E22: Study Hack | 4 Tips to Get the Most Out of Practice Testing

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Welcome to episode 22 of FTCE seminar, a teacher certification podcast. I'm your host Mercedes Musto. Today's episode is a study hack. I love study hacks. I also love pizza. Mmm, pizza. Okay, let's get started. Here are four tips for getting the most, and I mean the most, out of practice tests. Listen. See if you can relate to the following scenario. Okay, so you signed up for your FTCE test, you go online, you find a few practice tests and casually work your way through the questions and the multiple choice answers. And then you're like, oh man, I got 15 wrong.

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Does this sound like you? Because it sounds like me. Then, get this, after you get your practice test score, you go back and memorize all the answers. Take the practice test again, and you're like, boom, I got 100. Okay, let me ask you this. What did you learn? You learned how to memorize the answers to one practice test. And that's not helpful. Nope, not helpful at all. So tip number one is to simulate testing conditions.

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According to Cornell University, try to simulate the conditions you'll experience when you go take the real test. For example, the FTCE is a computer-based test, and you'll want to simulate the testing environment by doing things like setting a timer for 40 minutes, or the length of the test. Now, we've talked about this before,

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it's the phone thing. So you can't have your phone in the testing room, but I understand that you may wanna use your phone as a timer, and that's okay. The key is to simulate the testing conditions, eliminate distractions, and get to focusing. Tip number two is memorize the concept, not the answer. I've seen this again and again.

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Just like I mentioned in the introduction, the goal is not to memorize the practice test examples. The goal is to have knowledge and mastery of the concept, not the multiple choice questions. You can do this by examining each question stem. Ask yourself, what's the concept here? Take the professional education exam, for instance. There's like 80 questions on that test,

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but there are eight competencies of knowledge. Ask yourself, is this an instructional question or maybe it's an ethics questions? Maybe it's dealing with early literacy instruction or even English language learning. So, when you take the practice test, do more than memorize answer choices. Make sure you know the concept so you can perform your best on the exam. Tip number three is called the testing effect.

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Back to Cornell University, there's something called the testing effect, and it literally means like what you are like when you're actually taking the test. You know, is your heart rate increased? Are you a little bit sweaty? You're super nervous? You didn't sleep the night before? Well, if that sounds like you, I know it sounds like me. When you practice during your test simulations, you're also practicing the behavior of retrieving information from your memory. This is called practicing recall. Taking practice tests helps with your active recall because you're actively recalling information which leads to improved memory performance.

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The experts at Edmentum put it this way, practice testing is one of the most effective learning techniques. In fact, by simulating the testing effect and practicing test, you can promote greater learning and knowledge retention on the final test. You know, just compared to like regular old testing strategies where I guess you just sit there and stare. Yeah, no. Let's try it this way. Tip number four, how many practice tests should I take? If there's a lot of practice tests out there, do I just keep taking them? No, no way. And you didn't want to do that anyway. The research suggests taking one full-length practice test is proven effective. You

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know, simulate the testing environment, examine the concepts that you're being asked, and take one full-length practice test. But let me tell you more. For maximum effect on the final test, the full-length practice test should be taken between one and six days before the final test. So think of it that way. Now, let's review. Use these four tips to get the most out of practice testing. Tip number one, simulate the testing environment. Tip number two, don't memorize the questions, master the concept. Tip number three, embrace the testing effect. And tip number four, take the practice test. Now for more study hacks visit ftceseminar.com. You can also visit us on Spotify, Audible, or your favorite podcast player to start studying.

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The important thing is to start studying and start studying today. Well, what are you waiting for? Check us out on YouTube at FTCE seminar and start studying today. This is your host Mercedes Musto. Join me again on FTCE seminar, a teacher certification podcast. This podcast was recorded at the Pickens Multimedia Studio at the University of West Florida.

Transcribed with Cockatoo