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I am a visual thinker also. Everything I think about comes to me in pictures. One good thing about that is usually visual thinkers have fantastic memories for details.
I suggested practicing spelling words in sign language because I am a visual thinker. Forming my hand into the letters helps me remember things and it works really well for DD. That way, if she does get stumped on a test, she can spell it out in another way or she can visualize herself doing it.
I would have to close my eyes and pull up the "pictures" of the answers in my head. After I got good enough at doing it that way, I would just block everything else out visually and could play the answers in my head like a movie.
My advise is to work with the way he learns and it will make him more comfortable while taking tests. Teach him how to use his pictures while under stress. The best way to do that is to copy the teacher's test giving style while practicing the test.
OMG, his memory is incredible. He can remember events from when he was 2. I kid you not. He can remember places he hasn't been to in 4 years. It is just amazing.
(So, as the mom, I am thinking, you can remember when we flew to California when we were 2 but you can't remember how to spell this week's word? )
As far as the pictures, remember up thread when I reported how DS says he doesn't have enough time on the test.....
Well, what I keep having him do when we practice (up til this week, when trying new things) is have him PICTURE the whole word in his head, then say it. When he does that, he can get the whole word correctly. IDK if he has enough time to do that during the test, notwithstanding the fact that he needs to be able to recall them more quickly.
Am def. going to try the sign language idea--that is excellent advice.
"Blocking everything out visually during the test"....I wonder if he could go sit in the corner or someplace during the tests?
Calgirl, be prepared for the teacher not knowing how to deal with the test stress problem. She'll have to be willing to work outside the box. (How strict is your state on test scores? This may have some bearing on it.) If he has test stress like mine it's like having a panic attack. If he has it she (and you) will have to understand that he has a physical reaction to having to take a test. He might be the smartest kid in the school but no one is ever going to be able to find that out with the standard way kids are tested. Talk to his teacher about it.
The last statement.... There's your challenge. He has to know there are certain things he has to learn because that's the way our school systems work. He'll not be happy about that. Meanwhile, make sure he can learn a lot of things on his own. Expose him to as much as you can. (Which I think you've been doing a lot of already. Good job.)
You might ask about test stress in Education. See what you can learn. Luckily none of my kids had it. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. (You had his IQ tested? How did he do with the situation? (Not the test itself.) Was it fun for him? If it's fun he'll LOVE being tested. If it's not fun he'll have problems.)
Dew, you have an amazing memory too. Yes, this is my sweet "pacifist" boy. The one who looks like a mini-movie star.
We do say things like "Well, if you are going to design nuclear powered ships, you need to learn physics and chemistry, and for that you need calculus, and for that you need to know your multiplication tables".
He HATED the testing situation.
It is interesting about the physical reaction during the test. I would not have thought of that. Looks like more research is needed....but I will ask him about it to start. (He gets panicky just TALKING about the test).
As far as the pictures, remember up thread when I reported how DS says he doesn't have enough time on the test.....
Big clue. Timed tests can make test anxiety even worse.
NFL teams give college-age players something called the Wonderlic test before the draft. It's a timed test. Something like 50 questions in 12 minutes. It supposedly tells the team how smart the player is and how well he'll do things like learn the play book.
I've taken that test numerous times and I bomb out every.single.time. My Wonderlic score is in the low teens. Which would tell the NFL I am dumber than a bag full of rocks. Which (according to the diplomas on my wall) I'm not.
But do not ask me to spell or do long division. Everyone's brain is wired differently. The trick is learning your son's circutry.
(BTW: I'm guessing he'd be a whiz at understanding printed circut boards. Especially if you showed him how they applied to things like the Apollo moon launches. Please tell me you take him to the library and let him pick out his own books.)
Big clue. Timed tests can make test anxiety even worse.
NFL teams give college-age players something called the Wonderlic test before the draft. It's a timed test. Something like 50 questions in 12 minutes. It supposedly tells the team how smart the player is and how well he'll do things like learn the play book.
I've taken that test numerous times and I bomb out every.single.time. My Wonderlic score is in the low teens. Which would tell the NFL I am dumber than a bag full of rocks. Which (according to the diplomas on my wall) I'm not.
For some people timed tests =
Well duh, we don't need no stinkin' diplomas to tell us that.
Quick question, out of interest - do the rest of us who don't think in pictures hear voices? I've never thought about it before, but I guess I talk to myself all the time. What's the "normal" way to do it, for want of a better word?
Well duh, we don't need no stinkin' diplomas to tell us that.
Quick question, out of interest - do the rest of us who don't think in pictures hear voices? I've never thought about it before, but I guess I talk to myself all the time. What's the "normal" way to do it, for want of a better word?
Thanks Fin.
I don't think there is a "normal" way. (Hopefully someone with knowledge about those things can fill us in.) Everyone "talks" in their head. It's called intrapersonal communication. Do you talk out loud to reason/figure things out? I've read many times that a lot of intelligent people do that. I think it runs in families.
(And is separate from "they're gonna get me" talking out loud. )
Well duh, we don't need no stinkin' diplomas to tell us that.
Quick question, out of interest - do the rest of us who don't think in pictures hear voices? I've never thought about it before, but I guess I talk to myself all the time. What's the "normal" way to do it, for want of a better word?
I think the distinction is typically between "visual learners" and "auditory learners," but I'm reaching into the way-back-machine for undergrad cog psych on that.
calgirl - Not that it's at this point at all but wanted to toss the idea out in case it becomes useful in the future: there are child psych therapists who do "quick and dirty" (aka, just a few sessions) test anxiety treatment. Usually it's about coping-ahead skills, figuring out how to stay on-task (focused on the test not the physical or thought components of the anxiety) and things like that to help habituate to stressful test conditions. Actually, a lot of the suggestions you've gotten on this thread remind me a lot of the cope-ahead and habituation pieces.
Everyone "talks" in their head. It's called intrapersonal communication.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FinsterRufus
I've never thought about it before, but I guess I talk to myself all the time.
Fun fact: That "voice" we all hear inside our heads? It's sometimes called a homunculus (which I think is the funnest word ever!). Sort of makes you want to give yours a name, doesn't it? Or maybe that's just me...
I don't think there is a "normal" way. (Hopefully someone with knowledge about those things can fill us in.) Everyone "talks" in their head. It's called intrapersonal communication. Do you talk out loud to reason/figure things out? I've read many times that a lot of intelligent people do that. I think it runs in families.
Huh. In that case, I must be a GENIUS. (did I say that out loud?)
Quote:
Originally Posted by DewDropInn
(And is separate from "they're gonna get me" talking out loud. )
Oh. Scratch the above.
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Please tell me you take him to the library and let him pick out his own books.)
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