It provides you with the understanding of where your students are coming from. I've made it a practice to have a form of pretest as I introduce a course, and again as I start a new unit. The first pretest helps me assess the starting point of the students, as well as provides me with feedback of what their expectations are for class - after they are provided information about the course objectives. The pretests at the beginning of every unit allow me to identify potential pitfalls and aid me in developing plan Bs as necessary. Once I know areas to watch out for, I can better plan the time and depth of discussion I will spend because I know where my students are.
I think This is a great tool because it gives you an understanding what might be a students weakness, as well as their strenghts
Grace Haines
dayton ohio
Hi Bonnie:
Modifiying or tweaking curriculum really should be an ongoing process. Using the pretesting activity facilitates one way to achieve that process.
Regards, Barry
Hi Cindy:
Pretesting is a tool, that can be used to assit the instructor plan, measure, prepare, adjust, and deliver better and more focused classes.
Regards, Barry
Hi Kelly:
Another aspect is these pretests don't have to be long or comprehensive. For instance, certain topics are always going to be covered in a class. But perhaps there's a question about one aspect of a course or topic. A brief pre-test to determine at what level the students are at can save time if it turns out emphasis is not needed as planned, or more empohasis is needed.
Regards, Barry
Sara:
You're right, it's really a teacher planning activity and to a degree, class improvemnent tool. Since most classes vary to some degree, learning at waht level students are performing can help make quality improvements.
Regards, Barry
post test are a great way to get a better idea of were the students
Hi Grace:
I don't always use pretesting - only when I'm unsure at what level my beginning students are at. It helps me put emphasis where it'll achieve the course goals better.
Regards, Barry
Hi Diana:
Pretesting for me is an occassional activity - best when I have students I'm unsure of their performance.
Regards, Barry
Correct. I agree that pretest can assist any facilitor with modification to learning and teaching modalities.
Thanks,
Diana
It helps to determine what the needs of the students are IE certain chapters ect
Grace Haines
National College
Dayton Ohio
Pretesting students at the beginning of class can help the instructor determine previous knowledge. By understanding previous knowledge, the instructor can plan lessons accordingly and set the pace of the class. A pretest can also be used to compare to a post test at the end of the class to see if the instructor has covered all that they should. It could also assess what knowledge students learned. By doing a pretest and post test, the instructor will be able to improve on lesson planning and classroom instruction.
Pretests are a great initial assessment for instructors, and are also helpful for students. However, presets should be well designed so that they reflect background knowledge.
A pretest will provide you with an indication of the level of knowledge of your students at the beginning of your course and help you plan the delivery of your course materials to facilitate student learning.
Test-retest is a common research method to determine if an intervention is successful. The same can be said about pretesting and retesting in a classroom environment. Using a pretest to the instructor can determine if the student has the necessary skills to be successful in the course. With this knowledge a lesson plan can be developed based on what skills they have and develop other skills needed to succeed. Retest to determine is the lesson planning was successful, did the students gain the necessary skills and knowledge of improvement.
gives you a better idea of what knowledge the students have
I feel a pretest would definitely work well in my class. My class is required to master certain algebraic equations and I found that many lack the basics. Knowing ahead of time where my class stands would help a great deal.
Pretest are a wonderful tool to utilize to assess what learners have learned from past content and if learning from previous modules can be applied to new content. This is a wonderful assement to help the facilitor tailor learning and course objectives.
Using pre-tests gives you the information you need to make sure that you are reaching all the students in the class, and you have not lost someone, or see who may need some more attention or to make sure that your teaching technique needs to be modified.
On the first day of class, I normally go around the room and get a sense of each student's background by having them tell me about themselves. Also, I ask them their expectations form the class and how they think the course applies to them and their career. I do not require a written pretest but get a fairly good assessment as they tell me their educational achievement.
