By Neetin Agrawal, Senior Vice President, SuperTeacher
Lakhs of students appear for class 10th board exams in India every year. These board exams are regarded as one of the most important milestones in a student’s academic life. This is why the stress caused during these exams is best addressed than avoided.
The urge to pass the class 10th board exams with good grades can sometimes impact the mental health of the students. They might end up worrying about the exam at a time when they should be focusing all their efforts on revisions.
Exam stress can further reduce their self-confidence levels, leading to poor performance and outcomes. Hence, it is very crucial for teachers to boost the morale of the students. SuperTeacher has come up with some key tips to motivate the students right before exams:
Understand Students’ Interests
It is a good practice for teachers to know the strengths and weaknesses of the students. Teachers can know their students better by conducting unique sessions centred around “get to know you” discussions. These kind of sessions can be held on a monthly basis. Activities like clubbing students with similar interests into groups, assigning writing or speaking tasks can help in increasing students’ enthusiasm for the subject.
Provide Personal Feedback
One-to-one mentoring can be of great help for students to gear up before the exams. This can be an opportunity for the students to clarify all their individual doubts and understand the concepts better. They could also open up about the challenges in studies during these interactions. By providing personalized feedback, teachers can better understand each student’s capability. However, the onus remains on the teachers to encourage the young learners to speak during personal mentoring sessions.
Plan Early Revision
Students should ideally complete their syllabus at least a month before the exam. Teachers should ultilze the final few weeks in encouraging the students to revise the concepts. They can revise using mock tests or previous year exam papers. Solving mock tests and previous years’ papers will instill a feeling of confidence and preparedness in the students.
Encourage Collaboration and Competition
Teachers should encourage the idea of collaboration and competition by pairing up students. They should be encouraged to justify their ideas or articulate an answer while working in pairs. This fosters peer correction and effective analysis of their own progression.Teachers can promote teamwork and this will help the students to learn from each other. Such activities will also expose them to a diverse set of ideas.
Schedule Regular Breaks
Exhaustion remains one of the biggest reasons for students’ demotivation right before the exams. The ability to think rationally is impaired on a greater scale when a person is tired and studies for long hours without taking timely breaks. It is advisable to have regular breaks during study sessions to strike the right balance between studies and recreation. Hence, teachers should help students prepare study timetables which have regular intervals in between.
Exercise a Little
Stress can be a major contributor to underperformance during exams. It is a proven fact that regular exercise keeps both the mind and body healthy. Practicing simpler exercises like meditation or yoga can make the students’ mind feel more relaxed. This will help them to stay composed and concentrate better.
Conclusion
Keeping student’s motivated peaked during board examinations is of utmost paramount. It is easy to motivate them if they have achievable goals, take regular breaks, revise concepts in advance and perform exercises. A teacher can understand students’ interest and plan early revision to prepare them for one of the most important exams of their lives.