Holly,
Nice work! As instructors, part of our job is to personalize our connection with our students. There are all kinds of pretesting versions. You've given a good example of an effective variation. This helps create a sense the instructor is down to earth and genuine in their presence in the classroom and delivery of course material.
Barry Westling
I find it helpful to have students write an introductory essay explaining any struggles they have had with writing in the past. Included in the essay should be a little about what they liked or disliked about English in HS, if they are regular readers for pleasure, and anything about where they grew up or went to HS that might give me insight into the students' needs.
In my current class, the majority of students said they struggle with writer's block and would like to improve their vocabularies.
I added a weekly college level vocab. lesson and by taking them step by step through the writing process toward the final project, they tell me the writer's block issue has gone away.
Cynthia,
Great! I think students benefit from pretesting but you're right, the instructor gains more in making needed adustments to their instructional plan. I have found that most students don't mind my pretesting (because I tell them it is not a graded test).
Barry Westling
The pretest does two things: (1) it lets me gauge which students have actually done the assigned reading beforehand (wake up call for those who haven't prepared) or (2) it lets me gauge the student's background on the subject and adjust my learning objectives/lesson plans accordingly.
Adrienne,
Right. Like a postest that measures to what degree prior learning HAS occured, a pretest is way to sort what prior learning do they have, or what DO they need to learn.
Barry Westling
Stelian,
I make my pretests using the course objectives, and put emphasis on the topics, "they absolutely have to know these" before they leave my class. Then I make my pretest around these "must know" categories. If students are mostly proficient with one or two of the topics, I will plan to spend less time on those, and redistribute time to other must know topics. So, really, it's a planning tool for me.
Barry Westling
Pretests help me understand different students needs and backgrounds.
A pre test is " pre qualify ". The result of a pre test will identify the students weakness and strengh. Study habbits can also be looked at. The important aspect of a pre test is, the test itself!!
" Is this rake or is it jake" ? so, the test has to be evaluated first, before it is given to student.
Kit,
Pretesting is a great tool just like how you plan to use it. It helps the instructor plan and and make needed adjustments to the curricular program.
Barry Westling
Pre-testing help both myself and the students to identify the trouble spots. This way I can help the students with their weak area and they will know where they stand on knowing the subject matter.
Candace,
As a planning tool, pretesting gives the instructor insight to where they may need to make adjustments, additions, review, or omission if the class is already performing satisfactorily in a certain area. Why take valuable time if students prior knowledge already exists. Or perhaps more time is deemed necessary based on pretesting results.
Barry Westling
Pretests are a very effective way to draw the student's attention to the material they will need to focus on as the material is presented. It gives them a preview of what lies ahead and alerts them to weaknesses they may have in their knowlege base
Allison,
I believe students can never receive too much review. For weaker students, they benefit to strengthen their understanding. For stronger students, the review information is a good reinforcement and validation of their comprehension. So it can never hurt.
Barry Westling
Allison,
Yeah, I imagine a lot can be revealed in the manner, use of grammar and words, and punctuation in a essay to determine where some students may need more work than others. Concise words to convey ideas or thoughts is a skill that really takes practice and good instruction in the fundamentals of writing. Thank goodness their are individuals (like yourself) that have the interest and ability to instruct.
Barry Westling
Pretest can help with course planning. If the students do not have a hold of basic content needed in order to understand the content that you are presenting then there has to be some review. Additionally, if this is a common occurrence with the same course then a discussion can be made with placement of students in a different course before your or a review of content of the pre-requiste course can verify that the expect content is being delivered properly.
I've used pretesting to help instructional planning without exactly using that terminology. I teach composition to culinary students, and one of the most rewarding first-week activities I use is to have my students write a "Culinary Autobiography" that details their life path up until entering the culinary institute. Most of the students are excited to share their story, and they don't realize that I'm "testing" them to see what areas of composition need to be strengthened. This is also a great chance to get to know my students on an individual level, test their competency with using word processors, and understand what reading and writing level they are all at, as this varies greatly per class. I have also used "pretesting" to gauge understanding of grammar, and I find it helps to give the students the same test when the lesson/unit/semester is over, so they can mark their progress.
Thomas,
Besides the information obtained to make planning decisions for class, students also get a preview of sorts of what's ahead. I've had especially bright students take information from the pretest and immediately begin to study for when that part of the class comes about. Very cool!
Barry Westling
This helps me recognize student focus areas. Most of the time I have the same students a couple of terms in a row, but with our new scheduling loops, that will not always be the case now. A pretest assessment at the beginning of the erm will help me identify/re-identify the student's needs.
Dorothy,
Great. This is sometimes called "checking for understanding". The premise is the instructor goes just so far before asking questions to verify all students are "on the same page". If not, the instructor reviews. If they are tracking well, the instructor moves ahead until the next "checkpoint".
Barry Westling
Glenn,
I wish all of my classes could be filled with adequately prepared and readied students, but the reality is that rarely is the case. Pretesting can help some, especially for planning adjustments in my curriculum, but sometimes students are just well enough prepared to proceed given their weaker performance. That's unfortunate, yet my assistance can only help to a certain degree. But I still try all I can.
Barry Westling
