It's that stressful time of the year when students all over South Africa will be sitting in examination rooms with just a pen, paper and ruler to tackle the end-of-year assessments.
Getting tested on your knowledge and ability to retain what you've learnt is stressful enough as it is, but many pupils in SA schools also have to reckon with loadshedding, inadequate teaching and learning environments, and highly anxious parents to boot.
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Jackie Cook, Chief Operating Officer at Teneo Online School, advises parents not to put too much emphasis on the exam results alone.
“You will be surprised by what happens when parents and students change their perception of exams from being a negative, stressful time with excessive expectations, to an exciting time of learning and family bonding. Now is as good a time as any to give it a try,” she suggests.
Jackie believes that simple changes to attitudes and approaches can help to encourage teenagers to be aware, build resilience and help avoid the anxiety traps around the examination period.
These are Jackie's tips for parents
1. It is important to teach students to recognise and acknowledge the way they are feeling. Give them the freedom to express their emotions to you, particularly if they are feeling overwhelmed, and then listen openly.
2. Never tell a student that “millions of other students have gone through this, so just get on with it”. Instead, see where you can assist in what is causing them the most stress. Is it a study schedule to help with time management? Is it encouraging regular breaks? Is it simply listening to them as they try to explain a concept they have been learning?
3. Remind them that exams are not memory tests – they should rather try to understand the concepts. Students often fear they will forget all the information they are cramming into their heads ahead of the exam.
4. Create a well-structured routine for them. You cannot allow them to be studying until 3am the night before. Getting good sleep will do far more for them than close to the exam.
5. Motivate, encourage and offer support. Never scold or criticise, even if you consider it to be positive criticism. When students are taught that education is laying the groundwork for a bright future and that knowledge is a key to opportunity, they will develop a positive mindset that will encourage them to approach learning with excitement and enthusiasm, resulting in increased self-confidence and a better self-image.
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Being anxious about the exams is not necessarily a bad thing, she says. "It increases both psychological and physical performance." But when anxiety levels are excessive for a prolonged period, "they have negative repercussions".
Fear is the most common emotion felt by pupils, according to Jackie. They fear failing, disappointing parents or teachers, embarrassment, forgetting and not understanding questions.
"Students may experience mood swings, become melancholy, sleep poorly, struggle to focus, or even shun classes and friends because of this. They may become physically nauseated, lose their appetite, or eat for consolation," she explains.
These are Jackie's tips for pupils
1. Focus on time management and mapping out how you will approach this exam period. Ensure you allocate enough time for absorbing, understanding, and revising bite-sized chunks of information. Ask your parents or teachers for assistance if you need guidance.
2. Don’t put yourself in a position where you need to cram. There is a big difference between revision (consistently reviewing your notes and what you have learned and relearning) and sorting through all the information you received and trying to cram and understand before your exams.
3. Preparing for your exams starts on the first day of each term. Students need to be organised from the start of their first day back. Build your own study schedule – and stick to it. If you were unable to do that for this exam period, plan to start with this from next term so that the next set of exams are far more manageable.
4. Get on top of your notes, keep them up to date and organised. You likely have the information written down already so it’s just a case of arranging them in a way that makes sense to your brain for the information to make sense holistically.
5. Set yourself up for success by having a designated study area and then taking regular breaks for fresh air. Know what triggers your anxiety – reduce your caffeine intake and always get a full night’s rest the night before an exam. You know more than you think – but you need to be well-rested for that information to surface in the exam.
