The document discusses how anxiety and stress negatively impact university students. Stress and anxiety can hamper students' ability to develop socially, personally, and academically by impacting executive functions like inhibition, shifting between tasks, and using working memory. Intense workloads, short deadlines, crowded lectures, fear of poor grades, and extensive expectations from the education system dramatically increase stress levels. Reducing assignments, extending deadlines, easing academic requirements, and fostering supportive classroom environments may help lower student stress and boost performance.

1. How anxiety and stress
impact university
students negatively
By: Hamad Jahzar

2. Evidence list:
• Supportingidea:Negativeimpactsof rigorousworkloadandshortdeadlines
Evidence:The educationsystemplaysabigrole inincreasingstresslevelsfor
students,some of the reasonsinclude crowdedlecture halls,fearof receivinglow
grades,inadequateresourcesandfacilities,extensive syllabus,longstudyhoursand
lengthyworkdays,andhuge academicexpectations. - K.JayasankaraReddy,
KarishnmaRajanMenonandAnjanaThattil (November2018)
• Supportingidea:Risinglevelsof stressandanxietyamongstZUstudentswillhamper
theirabilitytodevelopsocially,personally,andacademically.Evidence:Research
demonstratesthe negativeeffectsof anxietyonexecutive functionsinadults.It
affectsourinhibition(abilitytocontrol certainimpulses),shifting(where we switch
or shiftbetweendifferenttasks),andupdating(where we monitorandupdate
informationinthe cognitivesystemwhere informationIsstoredandmanipulatedfor
us tocomplete atask,knownas workingmemory). -OliverJ.Robinson(May2013)
• Supportingidea:Thisproblemcouldbe solvedthroughextensive andin-depth
investigationof rootcauses,initiatingmeasures,reducingthe amountsof
assignmentsandlengtheningdeadlines.Evidence:We woulddiscussonmaking
connectionswithstudentstobuildaninclusive andsupportiveclassroom
environment.Thesetechniquestogetherwithotherstrategiesthatsupportstudent
participationcouldalsolowerstudentstressandincreasetheirperformance. -
JeremyL.Hsu & Gregory R Goldsmith(February2021)
• Supportingidea:Toaddressthisproblem,itwouldentail collaborationandworking
withteachers,facultystaff,aswell asuniversityadministration.Evidence:Professors
and otherfacultystaff oftenoverlookthe mental challenges,stress,andanxiety
theirstudentsgothrough.Althoughexistingresearchworksexplore different
aspectsof students’causesof stress,manydon’tfocusfullyonthe collegestudents
or the instructor’scontribution.The goal istoprovide approachesaswell as
experiencedteachersthatcanuse saidapproachesinminimizingstudents’stress,
increasingperformance andqualityof life. -JeremyL.Hsu& GregoryR Goldsmith
(February2021)

3. Evidence List
(Cont):
• Supporting idea 1: The strategy (Easing Assignment
requirements, Extending deadlines, and working
with students) is aimed at reducing the effects of
stress and anxiety on students. Evidence: Reducing
assignment anxiety is important as they are often
sources of stress and anxiety. Thus, reducing or
cutting back on high stakes test, as they have been
known to cause in students across a diverse
number of settings. Lastly, buildin alternate
methods of assessment to reduce the amount of
stress caused by high stakes test, or modify the
format of exams to lower stress. Working with
students and establishingconnectionswith them
helps in making studentsfeel more comfortable in
class and more willing to engage with the educator
both inside and outside class and increases the
educator's perceived immediacy and connection
with students. - Jeremy L. Hsu & Gregory R
Goldsmith (February 2021)

4. Stress impacts an individual's personal growth
• Anxiety and stress could negativelyimpact our executive functions (such as our abilityto focus,
switch between different tasks, using stored information in memory to complete a task). Increasing
anxiety and stress would often lead studentsto fearing that they would fail, avoidinganythingthat
would cause any kind of harm and shorten their attentionspan in class and whilst doing any sort of
dailywork.
• -Oliver J. (2013)

5. Intense Workload and short
deadlines increase stress and
anxiety dramatically
• The education system plays a big role in increasing
stress levels for students, some of the reasons
include crowded lecture halls, fear of receiving low
grades, inadequate resources and facilities,
extensive syllabus, long study hours and lengthy
workdays, and huge academic expectations.
• -K. JayasankaraReddy, KarishnmaRajan Menon
and Anjana Thattil (2018)