Test-taking is on the minds of many high schoolers, especially as the college admissions process looms closer. Watching a video that explains the role of stress in test performance and suggests steps to alleviate its effects to help test takers prepare for exams. The presentation provides both ideas for test preparation and the test-taking situation.

Concepts

test preparation, test-taking strategies, stress management

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Additional Tags

social studies

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Instructional Ideas

• Before watching the video, ask learners to discuss their most stressful test-taking experiences; afterward, ask them how they plan to change their behaviors based on the information they received
  

Classroom Considerations

• Narrator is difficult to understand at times; provide copies of the transcript for students to follow along
  
• Includes medical terminology; provide definitions or pre-teach if necessary
  

Pros

• Contributes to students’ self-understanding about how test-taking situations affect them
• Pertinent psychological facts may prompt test takers to reconfigure their approaches to test preparation

Cons

• Use of a voice-over artist who mispronounces a key word repeatedly may detract from listeners’ ability to process the information in this video