As the exam period approaches, Tutopiya wishes to provide our parents and students with all the help they need. Exam confidence is one of the factors that help contribute to exam success. Hence here are 11 powerful ways parents can help their child gain exam confidence.
Read also: Apply These 7 Secret Techniques To Overcome Exam Stress
11 powerful ways you can help your child gain exam confidence
1 – Take note of the dates of the examinations
Go through the dates of the examination with your child by jotting it down in a calendar and referring to it daily. It helps to mentally prepare your child for what is going to come next which can help to reduce any build-up stress and anxiety.
2 – Go through the assessment criteria together with your child
Be sure to run through the assessment criteria such as what is tested, the format of the exam papers, and how the grading system is for each section of the paper. This helps to familiarize your child with the exam and can help to reduce any built-up stress and anxiety.
3 – Boost exam confidence by ensuring that they have everything they need
Preparing your child well for examinations also includes ensuring that they are well prepared physically for the exam. Make sure that they have all the required tools for their examination. Especially for the Math exam, do make sure that your child has all the essential tools such as a calculator, curve ruler, set squares. (or other mathematical tools allowed to be brought into the examination room.)
This will help your child to feel calm and assured that they have the right tools for their examinations.
4 – Ensure that your child gets sufficient rest
How is rest tied to exam confidence you ask. Resting enough helps the brain to process the information that has been absorbed during the day. Without ample and quality rest, your child may suffer from restlessness and procrastination the next day. This can disrupt your child’s revision plan and slow down their progress which is not ideal. Hence, ensure that you delegate rest and sleep time to your child even when they are revising for their upcoming exams.
5 – Encourage your child
Give constructive feedback to your child about how they can better themselves in their studies and prompt them to be engaging in class.
6 – Go through practices with your child
There are many exam practices that you can help your child with such as Oral Presentation. Be an audience for them and encourage them along the way. You can even help to advise your child and give them pointers on how to better their speech and presentation. Be there to run their lines with them consistently and you will see a boost of confidence at the end of the day.
7 – Schedule revision plan and sessions with your child
Curate a solid revision plan with and for your child. When creating the revision plan, it is important to get input from your child too and ensure that it is not too overwhelming for them. Discussing with your child regarding the revision plan also gives them the opportunity to take responsibility for their own learning which can boost their exam confidence.
8 – Check in with your child to ensure that they are doing okay
Our children’s mental health should not be neglected in the midst of their vigorous revision plan, do check in with your child every now and then to make sure that he or she is not feeling too overwhelmed and stressed out. It is also a great time to check up on their progress and maybe you might even find that your child is able to accomplish more than you assigned.
9 – Boost exam confidence by simulating the exam environment for your child
As your child has spent long hours in their own study room that they are already accustomed to, it can be stressful for your child to adapt to a new environment on their exam day. It is advisable to switch up your child’s learning environment every now and then to help them adjust and adapt quickly to their new environment with little to no hiccups. Additionally, you should simulate an exam room occasionally to let your child get used to the quiet environment to better prepare themselves for exam day.
10 – Acknowledge and reward your child when they make an improvement or accomplishment
Boosting your child’s exam confidence comes hand in hand with boosting their self-esteem. Hence, as parents, you should remember to praise your child for their accomplishments and acknowledge their efforts. Giving out appropriate rewards is also important when it comes to boosting your childs’ exam confidence or self-esteem in general. It keeps them motivated and encouraged when they know you value and see their efforts.
11 – Balancing play time and work time well for your child
Though as the exam approaches, we try to refrain our children from indulging in too many video games as it may be a huge distraction. However, if you know how to balance the time well with your child, it can have positive effects allowing your child to enjoy their well-deserved playtime.
To conclude, these 11 ways are just a way to kick start your child’s revision journey. There will be more effective ways to boost your child’s confidence as you understand their learning style and habits along the way. Make sure that your child enjoys learning in the process!