Pretesting is a great tool to help with instructional planning because it is used as a gauge for student's actual knowledge that may differ from a students assumed knowledge by the instructor.
As a whole I think we could do a better job of this as part of the admissions process to ensure some time of general competency exam. However our curriculum is presented in a scaffold-ed manner. I think as an instructor a pretest to make sure essential knowledge is carried forward from a previous unit in to the current one being presented could be valuable.
Chakita,
I don't always do pretesting. I reserve it for the times I no knowledge about past learning or abilities. The pretest helps me plan in these instances.
Barry Westling
A pretest allows me as an intructor to gauge the content material and make adjustments according to the needs of the students.
Theresa,
Great. Pretests don't have to lengthly or comprehensive....just sort a toe in the water to get a sense where the students are performining, on this day, in this class, at this monent.
Barry Westling
I have always enjoyed using pretests It helps me plan my lessons and helps me to concentrate on areas where students may be weak
Kerry,
Great. Perfect way to learn what level of student you're dealing with.
Barry Westling
It is my experience that all my residents from dental school have different levels of knowledge and experience in my field. So the pretest is an excellent way to inform me as to their level of knowledge and allow me to plan accordingly.
Nancy,
I have found that if students know they arn't supposed to know everything, and that it is a non-graded activity, they will have less anxiety and frustration when doing pretesting.
Barry Westling
I like this concept of a pretest to get an idea of where the students in your class are coming from with their background experience. I have tried this but found that it frustrates students because they feel they "don't know anything". I need to work on using this tool in a more effective way.
Christina-Rose,
It works for many teachers, mainly for planning what students need most and perhaps can get by with less of.
Barry Westling
Our admissions department pretests the students before enrollment, but I've never issued a pretest before the course material. I can see the benefits of doing so before approaching some of our more complicated material.
Vincent,
Great. There is a "preview of coming attractions" aspect to a pretest if it covers bits of all parts of the course. Textbook authors often use something similar in their layout, beginning objectives, then an outline, then an overview, then key words or terms, each component adding more fundmental material until the student reaches the body of the text. I always encourage my students to read the foreward and preface to all their texts. These provide a message from the author what is significant about the text and perhaps, how to use it. What a great resource!
Barry Westling
Daniel,
That's a nice way to go about it. I have repeated thae same test at the end of a course, as a motivation to show how far the students came in their journey through a rather rigorous course. Most are amazed at what seemed so daunting at first, but seemed very basic at the end of the course.
Barry Westling
This has helped me in the past two different ways. It gives me a sense of where each student is and where to slow down during instruction.
The second part, actually is giving the student a "heads-up" of where this class will bring them. I have found this very motivating to the student.
While the material I cover is predetermined, the mehtod of presentation is not. I like to give pretests at the beginning of each term, another test at the halfway point, and a third time near the end. Students aren't simply memorizing the pretest as it is different each time, rather it allows them to see what skills and knowledge they have acquired.
Katherine,
Some instructors like to pretest, others do not. In the end, we just have to look at it as a tool to help us plan where emphasis needs strengthening or perhaps where students are already strong.
Barry Westling
I have never done a pretest before. I am new at teaching just over 2years. The pretest can help with instructional planning by finding areas of weakness in general for the group. Then to focus on those areas of weakness. I might put together a pretest for my next group of students. What a great idea.Thanks
Peter,
Right. When I know where my emphasis is needed, I don't have to spend as much time with other material that'll be less effective use of mine and the students time.
Barry Westling
It will help to establish a baseline of the level your students are at. Once you have established this it will be easier to develop a teaching plan that will best meet the students needs.
