It is my first time to learn about the effects of Student Anxiety and I am thankful that it has been reported and discussed in class. It is such an eye opener for me to learn about the Inverted-U Theory where humans are said to operate at their best when they are moderately anxious or optimally aroused.
For the longest time, I did not know that a certain level of anxiety would be helpful . I used to think that anxiety would be best eradicated for all classes to come to their most efficient state.
As a major in Teaching in the Early Grades, I personally disagree with the use of too much paper and pencil tests to assess very young children. Aside from focusing much on the cognitive development of the children, I find it really unfair for children to be lead to feeling very anxious due to these forms of assessments. Add to that the soaring expectations of the parents. Aside from trying to find the right answers to the questions, students are usually found worrying about the reactions of other people on their performance.
I believe that for the young learners, at least, teachers need to be made aware of the ill effects of too much bias on test-taking as a source of information of what students know or can do. I think it would be better to instead use more accommodating forms of evaluation that would make children more comfortable with school and other assessment related activities.
As in my previous reaction on Student Approaches to Learning, I believe that this knowledge of the effects of anxiety on student performance, once again, gives teachers more power to help make learning a lot more easier and enjoyable for students to engage in. I cannot imagine being a teacher having no knowledge of these important revelations on student learning. I consider them golden opportunities to improve the teaching and learning process.
When I was still a student in elementary and high school, I remember a lot of moments when my teachers would show us a straight face and use a threatening voice as they enter the classroom. We would all be stunned by our teachers' presence and therefore try to slide back to our tiny chairs and keep our eyes and ears open for their instructions. I remember being one of the most responsible students in those kinds of classes. I think I developed a very good tolerance to cold and angry teachers and thought that it was actually normal because my father is simply just like that. My father does not talk to me kindly and raises his voice every single time. To see teachers like that was not something new to me.
However, upon realizing how students can be very much affected by anxiety in the learning environment, I think that teachers can and should be able to regulate their emotions properly and show more compassion and interest in their students. We would not want our students to be overly threatened by our unstable moods and our untendered personalities. I realized that not all students can be like me who are used to being frightened. Well, of course, that style usually works for those who wish to control the misbehaviors of a rowdy class, but to be consistently threatening cannot be a very good way to help students moderate their anxiety. Because of that, we cannot expect them to be working at their best.
With my knowledge of should anxiety, I can be an advocate of anxiety reduction in my future classes or even now as I deal with people in my daily life. I can be more supportive of people who are undergoing difficulties related to anxiety. I would always remember that the easiest way to reduce anxiety is by offering a different perspective on the problem or issue. In the same light, with this knowledge on anxiety, I am beginning to become a better evaluator of classroom practices/situations related to anxiety that can hinder student performance.
May I be an agent of change wherever I am now. :D
