Hi Annette:
Pretesting is a great way to get to know your students knowledge, or lack of, and assists with the instructor making fine tuning or tweaks to the existing curriculum in order to assur the best balance of emphasis on key topics.
Regards, Barry
I use a pretest at the start of each new class. It lets me know where the students stand, What they have retained from their previous classes and where I need to start. If I see that they all are weak in a certain area I start there and build the course from there.
This is not really an option for my classes. The only class that it may be helpful is the Management intro class. I have a cross section of students not just one in my majors. A pre test could be a viable use to get an average view of vocabulary in the business world.
It helps to determine how students learn and what their knowledge base is
Hi Michael:
Good point. I refer to this as "previews of coming attractions", not to be funny, but to provide some insight into topics and content that is coming. Some students will actually surprise themselves on how well they do and commit to sustaining that effort. Wonderful!
Regards, Barry
Pretests allow the instructor to gain a great deal of insight into the learning styles of the students and their background knowledge. I utilize them but neversolely rely on them for students may be more nervous at the beginning of a class than later in the semester.
Pretests can help in letting the instructor know what material the students may need to go over in further detail. Perhaps there would be a better way to get the information across to the students.
For the students, pretesting can show them the format of the test and so they can adjust their study habits whether is an essay, multiple choice, etc.
Hi Karen:
I don't think pretesting is necessarily something a teacher has to do, but if you find it might be helpful, then it's just another tool you have access to to assist your students in their learning process.
Knowing at what level your students are performing, or comparing beginning to ending performance can be helpful to teachers. Maybe adjustments to youer curriculum result from this activity. However you choose to use it, if it helps, then make it work for you and your students.
Regards, Barry
Hi Amanda:
Yep, pretesting, like most most instructional activities, can be customized to fit and used in the way most beneficial for a class.
I don't always use pretesting. Sometimes when I do, it's very simple, because I use it to find where my students are. It's also fun to comapare how far students have come. This can be done in segments with several pretests and accompanying posttests as well.
Regards, Barry
A pretest sends a strong signal to both the student and the instructor. The student may realize they need to pay closer attention because they are not familiar with the the questions asked. The instructor can use the data to mold his instruction into a package that best fits his class, from simple explanations to more advanced reasonings and both will keep the class on tract.
I did not use a pre-test, but from now on this is something I will incorporate into my Introduction to Computer Class. I did have to re-vert to Plan B, and obtain information from alternative resources that are less intense in nature, and we get through these items and students understand the information a little better, I will be able to introduce some of the materials I used in the past -- that are more elaborate in nature.
I agree with the above and below posts regarding how helpful (and simple!) and pre-testing can be for establishing an idea of the baseline functioning of each particular class.
I liked the idea presented above about how pre-testing can give the students a sneak peek into the themes and content to be presented during the course; this pre-test can then serve as a simple guide about the various topics that the course will cover.
In the past, I have given a simple pre-test (maybe 15 questions multicple choice) and then collected them and then at the end of the semester, given the same students the same test, then handed out their originals.
Providing the same tool used as the pre-test for the post-test can be a fun experience. By the semester's end, most of the students are impressed with themselves by just how much information they have learned during the course.
Hi Cynthia:
Pretesting is a tool that can potentially assist the teacher in understanding at what level their students are performing at in the beginning of a new class. Comparison to to beginning vs last day of class performance can be a good measure of both teacher and student effectiveness.
Regards, Barry
That is correct. It also helps with the delivery system best fir for those students
It gives you the ability to know the best way to present and test for the materials
Hi Phillip:
Good idea. Students can reveal a lot about themselves, their writing, their views in even a short paragraph. This a good example of a version of a pre-test.
Regards, Barry
When I first meet my students I ask them to write a paragraph or two so I can assess their writing skills. This serves as a pretest for me.
Hi Grace:
Pretests are great tools, mostly for the instructor to plan and adjust, to place more emphasis where it can do the most good.
It also helps the student see where they may need to focus, sort of like "previews of coming attractions".
Regards, Barry
Hi Anna:
Sounds like a good process. I don't pretest all the time. When I do it to understand (usually) new students when I don't know what knowledge they have and to what degree they're functioning.
Occasionally, I'll do a post test similar to the pre-test to demonstrate how far the students have come. But ususally we are are so far past those early steps, it's a bit redundant.
Exception: If I sense students need encouragement, I'll pull out the original and have them retake it. That usually illuminates their progress and makes for improved satisfaction.
Regards, Barry
Hi William:
Yes, it's really a great planning tool for instructors, although students benefit by learning what's ahead or where they may need to prepare.
Regards, Barry
