The following are some interesting and creative strategies to help your students reach their full potential and perform better on tests:
1. The Power of Positive Thinking
How many times have people told us, or have we told others, “Think positively!” Turns out, that simple piece of advice may be some of the best you’ll ever give or receive.
In fact, positive self-talk encourages the brain to release helpful chemicals, dopamine and adrenaline, in the right amounts to the frontal lobe, the part of the brain responsible for problem solving, judgment, and memory.
Teach your students to be ‘mind detectives’ and, when they experience test fright, to think about what messages they are sending to their brains. Teach them how to identify and use positive self-talk so their brains release the right chemicals for their working memory during times of stress.
2. Water Your Brain!
We are “electrical” beings and our brain’s neurons work by electrical connections. Water has been found to be the best thing we can use to facilitate the thinking process because of its capacity to conduct electricity and assist cell function.
Carla Hannaford, author of a best-selling book on brain exercises, says, “Water comprises more of the brain (with estimates of 90%) than of any other organ of the body.”
So, a simple drink of water before a test or before going to class can have a profound effect on a student’s brain’s readiness to work. On the other hand, coffee or soda will have the opposite effect since these will upset the electrolytes in the brain.
3. Simon Says, “Study!”
I was presenting a seminar a couple of years ago and we were talking about ways to help students improve their memory, especially for students with attention issues.
At one point a very seasoned teacher came up to me and said, “Do you know what I do? Every day I shut the door and I play Simon Says with my students.”
She said she taught middle school and that her eighth graders loved it. Then she said that she had noticed they paid attention better all the time. They listened better and they were ‘present’ when she was giving instructions. She said,“It’s the Simon Says.”
Sometimes these types of activities, like Simon Says or other games, may seem like something we shouldn’t be doing in the test-frenzied world we live in right now, but these activities make neurological connections in the brain that cross over disciplines. Simon Says may be a game in the moment, but the neural connections that are made will be used in other places in the classroom and help on tests too!