Andrea,
One of the benefits of pretesting is to identify where students are performing in relationship to where we hope they would be. If many are weak in one or more areas, that can be helpful to determine beforehand in order to make needed adjustments in the curriculum.
Barry Westling
A pretest is useful, depending on what is done with the results. I have used them poorly in the past... having the students take the test, then myself getting discouraged that they aren't up to where they should be when starting the course or unit. Fortunately, I have aged and learned to use this practice a bit more constructively. But I think that guiding the new instructor in the implementation of practice and strategies following the pre-test is helpful.
Jennifer,
Good points. I've found that a pretest is more accurate than if I ask the class to raise their hands to questions like, "how many are familiar or comfortable with [topic]?"
Barry Westling
I think that pretests are great for instructional planning because they can help you identify if or how familiar your students are with the pertaining subject. Not only that, but they can also help to direct you to the areas where they might need extra help. When working with adult learners you don't want them to feel that you are wasting their time, so finding where they're at and moving forward from there helps to keep them engaged.
Brian,
Great. That's the hoped for outcome with pretests.
Barry Westling
Bonnie,
Great. Tests don't have to be too long, and an instructor can target certain topics to help fine tune their upcoming lessons as well. The extra time in planning will pay dividends.
Barry Westling
Pretests have worked well for me in the past. They let me know my students strong and weak points. They help me to focus on areas in which the class may need help.
This is something I plan on implementing. It should make lesson planning easier by allowing me to gear the lessons to students' knowledge base.
Avis,
Pretesting can be a great tool if the instructor wants to take a bit of extra time to learn what prior learning current students possess.
Barry Westling
The use of pretests is vital at the beginning of each course in order to effectively plan for delivery and instruction. This can be done during the 1st week of the course in an effort to give the Instructor an idea as to where the students are and what is needed.
Reece,
Very practical. That said, I have intentionally paired the weaker student with the stronger one, and in most cases that has worked well. When it didn't, it was more for personality differences more than instructional effectiveness.
Barry Westling
Rosalyn,
Great. Pretesting, like any tool, is merely one method among many that can assist the instructor provide the best service to their students.
Barry Westling
I like pre-testing as a tool to identify each students level of knowledge of the content. Additionally, depending on the breakdown of student knowledge, experience and skills I can pair or group students together with those who would gain from students who could use more insight.
Pretests are an intriging concept especially for Career College student populations as classes are not homogenous. Students are indeed at different levels. The more advanced get bored when you teach to the level below them. The instructor teaching to the more advanced students frustrates the lower level student.
Pretests appear to be a way of determining student levels and ratios which will translate into keeping all levels on track. This idea is one which I intend to incorporate into my classroom. I also like the idea of taking larger assignments and assigning smaller increments over a longer period of time to increase the level of assimilation rather than the frustration of completing a task to get it over with without internalizing it.
Jonathon,
Another variation is "giving a test before the test". The first one is really like a study guide. The second one is the one used to derive a grade.
Barry Westling
Cynthia,
Great. I believe any information we can discern about our students is helpful.
Barry Westling
A pretest shows where your class is at with understanding and retaining the information delivered. If you have low quiz scores, you may want to spend more time covering the materials, or assign more lab projects going over the content needed to gain a better understanding.
I have recently adopted a policy of testing me students on learning styles. This way I can adjust my lessons in a way that will benefit students who are having a difficult time with the subject matter.
Donna,
Great! I find pretesting helpful, and also does not necessarily have to be exhaustive, and in fact I have used just 1-2 questions to determine how much depth I need to provide.
Barry Westling
Judy,
Sometimes, just learning where the class is can help shape the degree of depth of instruction that will be needed for a particular topic.
Barry Westling
