First Sousa explains there are two things brain cells consume as fuel...oxygen and glucose. These steps help make more of both of those things available for the brain during stressful test taking.
1) Quick exercise: Get your students up for about two minutes of jumping jacks or calf raises before they start the test. These movements will increase blood flood and move more oxygen up to the brain. If you're a college student, get creative with how you explain your sudden need to exercise before the exam to all your classmates. Or recreate the Rocky scene as you run up the stairs to class...preferably in a sweat suit with matching sweat band, but that's just me. Parents, forward this blog post to your child's teachers...trust me, they are willing to try anything to get standardized test scores up!
Everyone loves a visual! : )
2) Eat some fruit: It is an excellent source of glucose and will give those brain cells some energy! Glucose helps increase recall from both long-term memory and working memory significantly. Obviously this is very important for success on a test! Sousa suggests raisins for convenience in the classroom, but other fruit work too. However, fruit juices don't quite have the same effect. They have more fructose than glucose, so bypass those.
Mmm...mmm...my brain is working better already!
3) Wash that fruit down with some water. This is key because water will help the glucose get into students' bloodstream faster. We want hydrated brains!
Do these steps with about 5 minutes until testing...and you should be good to go for about a 30 minute test. If you're taking (or giving) a longer test than that, take a break to repeat the steps.
Well there you have it..."How the Brain Learns" by David A. Sousa...I'm telling you, it's some good stuff!
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