Teachers and parents are always on the lookout for strategies to help children deal with exam pressure. Children with learning disabilities need a little more help to cope with this stress. There is a lot of anxiety due to which they are not able to actually focus on their studies during exams.
There are many alternatives we, as parents and teachers can use to encourage, motivate and inspire our children to shed their anxiety.
The child should be taught to have a positive attitude towards his or her learning. Turn “I can’t do this” to “We can do this together”. Positive reinforcements like rewards should be given to the child. The parent or teacher should model a positive attitude and show the child that there are positive outcomes. This can be emphasized by first giving them a comfortable environment. Do not talk about their earlier academic performance. Praise their efforts. Boost their morale. Let them know that you are always there for them.
There are many relaxation techniques that can be practiced regularly with the child at home and in school. Something as simple as yogic breathing exercises like anulom–vilom (an alternate nostril breathing exercise to calm the mind and the body) can help. Guided visualization is another technique where the children are guided by the parent or teacher to close their eyes and imagine themselves at a particular place doing something that they love to do. The best relaxation technique is getting the child to sleep for at least 8 - 10 hours. If fresh they will be able to focus & recall better.
Break big tasks into smaller ones to help the children achieve them easily. This helps motivate them to do the next task. For example, a big question can be broken down into smaller questions so that the child is able to understand and remember the answer.
Small 10-minute toilet, food, play breaks should be given to the children at regular intervals. This will help the child to focus on the task given for the next hour.
Learning can be made fun by adding humour to the task. Use stories, videos on the subject, newspaper articles, flash cards etc. to help the child relate to the content being studied. This will help the child recall better. Sharing personal experiences can motivate the child to do better. Parents and teachers are role models to children and they would want to emulate them.
A large portion during exams is overwhelming for the child. The burden can be lightened by prioritizing, organizing & scheduling what to study and when. Involve the child in the planning. Sit together and identify goals. Make a list of tasks to be done. Then schedule the study timetable along with necessary breaks. A day to day study can be scheduled and the child should do it at his or her pace. This should be planned and done much before the exams. The child should be in sync with the parent so that he is prepared for the tasks to be done.
Avoid last minute preparation for the exams. This will stress the child more. Once the child has studied a particular topic, have a mock test. This will help the parent and the child to identify the errors. This will also help boost their confidence in giving an exam. There should be a lot of repetition as children tend to forget fast. Schedule pre-tests in the same format as the school so that it is not new to the child.
Observe the child to see if there are any signs of anxiousness. Take the child into confidence and let him or her know that they can rely on you for any problem they may face. Encourage the child to confide in you as a parent or teacher about their fears, anxiety, or any other problems they face. Appreciation and encouragement from the people they admire like their parents and teachers makes a big difference to them.
Children often get motivated when they know there is support from their parents and teachers. Pre-exam jitters are faced by all students. Special Ed schools like TABIS have always supported and motivated their students to do better.
Author: Sharmila Gokarn, Teaching Faculty - Senior
The Aditya Birla Integrated School
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