I really appreciate the use of pretest to determine the students level of knowledge.
Darcie,
One variation of the pretest is simply a brief preview of topics that will be covered. Students may have no idea at all about some or most of the material, but as a preview, it can prepare students for what is to come. Also, I know many instructors will share the same assessment at the end of the course to demonstrate how far their students have come. This can be quite motivational.
Barry Westling
What if they are new to the program and have not had any previous classes?
David,
The "before and after" process is a great idea -- I've done that more than a few times. Students feel encouraged, proud, and for some, a bit surprised at the progress they made.
Barry Westling
The pretest gives us a starting point as well gives the student a sense of accomplishment at the end. I give a pretest out on the first day and the last day. The students then can see there inprovements as well I can see if the changes I made worked.
Sharon,
Pretesting can be a great help to instructors, assisting them plan where more or less emphasis may be needed. I don't grade pretests and students are nearly always willing to "test their mete" when they know there is no impact to their grade.
Barry Westling
I have had to develop pretests for classes I teach. I am general education which includes math and english. Students are required to test as part of their enrollment but it doesn't cover the same content I teach. The pretest identifies the levels of writing or math I have in these classes. Sometimes I have a student that english is second language. If I know this in the begining, I can provide additional assistance so that student can be sucessful.
James,
When we have some idea of the level of prior knowledge our student have (or are missing), that helps facilitate better classroom interaction and students end up benefiting from it. I think the instructors benefit as well, in part by deciding what topics may need more or less emphasis, or by previewing and reviewing topics.
Barry Westling
I am amazed at how adult learners are uncomfortable with the pretesting, including me at times. Our classes are so dynamic and though the course content really never changes, the method of delivery seems to be what changes with pretest results.
Jamie,
I don't always pretest but when I do, I'm interested in what prior knowlege the students already possess so that I can put less emphasis on that material and put more on areas I know students always have more difficulty with. Sometimes I'll find they need remedial work too, and that's important to know so that I can spend extra time with these students, usually apart from the regular class sessions.
Barry Westling
It will give you a good idea what the students know before you start to teach that class. You may have to make some changes to your lesson plans to accommodate your students that are a little behind.
Dana,
Yeah, it's important to remember the WIIFM principle ("what's in it for me"). When we can get students to see that our instruction is directly related to their future success or readiness for the workplace, they are more likely to tune in, pay attention, and be willing to participate in order to be better prepared. Abstract theories or non-useful information is more difficult to embrace when students can't see why they need to learn it.
Barry Westling
If your students are already knowledgable in a subject they tend to tune you out and then miss the parts of the lecture that they need to be involved in.
Steven,
When I get my hair cut, or go a restaurant I frequent on a regular basis, and the staff recognize me and tend to my needs without much direction from me, that's like individualizing (customizing), and it feels great! That's an example of how we could treat our students -- individual attention, cater to their needs, assisting them in any way possible to achieve ours and their goals in preparation for the work setting.
Barry Westling
Pretests...allow mechanism to assess background experience/educational attainment of students. And allow for customization of content to students as individuals even though they participate in class setting.
Judy,
I don't always pretest but when I do, I learn about where my students prior knowledge and common strengths are. This helps me plan where and what to emphasize.
Barry Westling
I agree, pretests helps in many ways, it definitely allows the instructor to see the background of the class and how to address the class with course content.
Nicole,
Yes, and sometimes I find the students need a lot of work in all of the areas. But at least I know where the class is at, academically, with prior knowledge (or lack thereof).
Barry Westling
Joseph,
We really have to "take em as we get em" don't we? I do the same and try to structure classes around the individuality of each class.
Barry Westling
A pretest helps you set a baseline for student knowledge. You know what areas you need to discuss in more depth, and what areas your students already have an understanding of so you don't bore them.
