C3: The Curriculum for Test Mastery.

N

18

College Students; Counseling Techniques; Group Counseling; High School Students; High Schools; Higher Education; Test Anxiety; Test Wiseness

Certain easy-to-teach and relatively low-risk counseling exercises and techniques have been found to be effective in reducing test anxiety. Test anxiety is considered a "normal developmental difficulty" and is generally encountered as an academic difficulty rather than a personal one. A brief, convenient psychoeducational group format is cost-effective and appropriate for working with students to overcome this problem. This manual outlines a group process in which the counselor leads a structured group of students who suffer from severe test anxiety. The process is not intended for students whose primary academic challenge is procrastination. The design of this group calls for four group sessions; the counselor will meet individually with each student at the beginning and end of the group. The four sessions are based on teaching students the following: (1) basic test "wiseness" strategies; (2) techniques for systematic relaxation; (3) how to challenge self-defeating irrational thinking and to cultivate adaptive self-affirming cognitions; and (4) how to cultivate a sense of play and fun about the situation. Guidelines are given for recruiting group members, screening out inappropriate members, setting up the group, and debriefing each member. Outlines for each session are provided. An evaluation form is appended. (EMK)

1999

ED423475