“Where you have to struggle is where you learn the most,” Aaron Glimme, AP and regular chemistry teacher at Berkeley High School, said. Glimme has seen many times how students study what they are comfortable with rather than focusing on what they don’t know, and the effects of this on their outcomes in school.
Exam-related stress and anxiety is a serious challenge that many students face when going into important tests, like finals, that have a significant impact on their grade. Louise Harm, IB Environmental Systems and Societies and AP Environmental Science teacher, explained that organization, though simple, greatly helps students manage their academic stressors and challenges. “Sit down and organize what you have so that you can see what you don’t have, what you don’t understand, what you’re missing, because it’s really easy to get caught up in the stress of it and not realize that you know a lot of the content already,” Harm said.
Benjamin Nathan, Advanced Math 2 and AP Calculus AB teacher, described how for his final exams, all of the content covered in the semester is tested in one cumulative exam, as opposed to many of the module or unit tests that require students to deeply understand the material. “On a singular test, we go very deep with the material, so it’s going to be more challenging. But in the final it’s a lot of material, but we’re trying to make sure you understand the basics,” Nathan said.
The idea of cumulative tests are stressful and can be difficult to manage. However, with Nathan’s finals model, finals are easier because cumulative finals only demand students have a basic understanding of each of the topics.
Many BHS students cram. Cramming is a form of studying for finals in which students attempt to learn or study all the material in a highly concentrated amount of time leading up to the final. However, cramming is almost never effective for the actual test. Ella Newman, BHS senior, explained how it has never helped her personally. “It just stresses me out even if I learn; I just feel overwhelmed,” Newman said. According to Harm, cramming is one of the biggest mistakes students make when studying because students never actually remember what they have learned or have sufficient time to understand the material.
Many students choose to use digital apps and programs to assist their learning. Harm incentivized students to review past tests as it is frequently the easiest way to learn; reviewing past tests tells students exactly what they understand and what they struggle with. Glimme also provides many practice tests to help students understand what’s going to be on the test and help them acclimate to the stress of test day.
BHS sophomore Tanish Barot described how he uses ChatGPT to study; however, rather than making it do the work for him, he uses it to ensure that the work he produces is correct. “I never use ChatGPT to do my homework, because then I can’t learn. But when I do my homework, I make sure all my answers are correct, because if they’re not I’ve been doing it the wrong way, and then I’ll be studying the wrong way,” Barot said.
A strategy that Nathan advised students to use is studying in a variety of places, so the content dissociates from one location. “If you only studied in the classroom, you’d be fine. But let’s say you’re only studying in your bedroom. When you get here (the class), it’s a new location, and your mind doesn’t associate it the same way,” Nathan said, “But if you did it in your bedroom and then outside somewhere, and then a coffee shop, and then your friend’s house, your ability to access (the information) wherever you are is higher.”
Nick Pleskac, a BHS biology and biotech teacher, gave some valuable advice to students studying for exams. “A common mistake that students make is reading over their notes or reading a textbook, because with the answers in front of you it’s a really easy way to trick yourself into thinking that you know something. The best way for students to find out that they don’t know something is to try and write out an explanation, draw a picture to show whatever they are studying to illustrate it, and then to try and teach it to another person,” Pleskac said.