Maintaining finals week motivation
Finals week motivation is a difficult thing to gauge for students with reading needs like dyslexia. On the one hand, the learners taking college tests will have a very close eye on their grades and how they relate to jobs and careers, so their motivation is likely pretty high.
…on the other hand, it’s not like it was back in high school. Back then, there was a class teacher helping keep pace who had deep knowledge of their individual reading needs, and now, even if they have support in place, students have to work and stay self-motivated. There are more competing priorities in college and university too. From sports and extra-curriculars to the stresses of getting laundry sorted when sharing a washer with eight to twelve other freshmen.
But when it comes to staying motivated, it’s also important we remember that when the stakes are high, anxiety can get real. Reading anxiety can tank finals week motivation in moments if learners aren’t feeling supported, even if they’re at college level.
Especially if they’re feeling nervous about the reading element of the exam. It’s unfortunately common thought progression for a burned-out student with reading needs: ‘Well, if I’m going to struggle, which means I won’t get a good grade no matter how hard I try, why aim high in the first place?’—but it doesn’t have to be that way.
That’s where C-Pen Exam Reader 2 comes in.
The finals week motivation equation
Motivation requires confidence that study will pay off. Together, they’re a key component of the winning formula: motivation + confidence + knowledge = finals week success!
When test-takers feel secure in their ability to walk into their finals and do their best, they get better grades. Confidence is a huge part of achievement, even at this advanced level, and when learners lose it for tests as important as these, a whole semester of learning could be compromised.
That’s why it’s so important that we tackle finals week motivation issues a long time before finals week happens and ensure that students know they’ll always be able to understand the questions.
Taking on the end of semester with C-Pen Exam Reader 2
C-Pen Exam Reader 2 is a powerful reading tool that puts award-winning text-to-speech technology right in a learner’s hands during tests and timed assignments. It’s easier to use than the simplest screen reader, and it’s approved for use by exam boards all over the world. You don’t even need a Wi-Fi connection!
To start scanning, simply plug in headphones and move the tip of the reading pen across the page to hear the words read back in a clear, customizable voice. It’s dependable, reliable multi-modal reading support at their fingertips, without the need to use a human reader, who might make older learners feel embarrassed or spotlighted.
C-Pen Exam Reader 2 is also specially designed for use in controlled conditions with a unique zero-storage design, meaning that no information can be stored on the pen and taken into or out of the test.
What do we mean by ‘human readers’—and why might they make learners feel uncomfortable?
A human reader is a learning support professional who sits with a learner and reads to them from handouts, test papers or textbooks. When you’ve got reading needs and you’re headed into the exam hall, having any reading support by your side can be comforting… but many pull away from using human reading support for a variety of reasons, especially as they get older.
As they become more independent in high school, many feel that having human reading support makes them look like they need to have their behavior monitored, and they feel policed and uncomfortable. As they get to college age, the social anxiety can deepen: ‘what do my other students think of me? Do they think I’m stupid, or that I shouldn’t be here? What about my professors?’
That’s why learners are overwhelmingly choosing discreet, dependable tech, as it puts learning support back in their hands and doesn’t make them feel infantilized or spotlighted.
The other important equation
Some colleges and universities in the US have over 60,000 students. When we consider that somewhere around 20% of those learners will have dyslexia or another kind of neurodiversity that impacts reading, that means there’s a lot of support that needs to be resourced.
Human reading support doesn’t only have the disadvantage of making learners feel observed, it can also have a devastating effect on a yearly budget for colleges. These are ongoing costs and salaried positions, and as more and more learners become aware of their neurodivergent status and need for reading support, those figures are only set to grow throughout the rest of the decade.
A reading pen like C-Pen Exam Reader 2 can preserve support budgets and allow colleges and universities to support more learners year on year, which means that more learners can go on to achieve success and progress into careers they love.
Other ways students with reading needs can give finals week motivation a boost!
💡 Start a study group with other students on their course! Being around people studying the same materials can help keep learners motivated and create a handy panel of peers to turn to when something isn’t making sense, or they need a second opinion.
💡 Talk to professors and course leaders when they’re feeling lost in their revision. They won’t be able to advise on what’s coming up on the test, but they can guide students toward resources that might be able to help, and get them back on track if their study focus might have gone off on a tangent.
💡 Turn to professors or support professionals when they’re feeling burned out or struggling. Sharing problems is the beginning of a support journey, and it’s important to keep an eye on their mental health when they’re at college and might be far from their support groups.
💡 Relax. It might sound counterintuitive, but taking time out to kick back, get enough sleep and reflect on what they’ve learned can give finals week motivation a huge boost. Students aren’t machines, and finals week is hard work!
Speaking up about reading needs in college
But it’s not always that easy, admitting that you need help as an older learner.
For example: if somebody has reading needs in elementary school, we’re generally more accepting of it: they’ve got years yet to get it right! But many people tend not to embrace the idea of reading needs so much when learners get to college level. If somebody is struggling with the fundamentals of reading, how can they be expected to grasp the high-level concepts they’ll face in a college education?
It isn’t true at all—somebody with reading needs is more than capable of excelling in a college education when those needs are properly supported—but many people do tend to assume that by the time they head to college, reading needs should be a thing of the past.
This is what stops some college students from coming forward about their reading needs and seeking appropriate support, whether it’s they themselves who hold the belief or even just some of those around them. It’s a stigma that we’ve got to break if we want to create a campus where everyone can achieve, regardless of reading differences or neurodiversities.
Putting reading support in place at college level
In most situations, reading supports like C-Pen Exam Reader 2 have to be agreed upon long before finals week. The college’s Office of Disability Services is a great place for students to start conversations about reading needs, as is the Admissions Department if they’re not enrolled yet. Students might need a copy of a dyslexia diagnosis or previous test transcripts as part of these conversations, so it’s best to start the preparations early.
There may also be some examinations that are administered through an external body, however, and these might require an application to a board or assessment representative before reading support like C-Pen Exam Reader 2 is okayed for test use. These application processes will likely have deadlines too, so again, it’s a good idea to get the ball rolling in the first few weeks of the semester.
English Language Learners and finals week motivation
It’s also important to note that almost every finals week motivation issue that might arise in a learner who has reading needs like dyslexia can also impact students who are still developing their English language skills, too.
English Language Learners (ELLs) in colleges and universities might be from other countries, other areas of the country, or simply from households in the US where English isn’t their most spoken language. They might find test season a daunting prospect. It’s easy to slip into the same thought process as learners with dyslexia or other similar reading needs do: if comprehension is gated, then test achievement can feel out of reach.
When we’re talking test support, it’s important to remember that ELLs get reading anxiety too, and their finals week motivation might be taking the same hits as that of dyslexic students.
By supporting their comprehension in exams, we create the opportunity for learners with language needs to showcase the best of their skills, so that they can succeed and achieve just the same as their peers who speak English more fluently.
Test support changes lives!
Without the right reading support, test season can be trying, and finals week motivation can be very difficult to come by. But these tests can equate to as much as 25-50% of a student’s yearly GPA and it’s important that learners do their best—in college, one low end of semester mark is unfortunately enough to mean a student has to retake the whole course sometimes, which can be stressful.
When we ensure that learners with reading needs are heading into assessment season with all the tools they need in order to succeed, their finals week motivation doesn’t suffer. They’re confident that all that revision, prep and learning has a positive endpoint, and it’s a time and effort investment that feels important and worthwhile for them to make.
These students are only a few finals weeks away from heading into the world of work or postgraduate study. They’re getting prepared for the world beyond the classroom and working out how they’ll craft a career, create things or finance the rest of their lives.
These learners aren’t children anymore, and that’s why it’s important that we get test support right first time. They don’t have the extra time to play with as the real world is on the horizon, and from the get-go, it’s vital we make sure that each and every learner is confident and supported enough to succeed.
Find out more about the C-Pen Exam Reader 2 today!
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