Lesson 12 Topic: Avoiding test anxiety and test taking Time: 80min Lesson Outline

Lesson 12
Topic: Avoiding test anxiety and test taking
Time: 80min
Lesson Outline:

1. 
   Introduction 5 minutes
   
2. 
   Common pitfalls in examinations15 minutes
   
3. 
   Preparing for exams15 minutes
   
4. 
   In the exam 10 minutes
   
5. 
   Types of test questions and 15 minutes
   

strategies for answering them

6. 
   Self-check 5 minutes
   
7. 
   Managing stress 15 minutes
   

Materials:PPP- Tests; Test-Taking Strategies
Handout 1-Common pitfalls in examinations
Handout 2- In the exam
Handout 3-Exam Strategy
Handout 4- Spot the signs
Handout 5- Managing Stress
Stella Cottrell (2013) The Study Skills Handbook, 4th edition, Palgrave Macmillan
Lesson aim:to define and practice test and stress managementstrategies
LessonObjectives:

• 
  to discuss ways of test preparation
  
• 
  to create tips for stress management
  

1. 
   Introduction
   

Ask students what they think about exams; how they feel during exams, what is the purpose of conducting exams/tests. After the discussion introduce the topic of the lesson.


Suggested answers:


The purpose of exams: The main purpose of exams is for lecturers to check that you understand the work covered on the course and to ensure that the work which demonstrates this is entirely your own. Preparing for exams involves a high release of energy and an unusual degree of focus. These produce a very intense kind of learning that is not easy to reproduce under any other conditions.


Some advantages of examinations: There are some positive benefits from exams!

• 
  You cannot be expected to give very long or detailed answers in exams: you need to use less information than in a comparable piece of coursework. As a result, less in-depth research and reading may be needed than if you were set additional coursework.
  
• 
  You don't have to write out references or bibliographies in full at the end.
  
• 
  Examiners are generally more sympathetic about weak presentation, minor grammatical errors, spellings, and forgotten details than lecturers are for coursework.
  
• 
  Compared with continual assessment, there is less pressure on you throughout the year.
  

2.