The final round of the spring 2018 academic success workshops are beginning to wrap up as the calendar draws closer to exam week, and what better way to prepare students for such a time than a seminar on how to beat test anxiety?
Student academic success specialists Alicia King and Allison Peer from the Office of Learning Services, in collaboration with the P2P educators from the Counseling Services Center, have been conducting these informational meetings all year at 7 p.m. every Tuesday in Penfield Library. This Tuesday’s discussion offered several strategies for beating the nerves while test-taking, but the sessions also focused on priority management and effective studying habits as well.
“Test anxiety was something that came up in a lot of our conversations with different students,” Peer said. “Sometimes, it resulted from not being prepared for the test, so they needed to learn how to use better study strategies or manage their time better.”
Peer gave the presentation, which broke down the subject into several sections, first identifying the signs of anxiety during a test. She said oftentimes, students will experience sweaty palms, a rapid heartbeat and an inability to focus. Students can also get distracted by just the sound of others’ pencils writing on paper and get lost in their own thoughts of negativity.
Fortunately, there are a plethora of strategies students can try to relieve this stress, Peer explained. Small breathing exercises and doing muscle contract-and-relaxes are effective and can return a controlled state of mind during a test.
Peer also spoke about a number of smartphone applications that the Counseling Services Center recommends to help control daily thoughts. Negative intrusive thoughts before, during and after a test can all be harmful both to anyone’s mental health and academic success. But apps like Breathe, Headspace and Self-help for Anxiety Management (S.A.M.) each aim to give users a grip on their nervous, sometimes irrational thoughts.
Peer also went over a few observational strategies, which can help test-takers get “grounded” in their test room. Things as simple as noticing different colors in the room, ambient background sounds and even how a pen feels in the hand can make people feel more in control and less zoned out.
If necessary, some students can also be set up to take tests in an off-site location through the Disability Services office.
Peer said she and King frequently work with first-year students and those on academic probation, but also with anyone who wants or needs a boost in academic performance. They see students attending these workshops to fulfill the Johnson Hall living requirements as well.
“Quite often, they’ll have to write a reflection paper and submit it to their GST instructor,” Peer said. “That person can take a look and see ‘how is this person using the strategies they got from this workshop? Is it helping them?’”
P2P educators frequently accompany Peer and King to the workshops, as a student’s perspective on things makes a big difference, Peer said.
“We like to use peer educators as much as we can because they’re the same age as the students,” Peer said. “The advice that the peers have is going to feel more credible and relevant to [them] than someone who may be 10, 20, 30 years older than them.”
Peer and King have been giving talks on their currently running subjects since January 2017. Other subjects were covered in the years before.
Oswego State sophomore and childhood education major Kirsy Guzman attended Tuesday’s session and said she feels the sessions have definitely been helping her academically. She has been to one workshop on each topic and said the most effective advice she uses in her own life came from a handout at a priority management session.
“They printed out a calendar for you to organize your entire week and see where you fit in everything that you need, including studying, classes, eating, relaxing, hanging out with friends and just making sure you had everything down,” Guzman said.
The sensory observation technique for relaxation during tests stuck out most to Guzman, who said she will most likely be testing out the strategy during her tests in the coming weeks.
Photo: Jordan DeLucia | The Oswegonian
