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exams
Periodically, I post on my blog short articles on key aspects of stress and anxiety, and mental health and well-being, especially related to higher education. Below are just a few of the resources on this blog - clustered in one place so they’re easier to find - that you might find helpful: [Read more]
by Bill Sheate
As part of ICU’s regular ‘Under Pressure’ campaign, I’m offering this free taster session ‘Anxiety, Stress, Worry?……’ for Imperial College London students that introduces some simple, practical techniques for understanding and dealing with stressful situations, anxiety and worry. Common for many students studying at Imperial (as elsewhere) are problems that arise in dealing with issues like perfectionism, and academic deadlines, workload and exams (at all levels - UG, PGT & PGR), as well as many other personal issues. …….
by Bill Sheate
Surprisingly, perhaps, procrastination is often used as a coping strategy; procrastinating - delaying doing something you need to do - in order to reduce the anxiety you might feel as you contemplate doing a task that might appear to be overwhelming, e.g. an essay; a group project; or revision for an exam. Procrastination is typically an avoidant behaviour, ……..
by Bill Sheate
Rob Rinder - in his recent comment piece (17 August 2018) for the London Evening Standard "Failing to get the exam results you want could be the best thing that happens to you — just look at me" - hit the nail on the head. As he said:
"I am convinced that the more pressure we place on the single moment of exam results, the more we detract from nurturing the intellectual and emotional range that turns young people into successful adults and good citizens…….”
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by Bill Sheate
As Holly Bradshaw prepared to compete in the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in Australia she revealed why what might seem to be failure can be the catalyst for a whole different way of looking at life. In an article in the London Evening Standard yesterday (12 April 2018) she revealed how important crashing out of the World Championships in London in 2017 had been in rediscovering a love of her sport and the process of competing...........
by Bill Sheate
Most university students’ approach to exams is shaped by their experience of exams at school, but this means that most are often poorly prepared for the different style of learning at university and the way in which exams are used, from undergraduate through to postgraduate level. Other forms of assessment are also increasingly utilised at university to assess the attainment of learning outcomes intended by the curriculum. But exams still have a role .............
by Bill Sheate
At advanced levels - especially postgraduate - exams are less about what you know and more about how you apply your knowledge and understanding to problem-based situations. They’re not there so much to test your knowledge, as to be part of making learning possible, for example as opportunities to apply higher order learning skills like analysis, synthesis and evaluation (and creativity). There are some very simple hints and tips that can make all the difference to your exam technique, especially for essay-type questions – the whole way in which you perceive an exam, approach it, prepare for it and sit it..........
by Bill Sheate
For many at university, exams and deadlines become the primary focus for their approach to learning, fueled in part by an education system prior to university that benchmarks individuals throughout their school career....... Turning the whole approach around can be a much more helpful way of looking at assessments and exams.........
