No blackouts thanks to stress-reduced learning

We've all been there: you've spent days preparing for an exam and then, at the crucial moment, what you've learnt is gone. There are many reasons for stress at school, and exam nerves are one of the most common, says Josef Meier, who taught English at various school levels and now researches innovative learning and mental techniques at the University of Augsburg. From his experience as a teacher, he knows all too well how nervousness impairs learning success: «Time and again, parents have reported how their children have learnt a lot for exams and then failed due to stress.» In the long term, this frustration leads to motivation problems for the children.
Meier wanted to help. Familiar with mental techniques from sport, he began to use relaxation methods, breathing techniques, visualisation and concentration exercises at school. He developed his own method, stress-reduced learning (SRL). He trialled it in schools for over a year. With success: «The children were more relaxed and were able to concentrate better.» Meier began instructing colleagues in his method, compiled learning materials and gave lectures.
Today, SRL is taught in 17 European countries and in South Africa. The training is completed by distance learning. In Switzerland, there are currently two multipliers, teachers from the adult education sector. SRL has not yet arrived in primary schools.

The brain revs up during relaxation

It would be desirable, as research results speak in favour of the method. To test its effectiveness, Meier carried out a study involving 70 German school classes. Thanks to the international teachers' network LTE, he was able to extend his study to 15 other European countries. Almost 10,000 pupils took part.
The initial results of the as yet unpublished analysis prove Meier right: in Germany, for example, 56 per cent of pupils said they were nervous before every test. After lessons with SRL, more than a third of those affected said they felt much more relaxed before exams. In Spain, it was even more than every second pupil.

The key to success lies in the alpha state, which occurs in daydreams or before falling asleep.

The key to success lies in the alpha state, a state of consciousness that occurs during daydreams, before falling asleep or during the transition to waking. The brain waves move at around 7 to 14 Hertz. «This is when we learn most efficiently,» says Meier. "It's not for nothing that the solution to a problem often occurs to us when we wake up. "
In the alpha state, the bar that connects the left and right hemispheres of the brain becomes more permeable to information. According to science, the left hemisphere is more responsible for logical, repetitive processes and is able to concentrate on details, while the right hemisphere has an overview function. The alpha state allows us to benefit from the specific working methods of both hemispheres of the brain. Stress-reduced learning is designed to help pupils to get into this state.

«Most pupils are breathing incorrectly»

For example, with relaxing music. The pupils lay their heads on the table, the teacher gives instructions on breathing, takes the class on a fantasy journey and talks about the sound of the sea on the beach. This exercise is useful before exams, says Meier, but it is also a good way to start the day at school. Even the lively ones can calm down this way.
«Most pupils breathe incorrectly,» he also knows. There is a widespread misconception that deep breathing contributes to relaxation. «The opposite is the case,» says Meier, shutting down is about breathing out deeply. This needs to be learnt. Meier advocates incorporating relaxation techniques into everyday life, as they can only be achieved through practice.
For example, counting backwards internally: Beginners start at 30, experienced people at 15 to calm themselves down. Tracing an eight in the air with your thumb, from left to right, then vice versa - this is another of Meier's short exercises that promote concentration on a single thing and thus relaxation.

Useful before exams: Fantasy journeys accompanied by relaxing music

Meier has always encouraged his students to take a few minutes for relaxation techniques during the test. «It's not wasted time, it pays off tenfold if you don't get flustered in the first place.» SRL also teaches techniques to better recall what has been learned, for example with the help of visualisations.
One example: teachers have students create mind maps of exam topics and ask them to recall them on the day of the exam. This allows students to mentally recall what they have already written down. This is an effective trick to prevent blackouts, says Meier.
Another area in the fight against stress and nervousness is the negative emotional spiral that pupils often fall into before a test. «Adults know this too,» says Meier, «in the morning we visualise how bad the conversation with the supervisor will go, and in the evening we are relieved to realise that everything was half as bad. We should internalise this realisation - and use it as a guide the next time.»

Success can be programmed through positive thinking

If you tell yourself that you will fail, you have to expect it to happen. «Conversely,» says Meier, «success can be programmed to a certain extent through positive thinking.» The learning researcher works with affirmations, positive images and beliefs that help students to approach exam situations with more confidence.
This type of mental training is commonplace in competitive sport, says Meier. Ski jumpers, for example, first play through their jump in their minds, and measuring devices have shown that these visualisations can be felt physically: The muscles carried out the exact movements that they later performed during the jump. «What is common practice in sport,» says Meier, «should finally be introduced at school too.»
More information at: www.e-f-l.net
Picture: fotolia.com

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