Software aims to relax pre-test jitters

Students are hooked up to finger monitors, measuring heart rhythms.

From James Hattori
CNN

WATSONVILLE, California (CNN) -- When you’re "in the zone," you're ready for anything.

Athletes, coaches and sportswriters talk about this state of mind -- a place to tune out all distractions, enhance their concentration and virtually eliminate stress. Now some are trying to use technology to transport students to "the zone," hoping for better test results in the process.

"When you have your brain and your heart and your body working together, you’re going to have more of that optimal learning state," said Jeff Goelitz of the Heartmath Institute, an educational software company. "That’s one of our contributions -- help the kids relax, help the kids focus, help them manage their emotions better."

The pressure is on at Watsonville High, located in a largely agricultural and Hispanic community in central California. Assistant Principal Lawrence Lane said half its 3,200 students are classified as "limited English proficient," and the school ranked among the bottom 10 percent of California schools for academic performance by the state department of education.

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These statistics, and impending statewide assessment exams, led school administrators to bring in Heartmath for a four-week pilot program. Heartmath’s computer software, called Freezeframer, aims to relax students before tests -- measuring their heart rates, breathing patterns and ability to focus.

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"I feel myself actually being more calm," said student Joey Garcia after trying the program. "I can be more focused and my mind is more clear. I think it does work."

Heartmath’s initiative isn’t unique in the educational world as schools work to lower their stress levels and improve student performance. The rise of statewide, and possibly national assessment exams has put the pressure on schools and students to produce results.

Does it work?

While Watsonville students said they found the Heartmath program helpful, the technique is not proven, said Dr. Hans Steiner, a professor of child psychiatry at Stanford University.

Dr. Steiner says there's no proven connection between emotion and performance

"There’s technique that’s been practiced for thousands of years," he said. "It’s called yoga and that’s very similar to what this does."

Steiner said more research must be done before Heartmath, and similar programs, can conclusively establish a connection between heart rate, emotion and student performance.

"Just because your heart does certain things doesn’t mean necessarily that you’re feeling a certain type of emotion," he said. "There’s a bunch of experiments people have done to nail down this connection, and its pretty fluid."

While its unclear what impact Heartmath’s software will have on test results, Lane said he hopes students will benefit.

"It’s the school’s responsibility to arm the kids with as many life-long learning skills as they can possibly have," Lane said. "So when they leave us … they will have as many arrows in their quiver to deal with adult life as you and I know it."

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HeartMath
Watsonville High School

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