Abstract: In the course of research, it is found that the test anxiety of senior three students is widespread. To help and guide students out of exam anxiety, it is better to teach them some strategies and methods to get rid of exams. Therefore, in practice and exploration, some simple and easy-to-operate methods that students can adjust themselves are summarized, such as exercise emptying method, flexible goal method, deep breathing method and changing negative dialogue method. So as to help students help themselves in time and grow healthily and vigorously with a confident and sunny attitude.
Keywords: test anxiety; Self-regulation; Strategic approach
In the process of doing the project "Research on Strategies to Help Senior Three Students Get Out of Test Anxiety", it is found that there is a widespread problem of test anxiety in Senior Three. Teachers and students are busy preparing for the college entrance examination, paying attention to scores and rankings. If the anxiety problem does not reach a certain level, it is difficult for parents and teachers to pay attention. The students themselves lack simple and practical decoking methods, which not only affects their academic performance, but also affects their physical and mental health and even causes serious psychological problems. Combining educational practice, research and students' internal needs, this paper explores and summarizes some concrete, simple and easy-to-operate methods suitable for senior high school students to solve their own doubts, hoping to provide some help for their healthy growth.
First, the general understanding of test anxiety
Test anxiety is a state of psychological reaction characterized by anxiety and emotional tension about the success or failure of the test. Physiological manifestations are: rapid heartbeat, sweating skin, loss of appetite or overeating, sleep disorder, increased urination, fidgeting, accelerated breathing and elevated blood pressure. Mental manifestations are: anxiety, tension, anxiety, disappointment, stiff action, blocked memory, daze thinking, and even a blank brain.
Test anxiety exists before, during and after the test. Some students will have test anxiety at some stage. For example, they are assumed to fail and worry before the exam, but they return to normal after the exam. Some students are too nervous to concentrate on thinking and answering questions during the exam, and some have finished the exam. However, some students are anxious about the exam, and the anxiety and tension about the failure of the exam run through the whole exam.
Is anxiety a bad thing? No anxiety, is that a good thing? What is the relationship between anxiety level and academic performance? Psychological research shows that anxiety is not enough, laziness is too high, pressure is overloaded, and academic performance is not good. Moderate anxiety can improve the learning motivation and efficiency at ordinary times, and also help to improvise during the exam; Excessive anxiety will distract attention, hinder the normal level of play, and long-term excessive anxiety will also endanger mental and physical health. So the test anxiety we are talking about here refers to non-moderate anxiety.
Second, the strategies and methods of self-regulation of high school students' usual test anxiety
Influenced by subjective and objective factors, high school students will have different levels of test anxiety. Mastering certain self-regulation strategies and methods, appreciating them carefully, practicing constantly and practicing more on weekdays can help you save yourself and make yourself have the ability to recover.
1. Exercise evacuation method
Reading and sports are two wings of a person's healthy growth. Students who are troubled by exam anxiety often ignore the role of exercise. Exercise is a process of solitude, a process of quiet dialogue between oneself and body and mind. During exercise, I feel the changes of my body bit by bit. Negative emotions and mental garbage are excreted with sweat, which decomposes more dopamine and makes people gradually excited and happy. Exercise relieves stress, gradually relaxes the mood, and insisting on exercise can cultivate a person's willpower. Strong willpower is an essential element to overcome difficulties and dare to challenge. Exercise gives people strength.
Senior three students are advised to jog. First, jogging is different from running and doesn't need speed. It is more suitable to find yourself by slowly experiencing the feelings and changes of your body at your own pace. Second, the exercise cost is low. It only takes 15-20 minutes a day, like swimming and changing clothes takes a long time; Playing basketball and football is easy to get hurt, and senior three can't afford to get hurt; Sports that need to be carried out in cooperation with others can't really calm yourself down. You need to be alone for a while every day. Jogging is a good choice.
2. Elastic target method
Excessive self-expectation is the main cause of exam anxiety. When the goal is too high and the pressure increases, the brain releases resistance, and the fear and anxiety of difficulties follow. When you study at ordinary times, you should break down your goals into flexible goals with gradients and levels. Your ideal university is like a pyramid. When setting goals, you should list clearly: which university is the top of the pyramid and which university you want to go to most; Which university is located under the spire is the institution you can touch when you jump down; Which university is equivalent to the current level and can play a normal role in admission; Which university is guaranteed, in case of an accident such as a cold or fever during the exam, it is acceptable to be accepted by it.
Flexible goals, not only have a gradient of struggle, but also provide themselves with a variety of choices, rather than only one way to go. Changing "I must go to college" into "I hope to go to college" has a huge difference in psychological adjustment effect, although there is only one word difference. After setting flexible goals, the goal is decomposed into micro goals in daily preparation study. The amount of tasks is neither too much nor too little, and moderate is the best. Completing plans and goals every day will help you find confidence and happiness. Steady progress in learning, solid knowledge reserves, anxiety will be greatly reduced.
3. Focus solution
When you have exam anxiety, cognition is not as powerful as action. Looking for answers from a cognitive perspective, what happened to me, why I was so anxious, why I couldn't sleep, why I studied so hard but didn't make progress, why I was so miserable, and so on. Instead of being stuck in such a painful question and answer, it is better to find out what I need most and do it directly. For example, the common anxiety of students is that all subjects want to get good grades, but they can't keep up, so the grades of this course will improve, and maybe the grades of other subjects will decline. With the focus solution method, a project is broken, and it is not the gain and loss of a city and a pool, but the final outcome.
Focus solving, following the law of contradictions, and concentrating on solving major contradictions can make people see the positive effects of doing things and enhance their sense of accomplishment. This method is especially suitable for students with perfect personality, because one of the weaknesses of perfect personality is "sentimentality" and over-thinking, and the key solution is to dilute personal feelings and internal motives, take practical actions with willpower strategy, achieve results in actions, and establish self-confidence.
4. Laws that treat others rationally
Students who are anxious about exams tend to be biased. Research shows that among all kinds of relationships, high school students are most concerned about peer relationship. They failed in the exam, and they care about the opinions and visions of their peers. In the competitive environment of college entrance examination in the province, many students value the relationship between peers more than cooperation. What are classmates? Classmates are valuable resources. If the consciousness of competition among students is transformed into the consciousness of cooperative resources, everyone can win-win and develop continuously in cooperation.
I suggest that when you study on weekdays, on the one hand, you should pay more attention to yourself and less attention to others. Your own pace is the most comfortable. Appreciate the advantages of others, don't laugh at their shortcomings. You have your own characteristics, and I have my own style of play. On the other hand, you are not a zero-sum game if you have no sense of opposition with others. A peaceful, friendly and tolerant attitude is conducive to your interpersonal harmony and happy study.
5. Singing empowerment method
The vast majority of students love singing, and singing should be selective. Singing positive songs is conducive to relaxing mood, mobilizing mood and pressing the start button of happy mood. Singing can unconsciously get rid of negative and negative mental rubbish, constantly adjust one's psychology, relieve pressure and make one's work and life easier. High school students should consciously avoid those decadent voices and don't overestimate their self-control.
I suggest you choose a favorite inspirational song, such as Yang Peian's "I Believe" and Jason's "Reverse War". If you are tired, irritated or self-doubt, you can find an open space or sing loudly in your heart, cheer yourself up every day and constantly empower yourself. Sing and only sing this song, let this song become your inner iron, and constantly empower yourself instead of attacking yourself.
6. One "writes" a thousand Li Fa.
Senior high school students are psychologically hidden and don't like to say anything, especially to parents and teachers. I suggest you learn to use a "writing" method to write unpleasant, distorted and negative ideas on paper in one go, hard and fast. I feel tired but carefree after writing, then tear it up and throw it away to make it disappear. Tip: Don't make paper balls and throw them away. They are easily seen or picked up by others, adding psychological burden to themselves. You'd better tear it up and flush it into the sewer.
Third, the strategies and methods of self-regulation of anxiety in senior high school entrance examination
When a student walks into the examination room, no one can help her except himself. In the face of the big exam, blushing, heartbeat, nervousness, shortness of breath and so on are all normal reactions. Some students have a greater degree of reaction, and even have symptoms such as dizziness and loss. At this time, it is necessary to use certain self-regulation methods to relieve tension and anxiety.
1. Deep breathing method
Some people call it abdominal breathing. The specific method is: take a deep breath to reach your limit, and then exhale slowly, preferably accompanied by sound, with a feeling of emptying. Doing this four or five times can reduce anxiety. If you want to use it freely in the examination room, it is recommended that students practice four or five times a day on weekdays to master the essentials and taste the sweetness. The real college entrance examination room will play a great role.
2. Dark thoughts
Students can choose their favorite and familiar meditation scenes, such as imagining themselves coming to the seaside, facing the sea, stretching their arms and gently closing their eyes. Ear waves gently beat the coast, sea breeze gently brushed your face, I bathed in warm sunshine, warm, soft, open and broad. This feeling is so comfortable and relaxing. You can also imagine yourself smelling a delicate rose and other scenes. No matter which scene you choose to meditate, it is a process of relaxation, soothing and relieving stress and anxiety, which changes from tension to relaxation in your imagination.
3. Muscle relaxation method
When you feel nervous and anxious, you can consider using muscle relaxation. The specific way is: imagine yourself holding betel nut in one hand, and concentrate all your strength to push, push, and push again, just like holding water. I feel that I have done my best, and then slowly open my hand, and the tension of my hand is as extreme as possible, so that my muscles can relax well. I suggest you imagine the size of what you are holding in your hand. It should match the size of your hand and be hard.
4. Change the negative dialogue law
In the examination room, no matter what happens, we should have a positive dialogue with ourselves and change the way of negative dialogue. For example, if you get the exam, you can't do the first question. What are you talking about? If you say "it's over, the ideal university is ruined", I suggest changing from negative to positive and changing this sentence to "I have a problem, I can do the next one first"; If you say "they can all do it, I can't, I can't", I suggest to divert your attention and change it to "I have a problem, take a deep breath"; If you say, "I worked hard in vain, and I am a loser", I suggest you pay more attention to what you have done well instead of just focusing on your own failures and regrets, and change the dialogue mode of the previous sentence to "I was a little anxious in the exam today, but I still finished the exam, and I persisted and didn't become a deserter."
The same person, the same question and different ways of dialogue have great influence on the test results. Change the negative way of dialogue, use positive thinking, constantly empower yourself and cheer yourself up when you encounter difficulties.
The above-mentioned strategies and methods of self-regulating test anxiety rarely work alone in real life, and often several methods cooperate with each other and promote each other. They come from practice and have been tested by practice, and the application effect is better. Teaching students some self-adjustment methods to deal with exam anxiety, guiding them to know themselves better, care about themselves more and be smarter, is conducive to promoting the healthy growth of students' body and mind.
References:
[1][ America] Florence Littauer, Personality Analysis [M]. Beijing: Unity Press, 20 12.
[2][ America] Ben Bernstein, Overcoming Examination Anxiety [M]. Beijing: People's Posts and Telecommunications Publishing House, 2020.
[3][ America] Stephen Gass, Micro-habit [M]. Nanchang: Jiangxi People's Publishing House, 20 13.