Take a Deep Breath: How to Face Finals with Confidence and Calm The Center for Academic Success B-31 Coates Hall Louisiana State University Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Reflection Questions Do you have final exams that could “make or break” your overall grade? What other “stressors” are you experiencing? What may be causing your stress?

Is this YOU?

What is stress? Stress is a feeling that's created when we react to particular events. It's the body's way of rising to a challenge and preparing to meet a tough situation with focus, strength, stamina, and heightened alertness. http://kidshealth.org

A physiological and psychological response to a What is anxiety? A physiological and psychological response to a perceived danger. future

Internal/ External Demands and Pressures Eustress: Good stress--motivating Distress: Bad stress – disabling Future Attitudes Beliefs Values Past Experiences Vulnerability Factors: Genetic Predisposition Coping Skills, Life Style

Possible Affects of Distress: Burnout Illness Accidents Negative Perception of Self Ability to make good decisions/judgments Lack of Productivity Mistakes

So . . .should we try to eliminate all stress from our lives? Your brain loves to learn! It was made to learn. The problem is that many students have either never learned to use it with efficiency, or have had a bad experience that has made them think they don’t love to learn. But the truth is we love to learn.

Managing Your Stress Stress management starts with identifying the sources of stress in your life. One manages their stress by changing the way they respond to stress, making time for relaxation, and learning healthier coping strategies. Three Main Areas of Stress Reduction Physical Psychological/Emotional Relational/Environmental

Maintaining Balance Exercise Regular physical activity has been shown to decrease both anxiety and depression and to improve mood and self-esteem . Nutrition During high stress times is typically when people eat unhealthy. Eat regularly, include protein, avoid excessive carbs and sugar. Sleep Sleep loss may result in irritability, impatience, inability to concentrate, and moodiness.

Managing anxiety/ stress. Cognitive restructuring is the process of learning to refute cognitive distortions or fundamental "faulty thinking," with the goal of replacing one's irrational, counter-factual beliefs with more accurate and beneficial ones. It is NOT just “positive thinking”. It is NOT “just stop being anxious!” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_restructuring

Managing anxiety/ stress. Most things in life are conditional and this can be comforting when combating stress. Always, Never, Can’t, Shouldn’t are all words not based in reality. I will never do well can be replaced with a conditional statement like “I will do well if I study and go to class.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_restructuring

The Psychology of Learning . The Psychology of Learning The goal of Cognitive restructuring is to re-think the way we talk to ourselves—to begin to have an internal dialogue that is encouraging, empowering, motivating, yet TRUE. Cognitive Restructuring … is a strategy used to re-work the things we say to ourselves so we can take charge of some of our feelings associated with academic anxiety or frustration This is not simply “positive thinking”. Cognitive Restructuring is replacing the negative and self-defeating messages we say to ourselves with messages that are empowering and true. These new messages are most powerful when we decide to take full responsibility for our thoughts, actions and choices. It is refreshing when we accept the consequences of our choices and are empowered by new thinking. Did you know that you are talking to yourself? Right now—as you read, as you study, as you walk through the campus, you are saying things to yourself. What you are saying has a profound impact on the way you feel. And obviously, the way you feel affects your behavior and performance. If this is true, do we have control over our emotions—the way we feel? Cognitive Therapy proposes the answer is YES, we often do.

Success Stories Travis, junior psychology 47, 52, 82, 86 Robert, freshman chemistry 42, 100, 100, 100 Miriam, sophomore calculus 37.5, 83, 93 Michael, senior pre-medical 30, 28, 80, 91 Terrence, junior Bio-engineer [GPA 1.67 cum] 3.54 (F03), 3.8 (S04) Before I go any further I would like to share with you some stories that reveal why I do what I do. I will look forward to hearing some similar stories from some of you here today.

Using Effective Learning Strategies Use time efficiently. Use resources (i.e. professor’s office hours, tutorial centers, peers, online websites, etc.) Mastery of concepts . . not rote memorization only! Using Effective Learning Strategies

Bloom’s Taxonomy: Learning Levels Creating Evaluating Analyzing Applying Understanding Remembering Forming a unique product, requires creativity and originality. Understanding values, judging the validity of ideas or quality of work based on a set of criteria and profound understanding. Identifying components; determining arrangement, logic, and semantics. Solving problems; transferring abstract or theoretical ideas to practical situations. Restating in your own words; paraphrasing, summarizing, translating. Memorizing information verbatim, but not necessarily understanding the material.

The Study Cycle 4 Reflect 3 Review Preview before class. Review key terms, bold and italicized print, headings, outlines, formulas, images and graphs. Review chapter summary and objectives. Attend class - Ask questions, take creative, meaningful notes. Review – Repetition is the key to strengthening your brain’s neural-pathways and creating long term memory. Reflect on your Learning- teach someone else, create your own tests, recreate the test environment, figure out what ways of studying worked best, etc. 1 After Class (5- 10 min) Scan Class Notes – fill in ‘gaps’, provide direction, see if you have questions. 2 During the Week (30-50 min) Daily study sessions – One or two ISS daily (**Intense Study Sessions - short, spaced, focused learning – see below) 3 On the Weekend Pull it together - Review all notes from the week

Please write the following: Other Learning Strategies . . . Concept mapping “Making” Notes (Extending/Incorporating) Collaborative/group learning Teaching self/ others Pre-testing self/online tests

Mapping Select main concept from each lecture . . Add information that supports and clarifies. Write potential test questions. A map can be complicated and full of details. Notice the use of different shapes, colors and placement on the page. Get creative with your concept map designs.

Mapping. can be messy or more organized Mapping . . . can be messy or more organized . . . whatever works with your “personal learning style”. Concept #1 Concept #2 How are they similar? How are they different? If you are trying to prepare for an exam and are comparing and contrasting two concepts, this is an excellent exercise.

Mapping (Continued) This format “fits” many different learning styles and concepts. Test Preparation Get Organized Use Study Techniques Balance Life Class Material Time Continuous Process of Learning Intense Study Sessions Concept Mapping Physical Spiritual Emotional Intellectual Social And here is another perspective on preparing for tests. The previous map is more comprehensive and detailed, this map offers a brief overview of some of the strategies from our workshops. 1.goal 2.50 minutes 3.break 4.REVIEW 1.preview 2.Class 3.Review 4Intense Study Session REPEAT

Final thoughts . . . Uncover potential “stressors” and causes of anxiety. Find “balance”. Incorporate varied learning strategies. Be confident . . take control! Center for Academic Success B-31 Coates Hall www.cas.lsu.edu Louisiana State University Baton Rouge, Louisiana