Students today experience stress much more than their parents. It can manifest in many different ways. Test anxiety if left untreated can be debilitating for the student. As a teacher, we should foster a safe environment for students to learn. If a teacher could change simple teaching techniques could it lower student test anxiety? Are there coping mechanisms that can be taught to a student that can be used successfully during high anxiety testing situations? The purpose of this study is to test various teaching techniques and coping mechanisms for students to see if they reduce student test anxiety. I want to use the information that I gather to create a template that teachers can use as a guide when creating lesson plans. The present
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Fortunately, she did not pass out and she was able to complete her test. The unfortunate reality is that this occurs more often than not. It is a daily fight she has. I originally became interested in students who have high test anxiety when my daughter was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder in 11th grade. She had always had high test scores and a 4.0 GPA but shortly after she started having panic attacks it became increasingly difficult for her to concentrate on her homework, the focus during class, and she started having panic attacks at school during test taking situations. I determined after talking with her and her therapist that test anxiety is a common problem among students and not widely recognized by the teachers. If teachers were given the tools to help the students deal with anxiety such as assessments that give students anxiety-reducing choices, would student anxiety decrease and grades improve?. Test anxiety can manifest itself physiologically (increased heart rate, shaking, excessive perspiration, difficulty sleeping), cognitively (worrying thoughts), or a combination of both(Chamberlain, Daly, & Spalding, 2011; Salend, 2011). Research shows that students who have a high level of test anxiety perform lower than students who have low test anxiety (Chamberlain, et al., 2011; Birenbaum, 2007). There are a number of different teaching techniques and coping mechanisms that teachers can use to assist students who experience high test
Fortunately, she did not pass out and she was able to complete her test. The unfortunate reality is that this occurs more often than not. It is a daily fight she has. I originally became interested in students who have high test anxiety when my daughter was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder in 11th grade. She had always had high test scores and a 4.0 GPA but shortly after she started having panic attacks it became increasingly difficult for her to concentrate on her homework, the focus during class, and she started having panic attacks at school during test taking situations. I determined after talking with her and her therapist that test anxiety is a common problem among students and not widely recognized by the teachers. If teachers were given the tools to help the students deal with anxiety such as assessments that give students anxiety-reducing choices, would student anxiety decrease and grades improve?. Test anxiety can manifest itself physiologically (increased heart rate, shaking, excessive perspiration, difficulty sleeping), cognitively (worrying thoughts), or a combination of both(Chamberlain, Daly, & Spalding, 2011; Salend, 2011). Research shows that students who have a high level of test anxiety perform lower than students who have low test anxiety (Chamberlain, et al., 2011; Birenbaum, 2007). There are a number of different teaching techniques and coping mechanisms that teachers can use to assist students who experience high test