I hate to say this, but to be perfectly honest, I have never thought about giving a pretest for students having difficulties. This is one of the reasons I like these modules; I'm always finding new ideas to try in the classroom.
Bernard,
Right. And that information helps the instructor insure the course objectives will be met in a meaningful way for their students.
Barry Westling
It provides the instructor information needed to customize lessons on areas of weakness and avoid spending too much time on areas in which the students are knowledgeable.
Len,
Previewing content is actually a sound instructional technique and is used by many instructors. I use pretesting mostly when I have no clue as to prior learning.
Barry Westling
I actually really like this idea. Not only would it give me an understanding of where my student’s level of experience is, but it also exposes the student to the material. This exposure gives them the opportunity to recognize their own familiarity (or lack of) with the content or difficulty level. This can help the student early on to organize an aggressive study approach if necessary.
Eunita,
Yes, we assume students have all the requisite prior learning to complete our classes satisfactorily, but many times we have to modify things somewhat in order to get all students up to speed. A pretest is a good way to do that.
Barry Westling
A pretest can give the instructor an idea of what knowledge base or skills the student already have or things that they may not have a clue about so that you can plan you instruction accordingly.
Camille,
Even snipets of information that students view as a preview can be useful. And the pretest is a good way to provide previwin of content.
Barry Westling
I find that when I use pre-test, students do receive information well but they also expect the test to be a mirror of the pre-test.
Vallorie ,
Great.Sometimes pretesting can be a form of previewing content, which is beneficial in and of itself. It can also show students how to prepare for upcoming topics, perhaps by reading ahead or personalized studying.
Barry Westling
Tawana,
Right. We want the best emphasis with the least amount of wasted time. Pretesting can be one method to help fine tune what we want to emphasize.
Barry Westling
In my advanced class, I always use Pre-tests as they clearly help me know what level my students are at, who are coming from the beginners class.
For them, this also gives them a way to identify with what they need to go back and review as we move into the advanced lessons.
Pretesting can clue you in to the different learning styles in your class as well as their backgrounds so you know how to offer lecture them.
Renita,
Previewing content is a great way for students to learn, and the pretest is a great way to provide a version of previewing. Redoing the same exam at the end of the course should also offer encouragement to students, as you say, to show really, how far they've come.
Barry Westling
I love using pretests. First it gets the students attention on day 1 that I am serious about testing and they should be too. I inform them that it is an assessment for me and themselves to see where they stand before the course proceeds. At the end of the course they will retake it, not as their final, but as a way to compare how far they have come. It also gives them a preview into the type of questions they will face and how detailed the information will be. As the lessons unfold, I will point out that this topic/information was on your pretest and ask if anyone remembers what we discussed about it.
Elizabeth,
Yes, it's very helpful to get a sense about what level of prior learning our students have achieved.
Barry Westling
I think that pretests are extremely useful to determine which information is to be covered. Sometimes when students enter a career college they may not have all the fundamentals needed for a particular class. It helps the instructor have a baseline from which to start with.
Randy,
I use pretesting to plan the way I want to modify my individual classes in order to best achieve the learning results I want.
Barry Westling
A pre test will let you as an instructor know if the students are getting the leason plan. It will also give you a base understanding on what information needs to be re-gone over do to low grades without the students grades suffering.
Tamikah,
Yes, pretesting aligns with student cenetered learning. We may have a prepared curriculum with information we know we want to present. But if the class is knowledgeable on one or more aspects to begin with, more time could possibly be spent on other important material that students have difficulty mastering. So pretesting is really a tool for the instructor, but helps the students in the end.
Barry Westling
