You've got the Praxis Study Guide.
You've sharpened your pencils, turned off your cell phone and have cleared your calendar of all engagements for the day. In fact, you're so confident that you've optimized your Praxis II study guide time that you'll be known throughout the neighborhood as the "Praxis test monk".
So why aren't you able to sit down and really absorb everything in your Praxis study guides?
Thinking Outside the Praxis Test Box
When it comes to optimizing your study time for the best possible results, it's easy to see why so many potential teachers follow the same routine. They believe that eschewing social activities for silence and piling their desks high with Praxis study guides will help them get into the mind frame of what test prep coach and teacher Hans Johnson calls the "Praxis test box".
"It's surprisingly easy for students to get caught in this mind trap," Johnson points out. "After all, so many ordinary Praxis study guides out there follow a one-size-fits-all approach to test preparation. There's no room for flexibility and movement within their version of an ideal study session."
Johnson, who's also co-written popular Praxis II study guides with test prep company Teaching Solutions, believes that the modern-day student has more modern-day needs.
"Thanks to advancements in smartphones, computer technology and even music, there's a whole host of supplemental material that can really optimize a study session," Johnson points out. "That's why students shouldn't feel limited to following cookie-cutter study plans."
A Flexible Praxis II Test Prep Plan That Really Works
So what does Johnson think about finding an ideal Praxis II test prep plan?
"It's all about finding what works for you," he says. "If your computer is like your third arm, then use it. If you've got a smartphone, use it to study from during your commute to school. And if you like music, listen to it while you study. In fact, most scientists agree that listening to gentle music while studying can actually improve memory recall."
With that said, here are Johnson's top recommendations for future teachers who want to think outside of the test prep box:
• Like exercise, Praxis study sessions don't have to be long and draining. In fact, split up your day so that you can find three half-hour sessions for review. Look over your Praxis test study guide before breakfast; take your study materials with you to lunch, and look it over after dinner. You'll be surprised at how much you can learn using this method!
• Forget studying in absolute silence - in fact, many of Johnson's students report feeling more anxious when studying in a completely silent atmosphere. Instead, use what Johnson refers to as "white noise": a gentle soothing sound that doesn't distract you from the task at hand. Whether it's classical music or the sound of a waterfall, if it relaxes and revitalizes you, listen to it during your study sessions.
• Old Praxis II study guides might regard cell phones as distracting, but when it comes to achieving your best Praxis score ever, your smartphone might actually be your best friend. Load it up with testing applications that quiz you on your math, vocabulary and reading comprehension skills. It's a clever way to fit in study time while you're waiting in line at the grocery store!
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Plants are shaped by cultivation and men by education. .. We are born weak, we need strength; we are born totally unprovided, we need aid; we are born stupid, we need judgment. Everything we do not have at our birth and which we need when we are grown is given us by education.
(Jean Jacques Rousseau, Emile, On Philosophy of Education)
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