Writing down the year and name of this learning 'law' helps me to remember it––hence this post–I sometimes refer to it in the lead-up to exams.
Insight: students may not yet realise they want a particular result—or understand what that result could make possible—until those possibilities are made visible to them. Part of teaching, therefore, is not simply helping students prepare for an assessment, but helping them see what they may be working towards and why it could matter.
The law suggests that a certain level of pressure can improve attention and performance, while excessive pressure can have the opposite effect.
Good preparation can help students experience an upcoming exam as a positive and manageable challenge rather than as overwhelming negative stress.
In other words, preparation may not remove stress, but it can help keep it at a productive level, even more so when the goal is visible.
