Comparing the effects of chewing gum before or during various testing situations, researchers found that performance on a battery of cognitive tasks improved for those who chewed gum for five minutes before a test, compared with those who didn’t

A report on the study said that scientists “believe the benefits of chewing gum were resulted from an effect called ‘mastication-induced arousal’ of the brain which acts similarly to a mild physical activity or exercise.”

OK, so much for 50 cent scientific terms (“mastication-induced arousal”).

I’m going to give a different point of view. If you’ve ever watched test takers at the beginning or during a test one thing you notice with great frequency is how many of them are holding their jaws very tight.

So the positive effect of chewing gum is to keep the jaw loose.

Interesting to note that the effects of this lasted for only 15 to 20 minutes after the start of the test, and that those who chewed gum during the test did more poorly.

Not surprising: students don’t need to know how to chew gum; they need to learn how to relax their muscles.   While “mastication-induced arousal” may stimulate the brain, good old simple, regular breathing and relaxing muscular tension will go a long way to a helping any student be a calmer and better test-taker.

Follow your coach's direction

I’m in NY for a conference organized by the NY Times on “Schools for Tomorrow.” I met yesterday with Alexandra Zabriskie, a top-notch NY tutor for the SAT and ACT (and school subjects too).  Alex talked about coaching her students to take practice tests under the practice conditions, in other words, when it’s possible, to take at least one practice test at the place you’ll take the actual exam.  ”I tell them how important this is, they say they’ll do it,” Alexandra says, sighing, “But they don’t follow through.”

If you are working with a coach it’s important for two reasons that you follow through. The first is that your coach is not your mother, not your father, not your teacher, but your coach. Your coach knows what you need to do to succeed on the test, just like the coach of an athletic team knows how you should practice to succeed.  Imagine what would happen if you were on a team and you didn’t follow your coach’s direction.

The second reason that this particular coaching — take a practice test at the test site — is important is that you need to simulate the conditions of the exam itself.  Taking the practice test at the site is vastly different than sitting on your bed at home and practicing there. Why? Because at home there are a zillion distractions: texts from your friends, snacks in the fridge, comfy pillow where you’ll just take a rest for “a minute.”   Zzzzzzzzzzzz.  Try doing any of these in the exam room (well, don’t try, actually).

Follow your coach’s direction. Chinese say, left ear in, right ear out. Don’t do that. Hearing what your coach says and go, yeah, yeah, yeah, doesn’t raise test scores. Doing the right things and practicing in the right way does. After all, if you don’t listen to the coach, why do you go to him/her in the first place? doesn’t make sense.

A special shout out to Alexandra Zabriskie in NY. She was an early follower of my work and she does a terrific job of understanding her students’ needs and tailoring her tutoring to them. Check out her website:  http://atoztutor.com. (That’s Alex, on the left, in the picture above.)

Afraid? Again?

I’ve recently started coaching three very different people who have exactly the same issue with tests: they’re all afraid of failing.  To be accurate, they’re all afraid of failing again.

Each of them (a high school, college and graduate student) had a bad experience in the past with a test—one didn’t finish in time, one didn’t get the score she wanted and one actually failed.  I’m using the word “bad experience” instead of “failure.”  While every one of us has had a bad experience with a test none of us is a failure because of it.

Following what I wrote in my last post: when you have a bad experience you have two choices with how you are going to hold that experience.  Choice #1: You say to yourself, “Oh, no,  it happened before and it’s going to happen again. For sure. No way I’m going to succeed.”; Choice #2: You say to yourself, “Yes, I did have a bad experience, but  I learned from that experience and what I learned is actually going to help me do better this time.”

So why do so many people – certainly the ones I see in my practice—so readily adopt choice #1?  I think it’s a combination of  things. The “bad” past experience was painful. No one wants to score low, not be able to finish or actually not passing the test, but sometimes these things do happen and the bottom line—and please read this carefully – is that we are meant to learn from all our experiences.  ‘Learn’ means: what did that experience teach me that will help me the next time around?  As soon as we start to uncover the answer to that question, the more quickly and determinedly we can move ahead.

So here’s my challenge to you: think of of a time when you did not do well on a test. What did you learn from that that you can apply to the next time you take that test, or any other test?

I’m going to provide you with some common responses to that question, but first I’d like you to do the work and answer that question for yourself.

In part 3 of this series of posts I’ll not only answer the question, but show you how we can get through previously traumatic experiences in a new, better, and much more fulfilling way.

The right answer? Strengthen yourself.

The Silicon Valley Mercury News today published an article today about the SAT and ACT. Author Purvy Mody starts off by saying “The words SAT and ACT can conjure anxiety for even the most academically confident student. Standardized testing has become so talked about and so prepared for that I have heard of fifth-graders enrolling in SAT prep classes — something I am highly against.”

5th graders prepping for the SAT?  AYK?  (are you kidding?)

Mody ends the article with this: “Take a class if you need the structure, or get the official books and practice on your own. Whatever method you use, the most important thing is that you do the work. The test will not take itself.” True enough, but columnist Mody is probably thinking “the work” means opening an SAT or ACT book and doing that work. In my coaching experience, learning the content is necessary but not the totality of test prep. The work is not just learning the content– the kinds of items, the subjects, and doing practice questions over and over again. It must include, and be thoroughly integrated with, the work you do on yourself.  Meaning, specifically, learning how to stay calm, confident and focused through the study and practice phases and then when you take the test itself.

You want a good, sturdy platform for your SAT or ACT performance. The platform for test success is the 3-legged stool: body, mind and spirit– being calm, confident and focused. Do that work and you’re well on the road to success.

Would you like to improve your test performance on the SAT or ACT?  If yes, let us know. We’re about to launch a training program that will give you the tools you really need to succeed. Send an email to us at testsuccess@sparkavenue.com.

Let prepping for SAT or ACT be an opportunity to cultivate and strengthen your calm, confidence and focus.

What happens is one word: practice.  He has to practice, practice, practice.  He has to practice becoming more aware of when he tenses his body and when he feeds himself negative thoughts about himself. And he has to practice tools to reduce the stress and turns those unhelpful habits around.

As we spoke I remembered something I learned in one of the first meditation courses I took some 30 years ago. The teacher said, “The Dr. can give you a prescription, but if you just place the prescription on your altar and pray to it every day, and yet never take the medicine how can you ever get better?”  So it’s the case with this medicine — the ongoing, daily practice of becoming more aware of old habits and replacing them with new ones.

The day after our session the client emailed me about how much he got out of it. Then I remembered something my old analyst, a real Viennese psychiatrist, said to me on many occasions, “Ze proof is in ze pudding.”  Let’s see if he practices. One thing I am 100% certain of:  if he does, he will improve and his test scores will be just what he wants them to be: excellent.

Dr. Joy Magtanong-Madrid

Yesterday my wife and I had the distinct pleasure of attending the Commencement ceremonies for the University of the Pacific, Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry. One of the students who graduated, now Joy Magtanong-Madrid, DDS., was a student several years ago in a post-baccalaureate program in which I was the performance coach.  There were 12 students, like Joy, who had all recently received their bachelor’s degree, and had wanted to go on to dental school, but didn’t get in anywhere they applied. They then applied for the post-bac program, which was a year to get their grades up and improve their scores on the DAT.  What an amazing group of people!  I loved coaching them. Why? Because they were so focused. They had such strong, determined spirits. They each had a goal and were determined to reach it. As I write in the book, focus is a function of the spirit– to be and become your highest self.

Joy was determined. She went through the program. She learned what she had to learn. But when the year was up she still didn’t get into dental school. Did that stop her? No way!  She became a dental assistant, applied again, and the next year started at UoP, arguably the finest dental school in the country. When the President of the University spoke yesterday she commended Joy for managing a most unusual outreach dental program for poverty-stricken children and adults in the Philippines.  Not only that, but Joy received two major awards and one major scholarship!  Her whole family was there to celebrate her achievements. We all went out for an amazing feast at a Burmese restaurant.

Last week a colleague of mine and I were talking about being teachers. I’ve been teaching for 40 years and he’s been teaching for 50. He said, “You know, if only one or a few students really get it, then you’ve done your job.” Joy was, and is, that student for me, as were her colleagues, a few of whom also graduated this week.  Joy took what I had to offer and ran with it.  The world will be a much better place as her spirit goes forth to light the way for others.

Our amazing brain: constantly seeking connection

Having just attended the Learning & the Brain conference in Chicago, I am struck with two competing thoughts I’d like to share:  how much science there is about the brain, and what a challenge it is for teachers to integrate the findings into their daily practice. I attended fascinating lectures about many new scientific studies on the brain and motivation, gender similarities and differences, stress, etc., but at the same time I was left wondering, “How do I implement these discoveries in my work as a teacher and a coach?”  I would like to suggest we need more collaboration between researchers and practitioners– between the scientists and the teachers. One of the

constant themes of the conference was neuroplasticity – how malleable the brain is over a person’s lifespan. We must extend this plasticity to collaboration, to working together, putting scientists in the classrooms and teachers in the lab.  Talking with Kelly Williams, who started off the Learning and the Brain conferences 11 years ago, Kelly shared his dream: have a school where we could teach and study the students and teachers at the same time. Now we’re talking!  So we chipped in to buy a couple of lottery tickets. The Megamillions jackpot that night was $161,000,000. I haven’t yet checked to see if we won.  Just maybe…..!

It's my goal!

Claire, a high school senior,  was brought to my office by her two parents. She was an outstanding student– 3.5 GPA, captain of the soccer team, a volunteer in public service activities– all the makings for a great college application. The issue was her SAT scores. “Not high enough,” said her Mom when we talked on the phone.

So Mom and Dad brought Claire in for a consult. My opening question was directed towards her. “So Claire, why are you here today?”  She looked at her Mom and then her Dad and then at me, “I’m here because my mother wants me to get higher SAT scores.”  There was an audible gasp from the…

parent gallery. Then Claire [not her real name] leaned in and looked directly at me and delivered the kicker, “And I don’t want to work for them.”

Claire and I worked together for the rest of the session. She was taking an SAT course (“I hate it”) and I gave her some exercises to practice (her weak “leg” was her ability to sustain her focus).  She seemed to enjoy the session and I liked her. She was bright, forthright and engaging.  She came back for the next session, sat down, looked right at me and said, “I didn’t do anything you told me to.”  ”OK, I said, that’s not so unusual. You don’t know me and you don’t like your SAT course, so I’m not surprised.”  We talked some more, I gave her a few more exercises to do at home while she practiced test items, and she came back for the third session and said, now rather defiantly, “I didn’t do anything you told me to.”

I smiled. “Claire,” I said, “I like you. You’re a bright kid and I would like to work with you. But I’m not into struggling with the people I work with. So this is our last session.” Clearly this surprised and rattled her. She certainly didn’t expect me to toss her out.  I asked her, “Do you know what college you want to go to?”  Of course she did– it was one that was hard to get into.  ”Do you know what SAT scores the college is looking for?” Of course she did. And at that moment the penny dropped. She wasn’t going after higher scores because her mother wanted. She, Claire, wanted them.  Suddenly she realized that it was her goal.

I’m telling this story because I want you to think about your goals. Unless you are motivated, it’s going to be very hard for you to put in the work to reach the goal.  What’s the point here? Own your goals; make them yours. Not what your parent wants, not what your teacher wants, but what you want. And if you’re a parent or a teacher reading this, make sure you’re not confusing your goals with your child’s or student’s.  Kobe Bryant doesn’t score because Phil Jackson wants him to. He scores because he wants to.

Appreciate your greatness

It’s well known, in the circles of positive psychology, that expressing appreciation is a powerful tool for improving relationships and performance. Usually we think of expressing appreciation  to someone else– someone who has done something for us or with us, whose contribution we want to acknowledge.

We don’t often think of expressing appreciation to ourselves, about ourselves. In fact, in workshops I offer when we get to this part, people are often stymied. What can I appreciate about myself?

Appreciation means “perceiving value” and “expressing gratitude.”

As you prepare for tests and do the work involved in studying, reviewing and practicing, take time to appreciate yourself for what you are doing.

In other words, take a moment to perceive the value in your actions, in what you are doing:  you are taking definite steps towards your goal. Acknowledge this, inside yourself. You might close your eyes and see yourself in a mirror, your bright, shining self, as you accomplish the work. Express your gratitude — your thanks –  to yourself, for following through.

This brief “appreciation pause” is a tonic: it will give you the energy boost you need to keep going.

Things didn’t work out the way he planned.  Uncharacteristically, his test performance was sub-par. He barely got through.  This was a smart,

well-prepared individual, and it was hard for everyone, the student included, to understand what went wrong.

“Here’s where the 3 legged stool came in,” the teacher said. “The student was certainly confident– he was experienced with the procedure.  That leg was strong. But although he tried to keep a good ‘game face’ and appear like everything was all right, he was quite upset about the family situation. In other words, he wasn’t calm.  But the really wobbly leg was his focus–he was thinking about the people in his family, the lost loved one, and having to catch a plane to get to the funeral. His attention wasn’t on the test.”

The teacher had performed a great service to the student by framing the test experience in this way. He elevated the discussion to a much more meaningful level than just a grade.  The teacher helped the student to look at his own experience in a way that had meaning, and implications well beyond his training. Through the lens of the 3-legged stool the teacher guided the student to understand what’s truly going on. His ability to focus was severely weakened in this particular circumstance.

In the course of our daily lives, in and out of work, we are all faced with challenges big and small. Sometimes these challenges are in the work itself, sometimes they are simply part of life. The 3 legged stool is a secure platform on which we can handle any of these challenges.  Calm, confident and focused.

Ultimately, tests are not just about learning the right “stuff,” they are about continuing to grow and live  to our full potential.