Today the Calendar reads May 25th. Depending on the school, we are anywhere from 2-4 weeks away from summer break. I'm sure most of you have started your countdown. Some teachers and parents who I've recently spoken to are as close as 10 school days away until summer vacation. This is super exciting stuff. Another year past of so many accomplishments, successes, and milestones. The light at the end of the tunnel is shining so bright (for some). For others, the next fews weeks are the most intense days of the school year. Exams are on the horizon, expectations are at their highest, and everyone's cortisol levels are off the charts. It's basically a full moon for the next month. Watch out for those crazy students! Till this day, my own loving mother will vouch that through all those hundreds of years I was in school, she went out of her way during exam time to avoid eye contact, conversation, and interactions with me. She basically warned anyone who crossed my path to move over quick! Smart lady! It didn't take her long to figure out that exam brought out a side of me that wasn't my usual self. Over the years I developed my own coping strategies for managing exam stress. Some students develop their coping strategies early on in their academic career, while other never figure it out. Given how overwhelming exams can be-It's easier for some students to just give up and avoid exam prep all together than to persist through the stress and figure it out. This is especially true for students who have learning disabilities, deal with executive functioning challenges, as well as attention deficit disorders. Over the years, many teachers and parents have asked how to best support the overwhelmed student who prefers to avoid than tackle. Here it is.... the top 5 ways to support a struggling learning through crunch time. I hope this helps reduce stress all around. Best of luck!
- Cori
PROVIDE A TUTOR OR STUDY COACH
Being a parent and being a teacher are 2 extremely different roles. They each come with their own set of parameters and relationship dynamics. One of the most common pieces of feedback I hear from my clients are "I tried to tutor my child but we just ended up fighting or arguing". Students need emotional support from their parents during exam time. Emotional distress around studying shouldn't be caused by interactions with their parents. To avoid this clash, find a suitable tutor or study coach for your child. Some schools offer wonderful peer-tutoring programs, take advantage of this! Some teachers offer after-school hours support, take advantage of this! Hiring a private tutor or study coach to work 1:1 with your child will help reduce stress on both the parent and student end. You will know when a tutor is suitable if they can understand your child's needs and set a goal plan to meet those needs. Students should be involved in developing the goal plan so they feel a sense of responsibility. You don't want someone showing up to your house for the sake of just showing up.
GET YOUR LEARNER ORGANIZED
If you are a parent or teacher dealing with a struggling learner, the first step is to help the learner get organized. What does this entail you ask? Here it is... most teachers will hand out an exam summary study outline- make sure your learner has this. If they don't, make sure they get it. Once they have this, make sure they have all the notes to support the exam review. If they don't have them, make sure they get them. There are a few options for this; ask a friend in their class who is good at taking notes, check the school or class online structure (if applicable)- some teachers will post notes online, and lastly ask the teacher for the notes. Once the exam study outline and notes have been collected- create a system to house all of this. Some students like making an exam study binder-where they divide it up per subject, others find keeping subjects separate in their respective binders is effective. Once everything is organized.... get studying!
CREATE A STUDY SCHEDULE
Study schedules are effective because they provide students with structure in a such an overwhelming time. If capable, students can create study schedules on their own or with the support from a teacher, tutor/study coach, or parent. I always like to print out a blank calendar and write out my schedule- using a different colour pen or marker for each subject. I always start by inputting the exams on the calendar and then by inputting study blocks starting from the last exam moving backwards. Make sure your schedule is realistic and not just pretty on paper. Allow for some downtime here and there. The brain needs opportunity to relax in such a stressful time. How much study time you allot to each subject is relative to how big the exam is and how much of the content is already mastered. Each study block should include breaks. Those breaks should include some form of physical activity. A short walk will do- it's nice outside so take advantage! Lastly, there should be accountability for the schedule. Parents should check in to see if their learner is on track, teachers should check in to see how studying is going at home and tutors/study coaches should be helping students revise their study schedules as they go. The most important thing here is that a study schedule is a working document and can be altered and revised as the student goes.
EAT. EXERCISE. SLEEP (REPEAT)!
During exams you want to focus on nurturing the brain. Try to think of the brain independent of the learner. There is tons of research out there that has proven the brain functions at optimal levels when it gets sufficient nutrients, adequate rest, and exercise. These 3 factors will help to reduce cortisol levels (stress hormone), which will aid is studying and overall wellness. Breakfast is indeed the most important meal of the day- try to kick in some potassium (it's good brain food). Eat lots of high protein snacks throughout the day (one of my all time favourites is a sliced apple with almond butter...mmmm...). I would also try to avoid eating high sugary foods as they have been proven to create that burn-out feeling quicker than other foods. 8 hours of sleep is ideal and a minimum of 30-minutes of exercise a day is enough to keep things in check. The moral of the story here is your learner should be eating. exercising. sleeping. then repeating it all over again! Cramming all night on a stomach full of gummy bears and a bag of chips is a major no no (guilty!).
CELEBRATE
Students should have something really good to look forward to after the exam period. Plan an exciting outing, activity, celebration, or vacation once that last exam is complete. Having something really good to look forward to always helps a student through a stressful time. It's always helpful to know the light shines bright at the end of the tunnel. Most students will be happy just knowing school is over but might be a little more motivated to get some effective studying in if there's an alternative MO. My MO to get the studying done was always knowing that a fews days after that last exam was handed in, I could go splurge at Walmart in preparation for a summer away at overnight camp with all my friends. I always loved buying the most unnecessary stuff for camp. I probably ended up spending more than I ever made during the summer :)
I would love to hear feedback on how you are supporting your learner through the exam stress. Be in touch!!