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 my current strategies.
Helpful Test Taking Strategies
Tests usually have significant validity on your grade. The better you are prepared for different types of tests, the better grade you will receive. (Meyers, 2000) Some helpful test strategies that I gathered from this assignment include: techniques for reducing test anxiety, avoid reading into the question, avoid changing answers, learning how to study in a manner that works best, and improving retention of information.
Test anxiety is an unpleasant experience and can interfere with test performance. This is one area that I struggle with myself. Linda Anne Silvestri suggests incorporating some of the following techniques in order to reduce anxiety while preparing for and taking an exam. First, evaluate yourself to determine what may be causing the anxiety. Is it stress, pressure to succeed, or negative thoughts? Second, figure out techniques that will help to reduce the anxiety such as: avoid procrastination, relaxation techniques before and during an exam, maintain a healthy lifestyle and diet, and maintain a positive attitude which will lead to success.(Silvestri, 2010) In that moment of despair, when my memory just seems to go blank, I often find myself digging
References: Ackley, B. & Ladwig, G. (2008). Nursing diagnosis handbook: An evidence-based guide to planning care, (8th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Mosby, Inc., an affiliate of Elsevier Inc. Kaplan Nursing: Lipponcott, W. a.(n.d.) Kaplan Nursing. Retrieved September 1, 2011, from Kaplan nursing: How to study, Nursing school success http://www. nursing.kaplan.com/student/User_Home.aspx# Meyers, J.N. (2000). The secret of taking any test. Learning Express Silvestri, L. A. (2010). Saunders strategies for success for test success: Passing nursing school and the NCLEX exam. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders an imprint of Elsevier.