Giving pretests
On the first day of class, I have about 5 questions on the board to gauge where the students are coming from regarding the subject matter. Usually I will get a sense what the class knows or does not know. What other methods of pretests would you suggest?
~Louis
Hi Al:
Sharing your pretesting results with other teachers is a wonderful idea - that's the only way change is going to happen.
Knowing where each class needs the most attention is very important in planning lessons, resources, and related supplies and perhaps certain training aids. Pretesting can certainly held define where these areas of emphasis are needed.
Regards, Barry
I have done very informal pre-testing because it is a good gauge on where each individual class sits in the learing process. It allows me to see what has been missed in the earlier intro classes and I know what I need to re-focus on in the advanced class that I teach. It has also allowed me to take this information back to the intro instructor to give feedback on the most common subjects not being retained or covered. Upon final testing it also allows you to see how far the class has come and to ensure they have received all of the informtion needed from my class to send them into the profession.
Hi David:
A good overall pretest certainly gets the students involved early! I think most students don't mind doing this activity especially if it's not graded. Helps the teacher plan and tells something about each student's prior academic or preparation background.
Regards, Barry
I like the idea of getting the students involved in the class as early as possible and I'm a big fan of of pretesting.
Hi Terri:
When we know about where our students are coming from, thats an advantage. I often have higher expectatations than my students seem to be prepared for. So, I'll do a brief assessment just to see where they're at, and then, user that information to tweak my curriculum to better meet their needs.
Regards, Barry
To get a sense of my students' knowledge about our class material, I find it helpful to ask several questions during the first class and have them share their experiences with the class. That gets them involved right away and helps to get the class of to a good start.
Hi Christina:
Good - glad you found something useful.
Pretesting really helps the teacher more than students. Usually tests are designed to assess what we've taught. Here, we want to assess what the student knows coming into a class. In a sense, there are no wrong answers, only information that helps the teacher be more effective in assuring their students learn.
Regards, Barry
Thank you. That's very helpful.
Hi Louis:
Here's an example. Suppose you have 2-3 objectives each day, and you have 20 days. You could ramdomly select what you feel are the most important 1/3 of those objectives and make up a simple test to see how well your students do. It really doesn't matter too how well they do as much as inform you where you may need to put a little more emphasis. Students usually don't mind having a test like this if it's not graded. They also get an idea about what the class contains. Just one example of many. Get creative!
Regards, Barry
