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If Your Mind Goes Blank on the Test

Tags

Study Skills & Tools All Ages Strategy

Skills

Anxiety Self-regulation Working Memory Attention Verbal Memory Visual Memory

If Your Mind Goes Blank on the Test

If your student "freezes" on tests

Teach It!

  1. Objective: Students will use strategies to help with test anxiety and the feeling of blanking out.
  2. Teacher Takeaways: The more anxious a student is, the harder it is for them to access what they know and perform on a test. Guide students to overcome challenges of not remembering or drawing a blank during a big test by modeling the strategies on the next slide.

*students* Guide: When You Draw A Blank On A Test

  1. Take a deep breath and still your body before even trying to respond.
  2. Use positive self-talk to relax. Remind yourself how well you studied and give yourself time. This is especially true if you are having difficulty with something you are sure you know. It will likely come back to you if you stay calm.
  3. Try moving to a different section of the test and coming back to the current section later. You might even take a break to use the bathroom, stretch, or get a drink of water to help you effectively re-group.
  4. Use scrap paper to jot down the information you know. It can help your mind make the connections to the information that you are "missing" and aid in your recall.
  5. Remember that you can jot down a key formula or date on your test as soon as the teacher hands it out. This can calm any fears of forgetting. Then you can refer to it during the test if and when you need it.

Why It Works (the Science Of Learning)!

The hormones released when we feel nervous or stressed can interfere with complex thought processes and memory. Students with anxiety might notice that the more stressed they are, the more difficulties they have with working memory which has a direct effect on how efficiently they can work. Taking a deep breath and relaxing when you feel nervous can slow your heart rate and keep your emotions in check so that you can think more clearly.