00:00:00:00 - 00:00:08:05
Unknown
So.
00:00:08:07 - 00:00:15:01
Unknown
We.
00:00:15:01 - 00:00:43:22
Unknown
Hello, I am Tina Wiles and this is the Assessment Alchemist podcast. It has been a minute since, I've brought you a new episode. Welcome back. A lot has happened. I've been expanding from panic to passing to help professionals preparing for high stakes exams. And I couldn't be more excited about where this is going.
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Unknown
And so I wanted to reconnect with my with my podcast and, talk about something that I hear all the time. Right? And that is like, I know my staff. I'm smart. Why can I not pass an exam? Right? And so, let me share a little bit about Mal. So, see if this sounds familiar. This is extreme, right?
00:01:15:15 - 00:01:41:19
Unknown
But see if this sounds familiar. So her hands were shaking, like, so bad. In order to start the exam. She actually needed to use both hands to hit start right before she started the exam. A she was thinking things like she's failed before. She was already planning on when she was going to take it again and how she was going to fit, studying it.
00:01:41:22 - 00:02:14:10
Unknown
And like, planning on failing. Right. Like, talk about, expectations and she had spent hours and hours like, like the time every week, every night after work. All day Saturday and Sunday. Like studying. Studying, studying. Spending money on prep materials. Having to spend money to retake the exam. And like. Yeah, just no confidence. Right?
00:02:14:12 - 00:02:46:12
Unknown
So luckily, Mal found me and another podcast and reached out and, I was able to work with her. Right. So, she knew that passing the exam was going to open her up to, promotion, and, being able to get her name on the stamp. Right. This is a professional engineering exam. So, like, I heard her, like, getting to change her title.
00:02:46:14 - 00:03:12:05
Unknown
The raise that came with it, right? Like, so many things tied to this one hurdle that she couldn't get over in her life, right? And incredibly smart. In fact, I would joke around that she could actually write the test questions. She knew the questions and the material so intimately. Like, no. Oh, that question has the chart on page 47 on the top right side.
00:03:12:05 - 00:03:43:22
Unknown
Like she knew the material in and out. So, so what actually happens? Like, it's not about studying more, right? There's no way Mal could have possibly studied any more than she was studying. Right. So what was it that was keeping her right from being able to pass this exam? So it's not about studying. It's about fight or flight, right?
00:03:43:25 - 00:04:16:18
Unknown
It's about anxiety hijacking performance. The test is supposed to be testing your knowledge, but a lot of times, what a test is testing is how well you take a test. Right. So there are three gaps that that I have found in 20 years of working with individuals taking high stakes exams. Okay. So the first one is the knowledge gap.
00:04:16:20 - 00:04:45:11
Unknown
Okay. And there's a reason you're taking a test. There's information that you do need to know right. So knowledge is important. You might need to brush up on a couple of topics. The a lot of times an area that I see that's missing some in the knowledge is actually why you get a question wrong and not necessarily why is the right answer right?
00:04:45:13 - 00:05:10:13
Unknown
Right. Like memorizing and trying to like, oh, when I see this question, this is what I'm going to answer. It can actually increase anxiety when you're taking the test because you're trying to memorize patterns versus content, right? So really, like you do need to know your material, okay. And that's not to say that you need to know every detail of every piece of material.
00:05:10:13 - 00:05:38:10
Unknown
Right. But, you'll be able to see from practice exams where there might be a gap in knowledge. Right. So when, knowledge gap is the first gap. Okay. The second gap is the strategy gap. Okay. And most of tat most of us were never taught how to take tests strategically. We taught we took tests thinking, I'm just supposed to put down what I know.
00:05:38:10 - 00:06:08:07
Unknown
Not necessarily. Like, how can I think through this was strategy, right. So test taking is a skill. Yeah. Because that means that we can improve it. Right. So, thinking strategically is thinking thoughts like how can I use my answer choices? I need to reread the question to make sure that I'm answering what the question is asking.
00:06:08:09 - 00:06:34:04
Unknown
It's, how do I use my timing effectively so that, I am making it through the exam comfortably and not rushing? Or sometimes the the opposite, like you're running short on time, right? So how can you make sure that you're actually finishing the exam and enough time? It can also be like, how do I focus?
00:06:34:04 - 00:07:06:28
Unknown
This is a really long exam. And, of what strategies can I use during the exam to help me focus. Right. So there's a lot of strategy and learning how to take an exam that can take place in order to help you pass. Okay. But I would argue and I will die on this hill, that I think mindset is one of the biggest gaps when it comes to why do I know all my stuff when I can't pass the test?
00:07:07:04 - 00:07:29:28
Unknown
Okay. This is especially true if you have taken a test. This test in the past and failed it, right? So like you would think, oh well, when I fail a test once, that means if I take it again, I'm going to be more likely to pass. But the data from people taking exams and then re takers actually says the opposite.
00:07:29:28 - 00:07:55:01
Unknown
And that if you fail an exam, you're it's more likely that you will fail it again. And this is not the content typically. Right. This is because you could get in your own way right. This is being able to perform during the pressure of taking an exam the way you do when you're taking a practice test. Right.
00:07:55:01 - 00:08:33:25
Unknown
And, it's mental performance, right? It's, performing under pressure. It's making sure that just like an Olympic athlete. Right? Like, think about an Olympic athlete. Let's say ice skating, okay? Because the Olympics just took place. So ice skating, practicing for years, right? And competitions. And I can't even I don't even know how many hours of practice that these Olympians have spent on the ice, perfecting their material and their routines and their jumps.
00:08:33:28 - 00:09:03:20
Unknown
To have a two minute performance that everything rests on, right? That's performing under pressure. And it's what it could feel like when you're trying to pass an exam that is tied to these are my life goals. This affects the amount of money that I make. This affects how I could care for my family. This affects, like achieving goals and dreams that you might have for yourself, right?
00:09:03:22 - 00:09:33:26
Unknown
And so basically, you are not the results of the exam. Right. And being able to let your body know like UK, you're in fight or flight mode, you're trying to protect me and how can I actually demonstrate my knowledge. Right. So all of that is performance under pressure. And there are a lot of things that we could do from a mindset perspective that can help with that.
00:09:34:02 - 00:09:57:28
Unknown
And in fact, so many that a lot of times it's just you need to play around and see what actually feels most comfortable for you. Okay, so now the real question is how do you go from I know I'm going to fail again to being able to open an email that says, congratulations, you passed. Right? Like that's what we want, right?
00:09:58:01 - 00:10:29:05
Unknown
And so there are blocks that can take place right mentally. And I have five patterns that I see very commonly. Right. So I'm going to touch on each of these and give you a little description of each. To see if any of these resonate with you. Okay. So the first is The Overthinker. So the overthinker is someone who knows the material, but you think yourself out of the correct answer.
00:10:29:10 - 00:10:53:15
Unknown
Like, it's almost like you try to, like you're fighting yourself. And it's your own mind working against you, right? So the overthinker, is of one of the patterns. The next one is the shirt, that downer. Okay, so this is like the test begins and your mind goes blank, or you turn the page and you're like, I know, I know this material.
00:10:53:15 - 00:11:20:07
Unknown
And for the life of me, I cannot remember any of it. And that also has to do with your nervous system. And, it's actually like physical chemical that are released in our body and it's, to protect us, but it can also cause some, like, mental fog and, like, actually not allowing you to recall information, you know?
00:11:20:10 - 00:11:48:04
Unknown
Okay. That's two. Number three is the time watcher. So this is where, the time almost becomes larger than you, right? Like this is your taking a test, and the whole time you're taking the test, you're also thinking, I need to keep moving. I'm probably spending too long on this one. I'm going to run out of time.
00:11:48:04 - 00:12:29:07
Unknown
Oh, right. Like you're just constantly have this dialog going on in the back of your head. About time. Right? So that's the third type. The fourth type is the avoider. Okay. So that avoider wants to pass more than anything. But every time you sit down to study, things don't happen, right? So, it might feel like laziness to you, or you might blame yourself, but it's actually, like, fear and, like, it's just there's a lot of things behind it, but it's not you, right?
00:12:29:07 - 00:13:03:23
Unknown
Like, it's you want this, but for some reason you can't get like, get started. Okay. And then the fifth type is the wall header. So the wall header is you've worked hard you failed in the past and now it's, like, so much shame and embarrassment and you think you need more studying and you're ready to give up and, yeah, you just literally feel like you've hit a wall.
00:13:03:25 - 00:13:28:15
Unknown
Okay. So if you recognize yourself in any of the ones I just went through, you are not alone, okay? And there's a reason I have these five types, right? They show up all of the time, and there are things that you could do with all of them to help you get moving in the right direction. So if you recognize yourself in any of these, I have a quiz I put together.
00:13:28:18 - 00:13:49:00
Unknown
The link will be in the show notes, or you could just go to my website, which is my tutor. Y the number 2TOR a.com. And there's a link right on the homepage for you to take the quiz. And like I said, less than two minutes. You'll get figure out which type of test taker you are.
00:13:49:02 - 00:14:19:04
Unknown
And, it gives you some actionable things to do as soon as you take the quiz. Okay, so you've got this. You can pass. I believe in you. And also, Mel did pass her exam. She got her promotion and her raise, and now she is trying to figure out how to spend all the free time that she has now that she is not studying literally every day.
00:14:19:06 - 00:14:26:18
Unknown
So thank you for joining me on this episode of The Alchemist, The Assessment Alchemist, and I will talk to you soon.
