AFACCT 2021 Conference

1. Mental Health First Aid
How to interact with and help students with exam anxiety and panic attacks.
Joe Sparenberg

3. Outline
◦ Background information
◦ Student introductions
◦ 10 tips for students to handle exam anxiety
◦ Tips for the instructor and resources for you
◦ External recourses

4. About me…
I lived in Baltimore all my life and graduated high school in 1997. I, then, went to UMBC for 3 semesters double
majoring and minoring in Biochemistry, Psychology, and Art History. I quickly burned myself out and did not return
the fourth semester. I was also the student that got up and left in the middle of an exam and never came back because
of severe anxiety. During my time off, I worked various retail and manufacturing jobs and was able to get the help I
needed for anxiety. I returned to school in 2008 – 10 years after leaving UMBC. I was working full time while taking 1
or 2 classes a semester. Three years at CCBC and four years at UMBC later, I graduated with a BS in Biochemistry and
a BS in Biology. At the time, I was one year away from paying of my mortgage, so I stayed at UMBC for my MS in
Chemistry. I graduated the day before my 40th birthday in May 2019. I am also certified in Mental Health First Aid
(although, not certified to teach). Between personal experiences as a student and observations as an instructor, I made
this presentation to help instructors help students. Exams cause enough anxiety and added anxiety could be
detrimental for students.

5. Student
Introductions
◦ In online environment as well as face to face, it is
important that students know you care about them
and want them to be successful
◦ I often start with 2 truths and a lie icebreaker
◦ I went to high school with someone who played
for the New York Yankees
◦ I am fluent in German
◦ I have 50 first cousins on my father’s side of the
family
◦ Students fill out a questionnaire
◦ Important questions to ask
◦ Preferred name and pronoun
◦ Reasons for taking classes
◦ Reservations about taking class
◦ Immediate questions/concerns
◦ Something interesting/hobbies

6. TIPS FOR TACKLING
EXAM ANXIETY –
BEFORE EXAM TIME

7. 1. Do not study within two hours of the exam. It is ok to look up something you
realized you forgot, but no massive studying. Studying at this time will induce panic
and you will not retain any information and will likely lose information that you
already knew.
2. Make sure you eat and sleep well before the exam. Sleeping helps your body
"convert" short term memory to long term memory.
3. If you have a note card with equations, etc. write down things that may be
simple, but you may forget when stressed. The most popular one to forget when
panicking is M = mol/L. It is simple, most people in your position know it, but
anxiety can make people forget the simplest of things.

8. 4. Bring gum and a snack/protein bar. The gum will help you relax if you chew it
slowly. The protein bar will help if you get hungry. You probably should have a
water bottle, too. Only water, nothing with caffeine. Caffeine will make anxiety
worse. (Obviously, you cannot do this for any finals in a lab.)
5. 5 -10 minutes before the exam do breathing exercises, try your best to be
relaxed when you sit down.

9. TIPS FOR TACKLING
EXAM ANXIETY –
DURING EXAM

10. 6. If you feel that you are getting extremely anxious, stop writing. Anything you
write while panicking will likely be wrong. Then, start chewing your gum
slowly and go back to doing the exam.
7. This one is only for questions that are not multiple choice. Before you read
any question on the exam, notice the points of each question. If you aren't going
to finish, it is better to skip a 5-point question than a 25-point question. Set
yourself a time (20-40 minutes before the end of the exam) and, no matter where
you are, jump to the question that is worth the most points, then go back if you
have time.

11. 8. Before you answer any question, read the question, and write down the units
the final answer is supposed to be. This will help a lot when it matters the most.
When you do dimensional analysis, you should have units throughout the
problem and cross them out as they cancel out. This way, you will know
immediately if you made a mistake in units.
9. Read every question before you start the exam. Answer any question you
know the answer to immediately first.

12. 10. Panic attacks are your body's way of alerting you your life is in danger. It is
"fight or flight." You always feel this before it happens. If you cannot stop the
attack, excuse yourself and go to the bathroom and stare into the mirror. You will
quickly realize that your life is not in danger, then you can go back to the exam.
Failing an exam may suck and hurt your grade. Worst case scenario, you would
have to take the class again, but it is never fatal. You can convince your brain
that just by looking in the mirror. Then, go back to taking the exam.

14. Case Studies

20. EQUALITY
VS. EQUITY
Students often are hesitant to ask
for help because they feel they will
have an unfair advantage

23. 1
2
3
4

25. Signs you should
look for:
Drastic grade drops or missing assignments
Students complain about grades even though the
grade is good or great
Excessive emails
Anger and frustration that is misplaced
Student stops attending office hours/class/meetings
Constant asking of questions for something they
clearly understand

26. Tips for you as
an instructor
(Howard
Community
College):
◦ Always have resources available for students:
◦ Counseling, Career Services, and Job Assistance
◦ Personal and group counseling available
◦ https://www.howardcc.edu/services-
support/counseling-services/
◦ Phone: 443-518-1340
◦ Current support groups: COVID-19, Women of Color,
Relationship, Career Links
◦ Emergency Counseling Services
https://www.howardcc.edu/services-
support/counseling-services/emergency-counseling.html
◦ LGBTQ resources: https://www.howardcc.edu/student-
life/safe-zone/index.html

27. Tips for you as
an instructor:
◦ Consider adding one question on the exam
with no wrong answer and/or a funny
question. Students often tell me that this leads
to less anxiety when taking an exam.
◦ Be sympathetic or empathetic – consider
granting an extension if possible
◦ Most importantly, listen when students want to
talk

28. REACHING
OUT TO
STUDENTS

30. https://calendly.com/jsparenberg/1-on-1-meeting-chem-101

32. 33. That eerie feeling that you think you have seen something before is known as ______.
A. nope
B. not this one
C. keep going
D. Deja vu
34. That eerie feeling that you think you have seen something before is known as ______.
A. nope
B. not this one
C. keep going
D. Deja vu

33. While taking classes online, most of your work will probably be completed __________
A. in the shower.
B. away from surfing the web, and by reading my textbook, and diligently researching assignments.
C. in the car on the way to Wal-Mart.
D. by someone more responsible than I am because they understand the importance of my education
more than I do.
Rick Astley's never gonna
A. give you up
B. let you down
C. make you cry
D. hurt you
E. all of the above

40. Counseling
Resources for
Faculty and
Staff
◦ Personal Counseling for Faculty
and Staff
◦ Employee Assistance Program
may call 1-800-EAPS (3277)
◦ Consultation about Students
◦ Working with students in
distress:
https://www.howardcc.edu/serv
ices-support/counseling-
services/faculty-staff-
resources/working-with-
students-distress.html

41. External resources
◦ Mental Health and the Transition to College Podcast
◦ https://teenhealthmatters.org/mental-health-and-the-transition-to-college/
◦ Test Anxiety: Can it be treated? (Mayo Clinic)
◦ https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/generalized-anxiety-disorder/expert-
answers/test-anxiety/faq-20058195
◦ Five Strategies to Make Test Anxiety Irrelevant
◦ https://collegeinfogeek.com/test-anxiety/