Top News

By Dr Ramya Chatterjee

In today’s ongoing stressful academic sections, we all have witnessed that exam anxiety is a very common phenomenon among students that cuts across disciplines and levels. In human terms, we call it with different names such as self-doubt, physical symptoms, stress, etc., which increases heart rates and mental overloading on the students, which causes serious implications on overall wellbeing and academic performance.

In students pursuing medicine and health sciences, more than 50% are characterised by high anxiety levels owing to rigorous curricula and heavy workloads. Most students get caught up in a self-perpetuating vicious cycle - exam anxiety impedes study, which in turn increases the anxiety and lowers the performance. Deep-seated causes vary from personal characteristics and fear of failure through to information overload, curriculum design faults, and absence of emotional support. These anxieties manifest themselves through physical (increased heart rate), mental (negative self-talk, inattentive attention), and behavioural symptoms, mostly dependent on working memory overload.

Anxiety among students not only impacts their academic performance but also affects their overall well-being, which can lead to several psychological problems such as chronic stress, depression, burnout, etc. Conventional one-way instruction frequently worsens the issue by encouraging passive learning with minimal participation or response. On the contrary, interactive student-centred instruction is becoming one of the effective solutions which provides confidence to students based on their understanding, frequent feedback, and effective engagement in the classroom.

These strategies not only help improve retention but also play a vital role in interrupting the cycle of anxiety and facilitating long-term academic achievement.

Interactive learning emphasizes active engagement from students utilizing technology-enhanced tools such as Intelligent boards and interactive display panels game-based assessments and evaluations applications for working together in learning platforms for adaptive learning powered by AI Simulations in real-time and virtual laboratories The aim is to change the classroom from a traditional source of information to a new-age which would be more student-focused environment where learning is immersive, engaging, and fosters confidence of the students.

How Interactive Learning Alleviates Exam Anxiety

1. Provide An Environment in which Failure is Just a Word
We have to create a safe and supportive environment in which we can tell the students that failure is just a word and it’s a part of learning. It’s not something to hide or be embarrassed about. Without failure, we can’t develop a growth mindset.

2. Supports Personalised Learning
In today’s context, where AI plays a vital role in transforming several industries. After COVID-19, we have witnessed that AI-driven platforms respond to the unique learning pace and learning style. Now, students are no longer left behind or urged to keep up with the class pace. Eliminating this peer pressure is one of the critical components of lowering anxiety levels.

3. Enhances Engagement and Lessens Dullness
Interactive means focusing longer. A carefully crafted visual lesson or experimental activity piques curiosity, lessening mental tiredness and boredom, two significant drivers of examination stress.

Emotional Intelligence Meets EdTech

Interactive learning not only enhances academic performance but also meets the emotional and psychological needs of the students. It promotes teamwork, invites questions, and establishes confidence between teachers and students.

When the student feels included and supported, their anxiety naturally decreases. 

Evidence & Recommendations: Interactive Learning as an Antidote to Exam Anxiety

Studies have shown that interactive learning greatly diminishes exam anxiety, especially when the learners are actively involved in fun and participatory modalities. Methods such as gamification have been particularly successful in reducing both motivation and test anxiety.

Although PBL tends to increase academic or writing-related stress initially, it is positively linked to overall academic resilience. Also, the Immediate Feedback Assessment Technique (IFAT) has been promising for increasing confidence and reducing anxiety for students, although the impact of collaborative learning is still mixed.

Low-skilled students, for one, experience decreased anxiety and improved learning when high-stakes testing is substituted with low-stakes, interactive practice and retake options. Cognitive load theory informs the application of immediate feedback, collaborative learning, and interactive instructional support as efficient measures in reducing anxiety.

Of these, inquiry-based learning is notable for fostering participation, customisation, and collaboration - essential elements in minimising cognitive and emotional stress. When complemented with teaching practices like gamification, low-stakes testing, and instant feedback, a supportive and student-focused environment emerges.

Though others, such as collaborative testing, are still controversial regarding relief of anxiety, they continue to play a valuable role in overall motivation to learn. More research is advised to hone and adjust such approaches for greater and more stable impact.

The Bigger Picture

The education system is experiencing a revolution. As schools and universities become accepting of digital classrooms, technology must be aligned not only with academic performance but also with mental health.

Providing teachers with interactive training and technology is as critical as outfitting classrooms. An empathetic, technology-savvy teacher can spot anxiety signals earlier and develop ways to help children manage them better.

(The author is an Education Technology Evangelist, Chief of Solitaire Brand Business, CEO & Director, Prointek Global Innovations)

Disclaimer: The opinions, beliefs, and views expressed by the various authors and forum participants on this website are personal and do not reflect the opinions, beliefs, and views of ABP Network Pvt. Ltd.