Hi Karen:
I think your key word in your post is "unknown". by determining at level our students are at, we can remove that unknown factor to better plan where and what to emphasize.
Regards, Barry
Hi Scott:
Yes, and also, allow the teacher to reflect on past student performance and the lessons we gave, and plan for future classes as well. But the current students are who benefit most by pretesting. From it, we can decide where the most emphasis should be placed.
Regards, Barry
It can asses the students knowledge at that exact time
Hi Brenda:
I use pretests every now and then - for me I don't feel I need to use them all the time. Mainly I find they're useful when I need to know something more specific about prior student knowledge, and will conduct a non-graded pretest to determine where the students are at.
Regards, Barry
Hi Joseph:
I like how you expressed this. Pretesting helps us plan for current and future classes.
Regards, Barry
Using pretests will help to determine the level of knowledge the students have of the subject that you are teaching for the day. This will give the instructor the level for continuation of the topic.
Hi Jim:
To paraphrase what you have described, we can use pretests as both a way to modify our courses to be more efficient, as well as finding out areas of potential weakness in student understanding.
Regards, Barry
Prestesting is the way to go especially for advanced cklasses which leapfrog on one another. This gives one the opportunity to see how well they have progressed and what areas they need help in.
Hi Robert:
And, they may help identify how the students learn best, something else that can assist us when creating lesson plans.
Regards, Barry
Hi Michael:
Good! Too, I think it helps the teacher plan for current and future classes. When the teacher knows what level the students are at, that makes for a better understanding where emphasis in the class or the topic should be focused.
Regards, Barry
Hi William:
The Socratic method (asking questions) really lends itself to clinical settings. In a way, every question is sort of a pretest. Basically, if a pretest was used, it might be related to skill testing beforehand, then practicing, and finally testing a given skill, or perhaps a proficiency of some sort.
Regards, Barry
I dont give pretests in the clinical setting. What I do is ask specific questions from each student about how they would perform assigned tasks that they already studied in the classroom. I usuually get similar answers but ther are always students that need extra help taking theory to practice and this identifies what I need to focus on with them and the class as a whole
I feel it plays in a great part in helping you to deliver the class course. I have a better understanding of the students that are in this class and know there abiltity to learn what is being tought. This means a great deal to me and helps me in helping them to be the best and take away a better understanding of the class. They feel go about what they have learned and are able to do a better job when they get out in the real world.
Hi Vilma:
Yes, assisting the instructor plann is the biggest benefit for the teacher. We can teach better the more we know about our students.
Regards, Barry
Dr. Basant:
I think our classes just do better when we have a good grasp of what students already know, which a pretest can help accomplish.
Regards, Barry
Hi Gregory:
Well, it sounds like you benefit a lot from this assessment adjunct. Great!. We should use everything that ultimately helps the student achieve all of their learning objectives.
Regards, Barry
Hi Kimberly:
I'm glad this makes sense to you. And I would say use it if you feel it would help you and/or the students. I will occasionally do a pretest for reasons taht help me understand where the students are in their learning. Use it if it helps you.
Regards, Barry
Hi Henry:
Most student's won't mind taking "a test" if they know it's not part of a grade but only for informational and planning purposes. For me, it helps determine where more (or less) emphasis is needed.
Regards, Barry
Hi Angela:
Right! A pretest isn't always needed, I do them sporatically and usually that's onl;y when there is a lot of minutia I need to cover and have idea how much (or how little) the students know. Usually, students won't mind taking a "test" if they know it won't be graded but is informational purposes only.
Regards, Barry
Hi Lorraine:
For me, I don't always pretest but when I decide to, it is because I find it necessary to determine how much pre-knowledge I'm about to cover the students already possess. If they're on top of most it, I can alter where my emphasis for the material will be. Or, if they test poorly, I can modify my lessons in order to cover all the material and assure all students will served.
Regards, Barry
