Dublin Jerome HS, February 3, 2005
Bruce Boguski
Author of The Testing Zone
The following strategies were presented by Bruce Boguski at Dublin Jerome HS to help students prepare for high-stakes testing. However, he also suggests that these techniques be used for any other stressful situations.
I. Stimulating blood vessels & Relieving Nervousness/Stress
A. Pressure points to relax
· Rub the indentations in front of your ears.
· Run your fingers from the center of your forehead out to the sides, and then down side of face.
· Stroke your jaw with your hand.
· Rub just below center of clavicle to stimulate blood to brain.
· “Thinking cap” -Twist upper ear lobes forward and backward.
B. Eye your fingers while moving them towards your nose (focuses your eyes back to the center where they will be needed for taking a test)
C. Olfactory Nerve (interprets smells in brain) wakes up other parts of brain. Stimulating Scents include:
· flowers (Potpourri, carnation, rose)
· peppermint
· cinnamon
· lemon
D. Smiling releases
· Dopamine
· Nor epinephrine
· Adrenaline
E. Help your brain make connections between its nerves
1. DRINK LOTS OF WATER.
2. “Cross Crawl” (lift your right knee to your left elbow, do opposite) Activates your Corpus coliseum, which connects both sides of brain.
F. Get rid of “Fight or Flight”
Relax/stretch/loosen your calf muscle (Tendon-guard reactors)
Calm your Breathing
· Breathe through your nose (cools temporal and frontal lobes)
· Filtering system improves with age
1. Stand/sit upright
2. Breathe through your nose, not your mouth
3. Stick out your stomach, not your chest (use diaphragm)
Maintain a Healthy Diet
Foods to avoid
· Large amounts of sugar
· Aspartame (artificial sweetener in gum and diet soda)
· MSG
· Tryptophan (protein in turkey)
Foods to eat
· Low fat yogurt
· Scrambled eggs
· Water
· Vitamins
**Most importantly, when preparing for a test there is no substitution for studying the material. Therefore, it’s crucial to find out what kind of learner you are.**
Distinguishing between Visual vs. Auditory learners?
1. “Point your finger at me”
2. “Form a circle with your fingers”
3. “Quickly, touch your cheek” (while speaker touches to chin)
Interpretation:
If learner touches chin… he/she is a visual learner.
If learner touches cheek… he/she is an auditory leaner.
Watch the learner’s eyes during a conversation
Interpretation:
Visuals learners: look up before answering
o Past = left and up
o Future = right and up
Auditory learners: look straight left, straight right
A. Tips for Visual learners
· Keep your chin level. Move your eyes left up, then right up in order to connect the past (studying) to present to future.
· While spelling: look left up, right up
B. Tips for Auditory learners
· Read out loud! … with accent… practice accent just before test
C. Tips for Kinesthetic learners
· Squeeze a ball while studying… then again during test
Other Tips
· Wear earplugs when studying and testing.
· Wear appropriate clothing to adjust the temperature at which you learn best.
· Wear a Mouth Guard to sleep in order to avoid grinding your teeth.
· Develop a routine. (“Pick the wedge”)