Test-Taking Strategies
For 10 years, I was the one testing the students, teaching strategies and finding new ones to help students study. Suddenly, I found myself returning to school and the anxiety, stress, lack of time, and just all the unknowns seemed to overwhelm my life. The last couple of years I have learned to incorporate strategies that work best for me, but there is always room for improvement and strengthening. Learning, study and test taking skills are some of the most important things to have when furthering your education. Upon reading Strategies for Test Success by Linda Anne Silvestri, I was able to scrutinize some of my weaknesses, reevaluate my learning style, and look at some new test taking strategies while assessing
…show more content…
By using this strategy instead of trying to memorize text out of a book, one should have to spend less time studying and more information should be retained. (Kaplan Nursing: Lipponcott)
Test Strategies Not so Helpful
There are so many strategy recommendations for students. While each have good points, some are more helpful than others. Strategies that don’t seem as helpful to me are simulating actual test like circumstances when studying for the exam, study groups, note taking by using the fancy systems. These three strategies just seem to increase my stress level to the point I feel like I am not learning.
Simulating actual test like circumstances has just never worked for me as I usually don’t pick the correct information to test myself on and the important information gets left behind. Study groups cause me too much pressure because I find that one or two people seem to be putting the study guides together. This is a pet peeve for me; I don’t mind sharing my ideas but don’t expect me to do all the work and then hand it to you. The final one that has never worked for me is taking notes by using one of the many note taking systems. I find myself spending too much time trying to remember what needs to be written where, organizing, how to fold the paper. I have developed my own crazy way of taking notes over the years. Note taking is an area that I feel is individualize for each
S states that there are four phases to the human memory. He suggests that using a filing cabinet approach to learning things help with memorization. “Human memory is a four - stage process: input, encoding, rehearsal, and retrieval. A problem at any stage affects memory and learning”, (S, 2013). The author goes on to discuss how each process works within his system of learning and memorizing. Inputting information into the filing cabinet is through sensory. We are using taste, smell, sight, hearing and touching at this point just to organize and get the information into the brain but not memorizing or learning anything yet. This phase is the same as the first step in “Tips from the Science of Memory-for Studying and for Life”. Arranging the information in a way that it gives the best structure for remembering it. Next, we encode the information with short term memory, only knowing that the information is there but it is not yet fully understood or committed to long term memory. After that we will rehearse and practice the information that is organized and filed neatly in the filing cabinet because now we know where to go to look for the correct information when we need it for retrieval, the final step of the process. We need to know where to look for the things we have rehearsed and practiced over and over, this information is now committed to long term memory and the only way to keep what we have learned in long term memory is to rehearse it continuously. The author gave some tips on how to maximize our memory capabilities such as studying in a well-lit area, be organized with study material and have everything you need before beginning, get 6-8 hours of sleep every night, and take planned breaks during studying
Preparations for tests should ideally begin much earlier than shortly before the actual test taking period. Indeed, many students perform dismally in their tests because of their failure to understand this and many other principles of test and exam preparation. In addition to discussing how students should prepare for tests, this text will also identify the various strategies which should be embraced by students during test taking in an attempt to enhance performance.
I don’t eat right and don’t concentrate well. I know staying up is not healthy and is not good for test taking. Around the time it comes to a test I stay up and cram and I’m so tired I might just put down anything and not care if the answer is right or wrong. Not eating right can also hurt your chances to pass a test. With me I would be thinking about food rather than the actual test. Even though I would know about a test in advance, I would not study until the night before. Sometime it worked but mostly it didn’t. Basically it was like trying to beat the system and you know you can’t do that. Cheating is not an option because it’s morally wrong. I would not get anything out of it. I also wouldn’t like the consequence’s. For multiple choice, true/false, and short answer test’s some hints could be to actually study and review your notes. Make sure you’re healthy and not stressed. Another thing I could do is eat right and not
Students dread the time of the year when they stop with their course material and begin to prepare for test. Everyone is in agreement that some type of revolution is needed when it comes to education; eliminating standardized test will aid the reform. The need for standardized testing has proven to be ineffective and outdated; some leading educationalist also believe this because the tests do not measure a student’s true potential. This will save money, stop labeling, and alleviate stress in students and teachers.
Important things to remember when taking notes is that you don’t have to write everything down and try to avoid having to get a classmates notes to copy. Another thing to do is read the textbook. When you read the textbook highlight important things that relate don’t just highlight facts and definitions. The last thing Dr. Chew talks about in this video is group studying. When you are in a group study make sure to set realistic goals and work towards them. If one of them members is causing you to not reach that goal because they are not focused ask them to leave. You also need to make sure the study doesn’t become a social gathering stay focused and on
The last theme I found presented in these sources is measurement of student success. Source number one, “Are Exams Bad for Children?”, explains that we can find better ways to measure a student’s learning abilities. Stephanie Schneider says, “More reliable methods of assessment can provide meaningful information that assist student learning, rather than a test that often serves as a punitive device” (30). The
Although standardized tests do not accurately represent a student’s performance and future, they do present the opportunity to test an individual’s general knowledge. The tests also give students the chance to test their test-taking efficiency and time management, whether or not the individual is under tremendous amounts of stress. With these assessments, students can rank their performance and improve for future tests.
Another great strategy I learned is that you should not study for an exam in your room. The best way to keep yourself from being frustrated or falling asleep is to keep moving. Whether is to hop from coffee shop to coffee shop every two hours in order to stay focused. Lastly, a great way to study is to do it with a group of people. However, it has to be the right people. As a student who is trying to get a good grade on an exam, the time you have before an exam should be effectively used. That means not having a study group with your closest friends because you’ll gossip all the time. It also means that you need to surround yourself with people who know the material. Sometimes it is good to help a classmate learn the material but, it cannot interfere with your own study plans. In other words, the study time has to be beneficial to everyone. Another way that you can get distracted is your cell phone. Turn off your cell phone when you study. There are extensions in google chrome that actually block distracting websites that you can go on when you
When it comes to test-taking, you cannot only visualize these images, but you can also almost feel, smell, and hear these outrages images. When having to remember the order that a certain list goes in, associate them with the order of objects you see as you walk through your house. Sometimes, metaphors can help you to remember concepts too. Another studying tip is to write down what you are trying to learn. Dr. Oakley has found that this encodes the material into your brain more. In addition to writing material down, reading it back to yourself can be very beneficial because you are using two senses now: sight, and
The test taking tutorial taught me different strategies for different types of test. For multiple choice test I have learned to eliminate options that are unrelated to the question. I learned to do that because I would sometimes just pick what sounded good and not really read the rest of the choices available. I also had a problem with essay test. One strategy I would use that is to check my answer for grammar, spelling, and completion. I used to not do that because I felt rushed, but when I would get my test back it would be all marked up with corrections that needed to be made, resulting in a bad grade. On matching test I learned to single out the correct answers by going down the left column and figuring out the questions that I knew and leaving the ones that I wasn’t to sure on, and that would make It easier to single out the right answers.
Standardized tests do not accurately measure a student’s intelligence or growth. There are multiple factors that could hinder a student’s performance on tests. First of which being test anxiety, not all students test well or perform well in high-intensity situations. Personal issues also play a large role in how well a student is able to perform on their test; if a student’s attention is elsewhere they are more likely to be less focused. Standardized tests also do not focus on
When a student merely reviews the information in a textbook or notes, but doesn’t take the time to test themselves to see if they really understand what they are reading or if they review the test questions while looking at the answers, it can have a negative effect on their test scores. However, if the student were to alter their study patterns they could not only do better on the test, but retain more of the information.
Studying is a task that seemed to be easy for me, but the quiz revealed I have major holes in my strategy. I scored a 31 out of 50 on the study habits quiz, this revealed that many things can be improved upon. The most beneficial study habit that I can obtain is learning how to study differently for every test. I can use models to study instead of reading a textbook, using models would grab my attention and engulf me into the content I am trying to learn. Receiving help from an instructor is something I rarely do. If I am struggling with a topic I need to contact my teacher instead of googling information about the subject. Using the internet to find information is dangerous because it does not always concur with the information my teacher
Harvard professor Chris Argyris promoted the concepts of espoused theories of action and theories-of-use. Espoused theories of actions reflect what people say governs their behavior, while theories-of-use reflects how they actually behave.
Similarly, Tests are a way to ensure students are keeping up with the material. Tests can be worth as much as 40% of the possible grade in the class; therefore, it keeps students fully aware that they must study in order to do good on the test or else receive a negative grade. In my experience, every assignment that has a big impact on my grade is on my high priority list, Therefore I study as much as I can. I even stay up for hours at night.