Many students are not mastering the material
Sometimes,you have a class where many students struggle with the course material. How, do you adjust the curriculum without compromising the quality of instruction? Is pre-testing the best approach in tacking this problem?
Edward,
I use a "check for understanding" method, where I teach, stop and randomly ask a question about the material from a student, and wait for the correct response. If the one I called on can't answer, I go to another. If after two can't answer, I stop and review the material over again. This process is repeated throughout the lesson. It does take a bit more time, but not that much more, and I feel better knowing students have received the material.
Barry Westling
If a majority of your students are having a hard time grasping concepts, examining the previous class to determine the level of instruction, then making adjustments in your lessons may be a solution. You may have to give a "crash course" in order for your current students up to speed. Some sections may need to be compressed in order to fulfill the syllabus. Not the ideal solution, but we all know these situations occur.
Jill,
Great! At first, students feel it's a little elementary but as time goes on, they soon are mostly all engaged because no one knows who will next be chosen. Also, all students get to hear the correct (or incorrect) choice, and further explanation from the teacher. In theory, the class could not move forward until all have grasped each point. In practice, some weaker students may need additional help, and that is pretty easy to schedule time to work with them individually.
Barry Westling
I really like this plan too. I am teaching a basic math course and the students have very different levels of understanding. I have used pretests to evaluate, but it is not getting the best results. I think your plan would allow me to get shorter but more specific information about individual students. Also, it might be a little more interesting to the class.
Tara ,
Great! It works for me and is kind of fun to facilitate a class this way.
Barry Westling
I like that idea! The random chance keeps the class fun and everyone ready
Tara,
There's a technique called "checking for understanding". Using this activity, all student names are put on some inexpensive item (playing cards, popcicle sticks, pencils, even coins). As the lesson proceeds, the teacher stops frequently throughout the lesson, randomly pulls a name, and asks a question. If not answered, another name is pulled. For me, after two names, I answer the question, but I go back and review. When conducted smoothly, this helps assure all students move forward at approximately the same pace. This takes slightly more time, but students stay focused because they know their name may be called next.
Barry Westling
I also teach Medical lab courses, and I see a challenge in the jam packed curriculum-- some students are proactive and want to learn, while others do not master the curriculum. There is so much to do in such a short period of time!
Dwayne,
Given your circumstances, I would choose essay-style questions, and ask students to s"show their work" and circle or box their answers. In this way, you could view their scatchings and process used to see where or what part of the calculations are most people having difficulty.
Barry Westling
What type of material would you put on a pretest? I teach a course in Drug Calculations and have students that cannot even do simple math, which is a prerequisite for the course. Would it simply consist of basic math problems?
Yvonne,
Great.This is the principle of checking for understanding in practice. Your process should be helping your students a great deal.
Barry Westling
I like the idea of teaching and checking for understanding. I teach a medical coding course and sometimes it is hard to get the students to understand that they first need to understand the book layout before going to ther next process. So for me, I would discuss and review the book layout and check for understanding by written and/or auditory feedback.
Hi Bret,
I take it a step at a time. For instance, teach, then check for understanding, then teach some more, then check for understanding, then repeat the process until the lesson is complete. In this manner, the teacher cannot get too far in the lesson without an assurance the students are on the same page as the instructor. You will always have some students that need more attention - thats where some individual tutoring or remediation time can help bridge the gap.
Barry Westling
