As a teacher, it is the responsibility to not only teach your students but also test your students. This is an indirect test of your teaching capability. In addition, a teacher knows his/her students extremely well, including their strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, examinations are important to test the student and identify the areas for improvement. The time of examination is crucial in a student’s life as they progress to the next step of life. A teacher is important in helping a student to prepare. This blog details various ideas for teachers to help the students prepare for the examinations. By implementing these steps, a teacher will be able to prepare his/her student to face the exams with confidence.
1. Form a plan
Exam preparation is successful when the individual is equipped with an exam plan. Before the preparation commences, students must be provided with a solid plan for studying various subjects. Exam syllabus can be often overwhelming and without a proper plan, students may face difficulty in studying, preparing and accomplishing the entire piece in the allotted time. Planning involves allocating timing and specific learning areas. During planning, as a teacher, you can provide your students with reading recommendations that will help them write the exam properly.
Here's the stepwise manner to form a study plan:
Form a timetable for everyday study schedule
Allot time along with specific part of exam syllabus
Form a list of additional reading and allot a separate time
Fix timing for a study break
Ensure your students stick to the timings and do not prolong the break
Although the above steps show a general approach, every student has a unique learning style. A single, common strategy cannot be followed by all of the students. Therefore, it is important that you spend some time with your students and identify their strengths and abilities before preparing to build a learning timetable based on their comfort and capabilities. If the timetable is formed based on the student’s comfort as well as requirements, allows students to study stress-free. It also inculcates confidence in students as they prepare and study for the exam.
2. Help students to revise
During the examination, the most important aspect is to recall what was learned during the preparation stage. Hence, a student can study the entire syllabus for an extended length of time but it will not help students thrive in their disciplines if are unable to retain what is studied. After studying an exam portion properly, the teacher must encourage the student to practice and revise the portion to enhance their retention skills. It also assists students in determining the areas for improvement such that the students can increase their grades and perform better in the examination.
As a teacher, you can help students revise by:
Taking a quick (15 minutes) revision session for each topic
Including practices tests in the exam preparation plan
Conduct mock examinations to prepare students for the exam as well as help them in their time management skills
3. Allow and encourage study breaks
Every student holds a different capacity to inculcate information at a different pace. If a student is continuously studying, they may not be able to process information properly beyond a certain point. It is necessary that you allow your students to take a break from exam preparation.
The breaks should not be to do anything study related or re-learn whatever is in the textbooks. This would easily cause students to lose focus and become distracted. Hence, to prevent this from happening, the breaks are for the students to rest their minds and have some time for them to unwind. This time should be utilized to talk to a friend, play with them, get a coffee, or refreshing activities to boost productivity.
4. Help students to increase their capability and confidence
During exam preparation, a student will be immensely stressed that can decrease their self-confidence and even impact their health. The exam preparation involves many aspects that may feel pressurising to the students. Apart from their studies, they would have a lot on their minds. If the stress is allowed to continue to grow, the student may not be able to study properly and score poorly in the exams.
As a teacher, your role also includes ensuring that the student's confidence remains intact and that they are not constantly subjected to stress. Therefore, as a teacher, you should spend extra time with your students and check in on them frequently. Converse with your students to understand their feelings about the examinations and if they are stressed.
Make sure that your students can approach you if necessary and that you are significantly responsible for boosting their confidence. Make them feel at ease by providing your assistance anytime they require it, and also provide some exam suggestions for students. It is important to appreciate or even reward students who study consistently and perform well on practice examinations. The prize could be in the form of appreciation, chocolates or any other material. This boosts their confidence and ensures that they are performing successfully.
5. Take care of health
Although exams are important, in any case, health is the most important factor. During exam preparation, students often neglect their health. This does not do well in the long run since no one can achieve success unless they take care of their health.
As a teacher, you must always check in on your students to see if they are eating on time, getting enough sleep, and taking care of their health. If you find that they are not, you must explain to them the importance of health. Unhealthy eating or lack of sleep impacts a student's academic performance. Therefore, communicate with the parents to ensure the good health of the student.
Conclusion
Teachers who are helping students prepare for exams need to go beyond academics and become more attentive. In addition, the teacher must encourage the student to revise as well as take breaks to unwind. Teachers are also responsible for offering a comfortable study place and building their confidence. These are some of the essential ways to help students prepare for the exams without negatively impacting their health.
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