As the semester comes to a close, I wanted to take some time to reflect on this class and my final project. I first decided to register for this class as it was recommended to me by a friend who took it during freshmen year, and I remember her expressing how useful it was and how she could use what she learned for her future classes. While I wish I had listened to her more and taken this class before my senior year, I’m still very glad I’m taking it with the little time I have left here at Wake as a senior with one more semester. Looking back on this (half) semester, while everything we did was certainly useful, if I had to choose a favorite week of content for this class, I’d say it was week 3, especially the readings/videos about information privilege. I’m still shocked at the scholarly privilege I hold just as a student here and have told all of my friends about it as I wish I had known sooner.
For my final project, I chose to formulate my research question on the topic of test anxiety and its effect on the mental health/well-being of college students, and how it can be reduced. Through my research and personal experience, test anxiety affects numerous college students. Although it can manifest in different ways and the effects vary by individual, it’s an issue that I believe needs to be acknowledged more. For this reason, I made my deliverable about the effects of test anxiety on college students and provided tips for reducing it to be used by both students and faculty, because combatting it can stem from a collaborative effort. While I’ve personally struggled with test anxiety, it was eye-opening to learn about how common it is among college students based on the research. My hope with this deliverable is to bring more attention to the issue and create more conversation not only among students struggling with it, but also faculty who can help in various ways.