Written by Li-Hsian Choo
The Most Important Message for Children about Exams
The exam season for some schools is just around the corner. The well-being of children must always be prioritised. So, the most important message children need to receive moving into any exam is that their marks do not measure their worth or value as a person.
Competition can be good for motivating children to work harder and do better work. However, using competition in a way that creates artificial motivation for children to achieve can be counterproductive. Unhealthy competition is an ineffective tool to inspire real learning and genuine effort. Children will only learn well if they are curious about the content and understand the context surrounding what they are learning.
Traditionally, schools tend to challenge children to mindlessly compete for grades, class rankings, and special awards. Children are constantly measured against their classmates, rather than being recognised for their personal progress. It is no wonder that a lot of mean behaviour surfaces from these situations. Some children who are academically ahead feel a need to put down those they perceive as ‘losers’ in order to feel like ‘winners.’ There is no spirit of community or camaraderie. Everyone becomes afraid of making mistakes that affect their marks or rankings.
We should emphasise that a child’s main competitor should be himself or herself, and the goal is to become a better version of themselves compared to their performance in the previous school year. Competition is there only to spur us on to achieve this self-improvement goal.
Even though every child’s learning capacity is different, there are some practical tips we can use to help our children get through the exam season. They are listed below.
1. Ensure They Get Enough Sleep
According to research shared by the Sleep Foundation, “Poor sleep impacts your memory, creativity, and logical reasoning. In other words, not sleeping enough impairs all the skills you need to perform well on a final exam. When students miss out on sleep, they have a tougher time paying attention, and it’s harder for their brains to commit new information to memory.”
Usually, many students will opt to cram instead of sleep thinking the extra time studying will benefit them on their exams. However, the research says the opposite. Yet other studies have found that it’s not enough to sleep well the night before your exam. To enjoy the maximum benefits of good sleep, you need to sleep well for at least a week leading up to your exam. In one study, researchers found that the previous night’s sleep had no impact on test scores. When researchers assessed the students’ sleeping habits leading up to an exam, however, they discovered that those who slept longer and enjoyed better sleep quality in the week and the month beforehand did get better grades
So, it may be worthwhile to get children to go to bed early regularly, more so during exam season. Encourage them to take a nice warm shower and wind down with a cup of warm milk or herbal tea. Also, ensure that their bedrooms are cool, dark, and screen-free to help them get the quality sleep that they need.
2. Keep Them Well-Fed and Watered for Exams
Exam revision normally means late nights, stress, missed meals, and quick food fixes. These poor habits wreak havoc with our ability to concentrate, absorb information, and function properly.
For the exam day itself and also in the period leading up to an exam, children need to focus on foods that supply a steady source of energy (known as low glycaemic index or low GI foods) as they are ideal fuel sources of energy for a hard-working brain. They also need foods rich in essential micronutrients like zinc, iron, and vitamin B12. Hydration levels are also important as water is essential for your brain cells to communicate. Even mild dehydration may slow the speed at which your brain processes information. UK’s NHS recommends you drink around 1.2 litres (or six to eight glasses) of hydrating fluid a day, most of which should be water.
BBC Good Food site recommends some brain-boosting foods that you should eat before exams as these keep our brain well-oiled and our memory sharp:
- Dark chocolate has been shown by research to improve blood flow to the brain, so eating dark chocolate (with 70% cocoa) within 2 hours of your exam may help verbal memory (memory of words and things involving language) and mood.
- Eggs are one of the best dietary sources of choline, a little-talked-about nutrient that is needed for the formation of cell membranes and brain function, including the all-important memory.
- Avocado, a food rich in healthy, mono-unsaturated fats, is also useful for promoting blood flow. It oxygenates the brain and helps it work optimally. Avocado is also rich in protective plant compounds that may boost brain function.
- Oats provide a steady source of energy that helps to power you through those long-cramming sessions. It will keep your focus and concentration sharp on exam day.
- Oily fish like salmon, sardines, and mackerel, may improve brain function and flexibility, and help maintain your attention. If you don’t like fish, try chia seeds or flaxseeds.
Having a nutritious energy-boosting low GI breakfast on exam day is critical to your child’s success so have them start the day with slow-release whole grains like oats as these provide a steady supply of energy. Alternatively, try a combination of eggs for memory, avocado to support blood flow, and wholemeal bread for a steady supply of fuel.
3. Help Them Design a Good Study Space, Acquire Good Revision Strategies
You may like to revisit our holistic guide that talks about how to help your child co-design a good home-learning space and develop practices that will keep them happy and healthy as they study.
Alongside an optimal study space, children need to be aware of effective revision strategies to make the best use of their study time. If your child is unsure which revision strategies might work well for them, you can get them to try some of the strategies below:
- Retrieval practice: You will remember more if you practice retrieving ideas from memory. Practice recalling the main idea, the relationships between them, and also relevant examples, not just definitions. One way to do this is to take good notes, put away those notes, and then try to write down everything you can remember before checking your notes again. You can also use flashcards and mind maps to recall key ideas. Using past exam papers is another way, but only check your answers against the marking scheme after you have finished.
- Interleaving for deeper learning: According to this article in Edutopia, if “used strategically, interleaving challenges students to learn in smart, adaptive ways instead of relying on too much rote learning and muscle memory.” It explains that “a tennis player might practice her forehand before building up to a backhand—mastering skills in isolation makes sense and sequencing them from easiest to more difficult is a tried-and-true strategy. Eventually, though, alternating forehands with backhands and volleys makes for a more adaptable, flexible player. Similarly, when we give students opportunities to work through combinations of related ideas and concepts – a technique called interleaving - instead of limiting them to a one-skill-at-a-time approach, it allows them to store information more deeply, challenging them to tease out patterns and form connections.” Read the article to get more ideas on how your children or their teachers can apply this technique. You can ask them to spread their revision over a reasonable amount of time so they have the opportunity to disentangle different ideas that come to them mixed up in different ways. For example, 8 hours on one topic spread over 2 weeks interspersed with other topics is better than focusing on a topic for 8 hours all at once. Ask them to make links between key ideas from different topics, and to connect them in unique ways.
- Focus their learning but also let their minds wander: Encourage children to remove distractions when studying. Don’t just turn phones and devices off, but put these (if not directly being used in revision work) in a different room. Allow for some offline downtime to allow your children’s brains to consolidate their learning. Anything that allows their minds to wander and relax is good. Get them to go for a walk outside, swim, doodle, paint, or do something with their hands. Try to avoid screen time as that engages the brain in different ways, so no watching Netflix or checking social media accounts.
4. Teach Them How to Answer Exam Questions, Avoid Common Exam Mistakes
Many children under-perform during exams and tests not due to a lack of knowledge but due to a poor understanding of exam question formats, and answering techniques. This may affect a child’s confidence and hence lower their exam performance indirectly.
Read this article on how to understand and answer every type of exam question and also this other article that provides some good tips on helping your child avoid common exam mistakes.
5. Encourage Mindfulness, Teach Children to Stay Calm
We should teach children how to respond and react in stressful situations. They need to realise that when we take time to slow down and deepen our breathing in stressful situations, our muscles relax and our subconscious brain processes the message that we are safe.
When we feel safe, we are more likely to be able to think clearly about complex ideas. During tests and exams, if children can remind themselves to stop, take a deep breath, and relax their shoulders, they are likely to feel better and do better. In the period leading up to exams, children can also practice mindfulness with some daily meditations. There are many good online resources like “Meditation Practice Before Exams and Tests” by The Paper Girls show, a series that helps guide children through mindful breathing techniques, visualisations and positive affirmations to self-soothe and use throughout the day when needed.
Good luck children (and parents)! Remind yourselves that every exam, whatever the result or outcome, is also a good learning opportunity.
