The Five Secrets to Helping Students Ace Midterm Exams


Many students are coming back in the new year to face midterms in mid to late January. After the holiday break, it can be difficult for many students to hit the ground running and properly prepare for these looming exams.  

What are the Five Secrets to Acing Midterms?
  1. A few weeks before exams, plan a study schedule.  This includes:
    1. Estimating the amount of time it will take to prepare for midterms for each class.
    2. Filling in a blank calendar with all the study times allocated.
    3. Creating a study plan for each course.  This might include putting information on index cards, creating study sheets, predicting essay questions, entering exam content into sites like Quizlet, planning out appointments with teachers, or creating study groups.
  2. Review and Organize Materials: This includes past tests, assignments, notes, readings, labs, and handouts.
  3. Create a Daily Routine: Make a conscious effort to avoid distractions such as email, social media and television, decide on the best time to study each day, and stick to your study schedule. 
  4. Utilize memory strategies:  Memory strategies help learners organize information before they store content in long term memory and quickly retrieve the needed information upon command.  If you would like to read about memory strategies and download a handout, come on over to my blog post: 12 Memory Strategies That Maximize Learning
  5. Prepare the mind and body: Stress, lack of sleep, and a poor diet can all wreak havoc on the brain’s ability to recall information.  Get enough sleep before exam days.
    1. Eat a healthy meal and avoid sugar and processed foods the day of the exam.
    2. Calm your mind by visualizing the grade you hope to achieve and make sure to make a conscious effort to relax your body and breathe.  

If you would like to learn more about managing test anxiety, come read my blog post: 12 Strategies for Overcoming Test Anxiety.

If you would like to learn about my ready made materials that help students with test taking as well as planning, time management and organization, Click here  
Dr. Erica Warren is the author, illustrator and publisher of multisensory educational materials at Good Sensory Learning and Dyslexia Materials.  She is also the director of Learning to Learn and Learning Specialist Courses.  To learn more about her products and services, you can go to http://www.learningspecialistcourses.com/, https://godyslexia.com/, www.goodsensorylearning.com, www.dyslexiamaterials.com & www.learningtolearn.biz  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Accommodating Students with Dyslexia: 12 Strategies for Success

Image
Students with dyslexia or symptoms of dyslexia often struggle in school. It is not that they have limited abilities.  On the contrary, many have IQs in the above average or genius range. As a result, instead of a dumbed down curriculum, these students need to be challenged and they need to receive accommodations, modifications and multisensory teaching techniques to unleash their learning potential.   What makes it difficult to accommodate students with dyslexia is that each student has their own unique strengths and weaknesses. Yes, two students with dyslexia don’t have the same pattern of cognitive processing deficits. In fact, there are a number of profiles that can lead to this diagnosis . In addition, there are a number of specific cognitive skills that can cause symptoms of dyslexia . Consequently, a successful remediation often requires a tailored, individualized approach.  To tap into the quickest results, I have learned that one has to look at the specific cognitive difficul
Read more

Finding the Best College for Students with Learning Disabilities

Image
Finding the best college is tricky for any student, but for those with learning disabilities (LDs) it can be an even bigger feat.  In fact, the perfect school is out there for practically anyone, but finding it, takes some time and persistence.  There are a number of options for students with LDs from colleges that cater primarily to this population to larger universities that offer specialized programs.  With the proper testing in hand, all schools are mandated to provide reasonable accommodations, but not all institutions make it an easy task. What Are My Options? Pre-colleges for Students with Learning Disabilities: These programs help to prepare students for the rigors of college and make sure they have the study skills, basic math, reading and writing capabilities needed to be a successful student.  This might be a summer program or an additional year - commonly called a 13th year.  For example, Thames at Mitchell College is a unique transition program on a college campus. Coll
Read more

Important Dyslexia Accommodations in the Classroom

Image
Getting a school to recognize, test, and then accommodate your child with dyslexia can be an arduous and frustrating task. Although public school systems can accommodate the individual needs of our struggling students, many administrators don’t like to tap into the general education coffers for a single student. As a result, parents often have to rally and wrestle to obtain reasonable accommodations for their children with dyslexia and other disabilities that impact learning. The key to navigating this slippery slope is to understand the laws, the lingo as well as the menus of mandated accommodations and modifications. What are my Options? There are two options for acquiring accommodations: 504: A 504 is a formal plan that protects the rights of students with disabilities in school. Covered under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, this civil rights law gives students with disabilities access to services and supports in the general education classroom. There are no mandated rules on
Read more