Outwitting Einstein: Preparing for Math Tests
by Blythe Grossberg, Psy.D.

My book, Test Success: Test-Taking and Study Strategies for All Students, Including those with ADD and LD (Specialty Press, 2009) is designed to help students find efficient and effective ways of studying geared to their learning styles. One section of the book covers how students can best prepare for math tests, which cause a great deal of anxiety among many middle and high school students.

Taking a math test can be like traveling to a foreign country in which you don't understand the language and are stuck in a train strike. In other words, math tests are filled with unfamiliar notation and symbols that tend to make kids quake in their boots. The answer to feeling comfortable while taking math tests is to do the right kind of preparation and to have strategies to defeat jitters on the test day. Here are some student-tested, real-life strategies for conquering math anxiety and performing up to one's potential on math assessments:

• Understand the general rules.
  Many students prepare for math tests by doing multiple practice problems. What they don't realize, however, is that teachers like to confuse them on tests by changing numbers, flipping figures around, and performing other tricks that test students' true understanding of the material. Rather than simply doing practice problems from their math books, students should write out each general rule. For example, if students learn that the number of degrees contained in any regular polygon is equal to the number of sides of the figure minus two times 180 degrees (don't worry if you don't understand this concept, just know that it's a rule that applies to all regular shapes), then the students can figure out the number of degrees in each shape the teacher may give them on a test. Students can write general rules on the top of the test when they receive it to remind them of these rules while they are working.
• Use graph paper and paper with ample space.
  Students who have poor graphomotor skills tend to cram their math work together and to make mistakes because they can't read their own handwriting. A simple solution to this problem to have them practice using large-format graph paper in which they insert a number into each box. They should also ask their teachers to have extra space to write down their work so they can write clearly.
• Count the minutes and pace yourself.
  When they receive a test, students should spend less than a minute scanning over the entire test and planning their time wisely. The back page of tests can be a killer for some students who don't realize that they are getting bogged down on the early questions and not budgeting their time well. This type of planning also helps them develop self-monitoring and planning skills essential to success in all academic areas.

Children with Attention Deficits Concentrate Better After Walk in the Park
Andrea Faber Taylor and Frances E. Kuo

Objective: In the general population, attention is reliably enhanced after exposure to certain physical environments, particularly natural environments. This study examined the impacts of environments on attention in children with ADHD. Method: In this within subjects design, each participant experienced each of three treatments (environments) in single blind controlled trials. Seventeen children 7 to12 years old professionally diagnosed with ADHD experienced each of three environments-a city park and two other well-kept urban settings-via individually guided 20-minute walks. Environments were experienced 1 week apart, with randomized assignment to treatment order. After each walk, concentration was measured using Digit Span Backwards. Results: Children with ADHD concentrated better after the walk in the park than after the downtown walk (p = .0229) or the neighborhood walk (p = .0072). Effect sizes were substantial (Cohen's d =.52 and .77, respectively) and comparable to those reported for recent formulations of methylphenidate. Conclusion: Twenty minutes in a park setting was sufficient to elevate attention performance relative to the same amount of time in other settings. These findings indicate that environments can enhance attention not only in the general population but also in ADHD populations. "Doses of nature" might serve as a safe, inexpensive, widely accessible new tool in the tool kit for managing ADHD symptoms. (J. of Att. Dis. 2009; 12(5) 402-409)

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• The danger of combining drugs
• Your 21st century brain on Facebook

Visit myADHD.com and use the follow tools this month to learn about Cognitive Behavior Therapy and CBT tools to help adults with ADHD who may suffer from anxiety or depression.

• Introduction to Cognitive Behavior Therapy
• Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Anxiety
• Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Depression