I use to do this in the field (electrical construction) when a new employee would show so I would know where to use them. What a wonderful idea for the classroom. Thank You!
April,
For me, all my pretest are ungraded and done just to act as a barometer of what I need to adjust to make my time (and the student's) more useful.
Barry Westling
I always give a pretest just for fun but to also let students get a perspective of the course.
Peggy,
Good plan, and goes to justify the benefits pretesting can provide.
Barry Westling
Pretests are excellent ways to help not only the Instructor assess students background and prerequisite skills for the coarse; it focuses the student to also evaluate their strengths and weakness. Together, Instructor and student can develop a plan to address learning gaps.
Lawrence,
Right. It is a great planning tool for instructors. I think when we have knowledge of prior learaning we are able to be better instructors providing the cuurent topic information.
Barry Westling
I feel pretest are very important to the learning process. It allows us to see where the students are at also it tells you a little about each student, whether they kept the previous knowledge or threw it away.
Jack,
Right. It's a good planning tool for instructors.
Barry Westling
Belinda,
I find most classes have students at all levels of prior learning. To the extent possible, I want to be able to make adjustments or modify my lessons so that the greatest number of students can benefit from the class lessons I prepare.
Barry Westling
it will let you know where your students are and it will let you know what you need to foccus on in the next class setting.
This can help get a baseline for the student knowledge before starting the lesson. You can plan the lesson better this way, because you have a better feel for where the students learning needs are.
Tanya,
Exactly. No one wants loose ends due to lack of planning or lack of knowledge about students prior learning.
Barry Westling
Jamie,
Right. We mainly want to know where we can put the emphasis so students and instructor don't waste valuable time in covering information alreadly possessed by the students. Reviewing before a major test may be an exception to this idea, but I would rather review material some students feel they already know than to go into a test with less than fully prepared students.
Barry Westling
Ivy,
In general, there are varieties of pretesting strategies. One is before students even enter the course. Another is first day to see what prior learning has occurred. Another is prior to major tests to see where more study or review may be needed. Whatever form we use, there is nearly always useful information provided an instructor can use to plan for better use of their time and the students learning outcomes.
Barry Westling
Pretest are a valuable planning tool in baseline assessment of student knowledge. Further instruction can be planned based on the knowledge gaps detected during pretests. This way, any "loose ends" can be tied prior to future examinations.
Pretests can help you in time management.
Take a Spanish class, for example. If you pretest a class and the majority or all know the basics, such as the alphabets and numbers, you know not to spend a major portion of the class period going over these basics. On the other hand, if quite a few aren't familiar with the basics, you know to spend a decent amount of time on them, as well as provide supplemental material to help the students along.
If students feel the content is "beneath" them, they get bored and agitated, same as if they feel the content is "above" them.
Pretesting is another form of a needs assessment. You're able to use the results to help deliver course material that is at an appropriate level for the students.
AnnaMarie,
Right. To better understand how best to instruct new students to a class, getting some information about their prior learning gives the instructor an edge in modifying or making small adjustments that end up serving the overall classroom needs better than just "winging it", with perhaps sketchy ideas about what the students know.
Barry Westling
of course a pretest can assist by giving you a heads up on where the students in that particular cohort lie in knowledge base so that you could prepare a more effective lecture based on those resutls
In the program iteach, i think the pre-test admisinistered is very helpful for me to get a good understanding of the students initial information about the topic. I often use small Q and A topics for the intro to test content knowledge as well.
Joyce,
When instructors do pretesting, they can gather quite a bit of useful information to accomplish their class goals. Glad you find this a useful tool!
Barry Westling
