefully.
11. Outline essay questions before you start to write. Answer only what is asked for. Don't waste precious time.
12. Use punctuation, clear sentences, legible writing. Proofread.
13. Relax the night before the test Study and then "reward" yourself with something nice
14. Go to bed early. Don't burn the midnight oil. You'll be too tired to think clearly.
15. You don't need drugs, pills, booze. That doesn't make it, either. Love and companionship are better.
16. Do not use somebody else's notes. They don't think the way you do.
17. Don't be a chronic absentee. You owe it to yourself to be there.
18. Don't cheat.
19. Don't tell yourself you're going fail. Keep a positive attitude. Tell yourself how hard you've worked and how much you deserve the best possible test score.
20. Hang on to your sense of humor. Remember that it is only a test. And no test is a measure of your our own personal worth. You are unique.
Don't allow a test of any kind to intimidate you in any way. Learn to recognize the underlying reasons for your test phobia. Face the negatives in order to erase them once and for all. Once you do, then you can have a fair chance at passing any test.
20 Sure-Fire Ways To Help You Cope
What you can do to help yourself is to tune in and turn on to some positive ways of dealing with these self-defeating attitudes. We take tests in all facets of our lives, and by learning how to develop a more relaxed attitude, we can improve our test taking habits.
For openers, let's recognize the fact that a fear habit is like any bad habit. We've "learned" it. We've been conditioned to fear tests. Our psyches have been "insta-tuned" to respond negatively to tests -- any kind of test. Since grammar school, we've had to continuously "prove on paper" that we were learning something. What we need to do, to start with, is look this problem squarely in the face, and hit it hard.
That's one way of dealing with it. However, there are more practical solutions. Like any habit, it can be broken. In order to understand where this habit originated, we need to take a self-awareness, self-knowledge inventory. That is the most effective way of dealing with a fear habit.
Start by getting acquainted with yourself. Off with the old, on with the new. Examine the various types of stress in your life that seem to influence your behavior and affect you the most around test time. Learn ways to improve the quality of your lifestyle. Accept your limitations and frailties. You can on y do so much, but give yourself credit for trying! Be assertive. Communicate your needs in positive ways.
Get to know your instructor. Very important!! You'd be surprised how helpful they can be. Ask your instructor how he/she coped with tests. Confide your test phobia. Ask about the scope of the test. Ask for specifics. What material you should study, etc. Remember, your instructor can only teach you the academics. How you apply them afterwards is not his/her problem, it's yours. Following is a list of 20 sure-fire ways to help you pass a test:
1. Use self-discipline in your study habits. Get rid of your distractions. Be prepared. Start studding at least a week before the test. If you wait until the night before the test, it's too late.
2. Follow your usual routine. Minimize your stress by not making any drastic changes in your life. Arguments and stressful circumstances can really sabo-tage your test scores. Put everything on "hold" until after the test. Once you learn to recognize these self-defeating stresses, you can start eliminating them one by one and then watch test scores rise!
3. Study the hardest parts first. Don't cram. Study in short periods of 3045 minutes, you'll retain more.
4. Review your notes the morning of the test. not memorize unrelated facts by rote. Organize your notes. Be concise.
5. Test yourself. Force yourself to formulate theories and recite them Use mnemonic devices (e.g. SPA - Socrates, Plato, Aristotle). Use silly-sentence memory aides. Use anything that will help you. Give yourself a big fat chance at that test. Go for it! Force yourself to be interested. Reward yourself later in some "special way".
6. Get to class on time. No rushing.
7. Eat breakfast. Your brain needs the nourishment. Protein does it.
8. Read-skim the whole test. Make a mental note of the time limit. Apportion your time. Answer easy questions first.
9. Notice word clues.
10. Take enough time. Read carefully.
11. Outline essay questions before you start to write. Answer only what is asked for. Don't waste precious time.
12. Use punctuation, clear sentences, legible writing. Proofread.
13. Relax the night before the test Study and then "reward" yourself with something nice
14. Go to bed early. Don't burn the midnight oil. You'll be too tired to think clearly.
15. You don't need drugs, pills, booze. That doesn't make it, either. Love and companionship are better.
16. Do not use somebody else's notes. They don't think the way you do.
17. Don't be a chronic absentee. You owe it to yourself to be there.
18. Don't cheat.
19. Don't tell yourself you're going fail. Keep a positive attitude. Tell yourself how hard you've worked and how much you deserve the best possible test score.
20. Hang on to your sense of humor. Remember that it is only a test. And no test is a measure of your our own personal worth. You are unique.
Don't allow a test of any kind to intimidate you in any way. Learn to recognize the underlying reasons for your test phobia. Face the negatives in order to erase them once and for all. Once you do, then you can have a fair chance at passing any test.
6/17/2008 3:05 PMRe: Test Phobia