Mary,
Engaging students is a daily challenge. One thing I try to keep in mind is that if students are interested, they'll pay attention. And the best way to keep their attention is by keeping their focus on the job or work they're being trained for.
Barry Westling
Often times, instructors do not have a clear picture of the knowledge base of their students. When that happens, instructors might prepare course materials that are beyond the skill and knowledge level of their students. This will cause frustration and disappointment to the students. Pretest is a good way to find out the knowledge base of the students so that instructors can prepare their course content that is at the level of the students' understanding and prepare appropriate strategy to deliver the content so that students can catch up with the the content that is required for the course.
We have a great variety of students that enter in my class. Some are new high school graduates, some already working in the field but are not licensed, others attempting a second career, and some are frequently returning veterans. Pretesting is used before each new topic or subject to help me to determine the needed approach. Even with the results, I struggle with trying to reach everyone and keep them engaged.
Pamela,
Perfect. Get a sense about prior learning to forge a game plan for success in later classes.
Barry Westling
My class is often the first course that students take when they enroll in the college. A pre-test helps to determine weakness in writing as well as general knowledge about the course content.
George,
My first experience with pretests was over 40 years ago. My instructor would precede each major topic with a pretest, then he would assign the same test again at end of the module. Usually this would be a motivating boost to show how far we'd come.
Barry Westling
Ali,
Some instructor's in longer programs use pretests as a way to introduce a new learning segment or major transition in topics.
Barry Westling
Pretest are a good use of a tool, you can find out what each student's knowledge is on the subject or subjects you are teaching.
I do pretests with my students because our career filed requires so much. As another instructor mentioned, allowing them to turn in their work with out their name on it might help the anxiety level. It really does help as the teacher knowing what level you are teaching with, especially in longer programs. Our groups stay together for almost two years.
Cynthia,
More advantageous is good pretests help the instructor decide where, when, and to place more (or less) emphasis.
Barry Westling
Christopher,
Exactly right. Pretests are a great planning tool for the instructor.
Barry Westling
If students already have a basic grasp of the content to be taught, you can skip ahead to more advanced levels after a short review. If they have a hard time with the pretest, you may need to devote more time to a subject and modify the content or tiem devoted to other lessons. It helps the instructor maximize his time in class and not waste the students' time with material that is either too easy or too difficult.
Using a pretes to help with an instrctionl planning is a great idea because it gives the students an idea of what they need to study
John,
Right, it's a great planning tool, especially if we have little information about prior knowledge or learning defects.
Barry Westling
It allows me to understand what part of class will be the most challenging and will help me to decide the best way to present class so that the students recieve the most from it.
Michael,
Since every class is a little bit different, it makes sense to determine how this class, at this time, in this session can benefit from what resources and strategies -- some have been used before, others may some trial and error.
Barry Westling
I love using them. It is a great way to find out where they are at currently and how they have improved with the final. It is also a great tool to build a study plan for the student focusing on the areas he or she needs the most help with.
Ramondo,
Good. This is a good way to assist planning for where more (or less) emphasis aye needed on certain topics.
Barry Westling
Paul,
Sure, in fact I try to avoid the use and label "test" whenever possible. Adjectives such as evaluation, assessment, checkpoint, checkup, checking for understanding, and similar terms seem to take away some the potential angst some students feel when they hear "test".
Barry Westling
It is a good way to learn where students stand in preparedness for the class. From the results I can device an action plan to address issues if any.
