Improving mindset to conquer exams: The smart decision successful pupils make
What are the most important elements for exam success? Practice? Repetition? Revision? A good memory? No doubt these are key skills when it comes to taking an exam, but did you know that a positive mindset is also essential for exam success?
The power of thought
The power of positive thinking is nothing new. You may have heard the famous saying often attributed to Henry Ford: “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t – you’re right”. Essentially, believing you can do something can make all the difference between success and failure - because once you make the decision to succeed, you change your language, mindset and confidence and failing is no longer an option.
And of course, the opposite applies too. If we go into the exam room full of doubt and anxiety, we are far less likely to achieve a positive result. In fact, humans have an innate reaction to stress which is most referred to as the ‘fight or flight’ response. So, when we enter a situation that we perceive as stressful, this subconscious response can take over and inhibit our ability to think or recall anything. If you’ve ever experienced a ‘mind blank’ during an exam, you’ll know how that feels.
One study by a team of psychologists at Goldsmiths University in London*, found that in a group of seven- to ten-year-old children, those who achieved the best marks in school tended to rate their own abilities highly, even though they displayed differences in ability and intelligence. Their self-belief and positive mindset were helping them achieve higher marks in school than their peers.
Often, the main reason children struggle at school or don’t do as well as expected in exams is due to doubts, anxieties or blocks related to their own abilities. Understandably, these negative beliefs hold children back and may even prevent them from learning altogether.
How to support your child
If you recognise these difficulties in your own child, what can you do to support them?
You may find some helpful solutions in the field of Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP). NLP comprises a variety of strategies which can empower individuals to take control of their thoughts and mindset in a positive way, thus achieving more positive outcomes. Techniques from NLP are often used in business to help people build better relationships, develop leadership skills and overcome negative thinking.
The potential of NLP for enhancing children’s confidence, independent thinking and academic progress is astounding when used in a classroom environment. NLP techniques such as ‘anchoring’, ‘grounding’ and the ‘learning state’ can help children deal with stress and overcome unhelpful thought patterns, thus setting them up in a resourced state, ready to learn. What’s more, NLP provides the ‘missing link’ in the learning process by teaching children how to learn (and teachers how to teach) more effectively.
And you don’t need to be a fully trained NLP practitioner to help your child to improve their mindset. Often, some simple tweaks to the language used in day-to-day life can have a profound effect. For example, if your child seems stuck in the ‘I can’t do this!’ rut, then encourage them to add the word ‘yet’ to the end of their sentence. Saying, ‘I can’t do this yet.’ Or ‘I don’t understand this yet’ leaves their brain open to the possibility that they will be able to do it at some point - rather than closing them down and keeping them in a ‘stuck’ place.
At Unravelled, we have been integrating NLP into our academic programmes for many years and we have seen firsthand the impact this has had on our students’ mindset and progress. Remarkably, it is often the simplest techniques that lead to the biggest shifts and, as teachers and parents, the language we use can make all the difference.
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*https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17187-confidence-as-important-as-iq-in-exam-success/