7 strategies to maintain students’ emotional health

School assessments are crucial moments to measure academic progress and can generate stress and anxiety among students. Today, with the advancement of neuroscience, we can observe this, if we implement it Social and emotional education strategiesStudents can live these moments better and achieve emotional well-being.

To address this reality, Rafael Pesqueira He points out the necessity of training educators, boys and girls, from the primary stage, on social and emotional education, because it is important Lesson for life. In the moments when students take exams, oral samples and presentations in front of others, it is important to anticipate and carry out simulations and practices so that they are most secure in that moment and, above all, to put learning as the center and focus. Not for evaluation that becomes a sentence but rather a space for learning.

Therefore, it is necessary to provide tools to the educational community, so that they not only focus on academic knowledge, but also Emotional well-being of students. Some teachers and schools are implementing effective strategies and tools to help students manage their emotions during these times.

The most prominent strategies are the following:

1. Emotional support environments: Consists of creating safe environments, with teachers and staff trained to provide encouragement and calm to students before assessments.

2. Mindfulness practices: Introducing breathing techniques, meditation or exercises such as walking around the school, or laughing at something we have gone through as a group, before exams as they help reduce anxiety and promote a calmer, more focused state of mind.

3. Focus on time management: Students receive guidance on how to manage their time effectively during exams, prioritize questions and maintain a consistent pace. Teachers or professors can accompany them by being time keepers, mentioning the time that has passed.

4. Confirmation messages: Teachers provide words of encouragement and positive reinforcement before assessments, emphasizing the value of effort and dedication over results.

5. Wellness activities after assessment: Relaxation activities are promoted after exams to relieve stress accumulated during exams. You can go out into the yard for a walk or some open space, it is very enriching to play, do physical activity or some other activity that connects you with art and different ways of expressing yourself.

6. Open dialogue: Encouraging open communication and constructive feedback after an assessment can help students understand their strengths and areas for improvement, as well as identify strategies for dealing with similar situations in the future.

7. Strategies for dealing with undesirable outcomes: Teaching students how to deal with and learn from negative outcomes is crucial. Focusing on learning and personal growth, rather than grades, can be a powerful tool in building emotional resilience.

These strategies seek not only to reduce stress during testing periods, but also to develop social and emotional skills that are essential for the overall development of students because they will be beneficial throughout their lives. Teachers and families are key To create a supportive environment among students, encourage cooperation and camaraderie, and reduce feelings of isolation and anxiety. Group activities before exams can strengthen social bonds and build trust among classmates. In this way, students are also helped to face exams with a more positive mindset.

Having the support of your peers is essential in the learning process. How important is it to integrate more schools? Social and emotional education practices Transversally with a commitment to the holistic well-being of students, recognizing that their emotional health is essential for effective, sustained and meaningful learning.

Lorena Vatcher MA is a specialist in Educational Administration and specializes in Emotional Education and Well-Being. She currently works as an educational coordinator at the General Directorate of Municipal Education in the Education and Employment Secretariat of the Municipality of Vicente López.