All emotions (e.g., shame, surprise, hope, contempt) play a major role in learning, whether they manifest physiologically (e.g., sweating, fidgeting, tensing, trembling) or cognitively (e.g., memories of successes or failures). While stress can create a negative association with assessments, positive emotions are associated with greater academic engagement. On the other hand, it’s sometimes beneficial to question and critique your work in order to improve. At the end of the day, the most important thing is to get in touch with your emotions so you can regulate them effectively. Assessments can provoke a high degree of stress—and that’s perfectly normal. We all experience a range of emotions when we’re faced with an assessment, whether it’s an exam, an oral presentation, a writing assignment, or something else. There are a number of resources out there, such as informative articles, practical guides, applications, podcasts, and personalized services
that all aim to support the efforts of learners who want to be more attuned to their emotions and cope with the stressors that influence them.
Resources to innovate
This document describes different strategies learners can use to manage stress at each stage of the assessment process: 1) Preparation (pre-assessment) 2) Execution (the day of the assessment) 3) Recapping (after the assessment).
This book invites readers to question their preconceived ideas about stress. Among other topics, it addresses the causes and symptoms of chronic stress, as well as its long-term effects on the human body.
This article reports on 60 self-management strategies used by some 50 people recovering from depression, anxiety disorders, or bipolar disorder. These strategies address many different aspects of our lives: social (e.g., building a solid support network), existential (e.g., developing a balanced sense of self), functional (e.g., implementing a routine, being active), physical (e.g., maintaining a healthy lifestyle, managing energy), and clinical (e.g., seeking professional help, preventing relapse).
This practical guide provides definitions and data on stress, describes the components of stress, explains the difference between acute and chronic stress and their respective health effects, suggests ways to differentiate between avoidance and proactive strategies, and lists helpful cognitive, physiological, and behavioural strategies. It also includes thirty-odd additional resources in the appendix (self-assessment questionnaires, self-observation sheets and grids, guides, scenarios, charts, tables, techniques, activities, etc.).
This site offers learners a range of tips and tools to help them improve their well-being and feel more confident about their learning strategies, as well as manage their stress and emotions. Themes include academics, university life, healthy living, and career plans.
This website offers learners a series of themed workshops led by a team of UQAM psychological support experts to help them manage their anxiety more effectively and fulfill their academic potential. Topics include demystifying stress and anxiety; understanding panic attacks to manage them more effectively; anxiety, shame, and guilt: moving from self-criticism to self-kindness; and overcoming performance anxiety and perfectionism.
This website offers a dozen podcast episodes ranging from 5 to 30 minutes long that consist of guided exercises, often accompanied by music and images. Each episode presents a specific way to combat stress and find calm, self-control, and inner peace.
This organization's mission is to support people living with anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorder. It helps them improve their lives with strategies and daily habits that promote wellness and offers a range of resources, including workshops and tools for managing anxiety. A fee may be required to access certain resources.
The Korsa (Swedish for "crossing") research-intervention project offers learners with stress and anxiety free individual and group support from instructors trained in psychology, guidance, and social work so that they can develop strategies to successfully complete their studies while maintaining a balanced life.
In this article, the authors explore the benefits that university students felt they derived from acceptance and commitment therapy. The results of their study, carried out via weekly Korsa workshops, show a positive impact: subjects reported perceiving their hardships differently, adopting different attitudes and behaviours, and experiencing a state of calm, mindfulness, and well-being. The authors also discuss the factors that may influence these benefits.
This brochure gives a clear breakdown of performance anxiety: its definition, its symptoms (thoughts, emotions, physiology, behaviours), how it impacts learners' lives in the run-up to an assessment (e.g., use of performance drugs), and its causes (physiological and psychosocial). It also gives tips for managing performance anxiety (e.g., reminding yourself that you are in control of what you do before you take an exam).
Among other things, this app offers a dozen free guided meditation sessions to help you manage stress, calm your mind, and improve your sleep in just a few minutes a day.
This app has a varied catalogue of resources, including guided meditations on specific topics to manage stress and unburden your mind. Meditations can also be downloaded for offline use. The Discovery program includes eight free meditation sessions.
This free app helps you regulate your breathing and heart rate before a stressful or anxiety-provoking event (e.g., a presentation or assessment).
This app helps you regulate your breathing and heart rate to cope with stress and anxiety. You must pay a fee to download it.
This organization aims to help students with scientific writing (dissertations, theses, articles), grant applications, term papers, comprehensive exams, and internship reports by providing structured and collective support. It also offers workshops and resources on managing mental health problems that students face in higher education.
This slideshow presents the key takeaways from a workshop designed to help learners effectively manage the stress associated with assessments. It goes over what you need to know about stress, how to improve your coping strategies, and tools to help you manage your stress.
This free app is designed to help users deal with chronic stress. It detects when a user is experiencing chronic stress and suggests personalized strategies for neutralizing factors that trigger a stress response and managing the stress response itself.
The resources on the Centre for Studies on Human Stress (CSHS) website are designed to improve the physical and mental health of individuals. These resources include Mammoth Magazine (the official CSHS magazine), study results, educational tools on stress (e.g., the Stress N’ Go video series), and opportunities to participate in programs focused on human stress.