Stephen,
I don't grade the pretests as they are really for me. This takes away any angst the students might have about giving the test their best effort.
Barry Westling
Stephen,
Great. This is a good example of the benefits of doing pretesting.
Barry Westling
Sometimes I think that SLOs can be intimidating to students, especially at the career college where we deal with some students who have just recently accomplished their GED or barely made it through high school-in these types of cases, if the wording of the SLOs is too pretentious (or contextually ambitious relative to their individual academic levels), SLOs can be counter-productive. Because of this possibility, I allow pre-tests to be purely diagnostic in nature without the un-necessary SLOs.
I use pre-tests all the time as an instructor (sometimes I call them practice tests). This game-plan not only allows me to get an idea of the students' backgrounds, but I use it as a diagnostic tool to measure differing levels of acquired academic knowledge & achievement levels. For example, in every math course I teach, I administer a diagnostic math-skills test which is very useful at determining where individual students are relevant to mathematical achievement & even pin-points which specific math skills they need more experience in.
Clare,
Great point of view. I've used more advanced students as "assistants" to me to facilitate dicussion or exercises in a group comprised of less academically sound students. This makes my assistant's feel appreciated, and the weaker students like having a peer assisting them, and working towards improving their understanding of more difficult course material.
Barry Westling
Usually adult students have more diversity in their educational backgrounds. It is necessary for the success of the majority of students to uderstand that diversity. Many times I have had students who were bored while the class was reviewing basic material and in the same class, I have had students who didn't even have the english or math skills to complete the assignments. Knowing the students capabilities at the beginning of class allows me to divide students and attend to their specific needs. Eventually, I would have the students converge on certain assignments.
It is difficult to have a large gap of knowledge and skills in one class. It almost requires having at least two very different lesson plans for the group. I do think that having diversity is good for learning because students also learn from each other.
Teresa,
Leraning styles can be helpful, if the curriculum is able to be modified to match individual learning styles.
Barry Westling
I have used pretest to determine learning styles for my students. This help me to know how my students learn best
To see where is the knowledge levels of my students.
Terence,
Yes pretesting works for a lot of classes, but not all. I pretest when I desire to know what prior learning has occurred.
Barry Westling
Alana,
One technique with the pretest is to assure gthe students the test is not for a grade but to assess prior knowledge. If students know there will not be a graded consequence, their anxiety level should be diminished. Another technique is to show a sample problem, show a common shortcut that always saves time, and add, "many mmath problems are just like this". That kind of encouragement can help diffuse fears of being able to tackle upcoming lessons. Finally, encouragement that reinforces you're there for them can be a helpful encouragement.
Barry Westling
Pretests are an excellent first test for students in a new class. It really helps them to get a feel for what kind of tests the instructor will be giving them and gives the a better perspective on what they should be focusing on.
I teach a lot of math. I find that students "get scared" of the upcoming material after they've seen the pretest. Are there any suggestions on how to put them at ease?
Jacqueline,
Great! I usually don't grade the pretests either, at least a recorded grade for credit. The benefit is fior me to decide where to put my emphasis.
Barry Westling
Tracy,
In instances where it is appropriate, the biggest help is to the instructor who can plan, or adjust the lessons to place more (or less) emphasis on areas based on how the current class current and prior knowledge presents.
Barry Westling
I teach at a school that has many diverse learning styles. I like to do a pretest for two reasons. One is to see how much the students know regarding the class and to also see how well they do on a multiple choice test. I like to assess them on the first day which makes some students nervous but it is not for grading, just for my own personal use.
I typically teach the earlier courses, so a pre-test is not a method I have used as the variablility in the result would not be effective information for me to use. I can see the value for use in a more advanced class.
Tracy Chesney, MSN-Ed, RN, CNE
David,
Great! Perfect use for the pretest, and the resultant outcomes.
Barry Westling
Using pretests during a class is very helpful to pinpoint what concepts the students are missing or having difficulty with. I also use pretests on a new class to see what they know coming into the class. They greatly help me set the tone and speed of the class.
Joel,
Great! This is why pretests work. I will sometimes use the same pretest at the end of a course to demonstrate how far they have come, and also as an encouragement of sorts.
Barry Westling
