School has been in session for a couple of months now; and while students may have adapted to their schedules and day to day requirements, many are also recognizing that both the pace and intensity of the coursework have increased. It is midterm for most fall semesters and the time in which stress seems to begin to rear its unwelcomed head for many students. However, while stress, in and of itself, cannot be avoided, it can be dealt with in constructive and innovative ways so that it motivates students to do their best work.
Part of managing academic stress is to identify it early and take proactive measures to ensure that the work can be dissected and completed in chunks of time rather than in all-night cram sessions. One of the best tools that students of the digital age can utilize is an old school method of the traditional planner. In this vintage tool, students can list not only their schedules of when to attend classes but what deliverables are due and when. This allows them to visualize and prioritize their workload such that big items can be started earlier and worked along the way to completion. On the other hand, daily tasks are readily available to be processed and checked off the list as completed. Just the act of witnessing a declining volume of to-be-finished tasks offers the students the satisfaction that they are making progress. This sets in place a positive feedback loop whereby they are motivated to complete the next item to again feel the momentum of completion success.
By recognizing early the tasks to be completed and objectives to be learned, students can also identify whether they need to study or work in a quiet room to focus or whether the tasks require a study session with peer support to tackle complex concepts or formulas. Additionally, this allows the students to also realize whether they may need some additional support from the instructor or by a tutor to make sure that they are able to master the concepts and apply them in a meaningful way. Waiting until they are completely lost and confused to seek support often complicates the situation for the tutor as there is background information that must be processed before the actual content complication can be unpacked.
While everyone may recognize the inherent challenges and negative effects of academic stress, the good news is that, if channeled properly, students can utilize the pending timelines as challenges to completion rather than obstacles to success. Stress can be motivating, especially if the students have established a firm foundation along the way. For students who regularly encounter another pending assessment, for example, this is a perfect opportunity to employ those long-standing study skills and content review to ensure a positive outcome. Just like in completing daily tasks, effective preparation and consistent review will serve as ideal foundational skills to help the students see their way toward healthy grade point averages and positive school experiences each step along the way. For those students who have yet to fully unpacked strong study practices, the midterm is the perfect time to set those strategies into place. There is still time to establish a positive outcome and reduce stress by planning, preparing, and working diligently along the way to make this the best semester yet!
Dr. Angela Farmer is a lifelong educator, an author, and a syndicated columnist. She serves Mississippi State University as an Assistant Clinical Professor of Honors Education for the Shackouls Honors College where she can be reached at [email protected].
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.