During an IB economics exam today I gave students 2 minutes in the middle of the 80 min exam to get up and talk to their peers.

The mood lightened, positive energy was restored, and students later said that it helped.

Because students were writing long responses to questions, I doubt there is much need to worry about cheating.

On balance I would say “the juice was worth the squeeze”; the benefits outweighed the cost.

Has anyone else tried this? #edutwitter

@atwright coincidentally, @weblearning shared this post where an instructor let students talk with each other for 5 minutes at the beginning of an exam: "Friends without Pens"
https://higheredpraxis.substack.com/p/tip-reducing-exam-anxiety
Some other before-exam techniques for reducing student test anxiety include stress reappraisal and expressive writing: https://canvas.instructure.com/courses/3168265/pages/about-anxiety-reappraisal-interventions?module_item_id=50271951
@edutooters #EdDev #EdResearch #Teaching #EdPsy #StudentSuccess
Tip: Reducing Exam Anxiety

"Friends without Pens" gives students time to chat about the exam before starting.

Tips for Teaching Professors
@dougholton @atwright @weblearning @edutooters
Interesting 👏🏼👏🏼