Pretests and reviews
Pretesting performs a number of positive result, especially if there are prerequisite involved.
The class I typically teach has two prerequisites, and we have found that a student review can refresh information and processes that haven’t been performed recently. The students are given time to answer the questions, then they are given time to work in small groups. The last step is to review the questions by randomly calling on groups of students, one group at a time to answer the review questions. The review packet is long and the process takes about four hours to complete. It consists of about sixty questions with multiple answers and provides students with a good way to determine what they need to work on.
Fred,
This is a great way to start off a new course and get your students thinking about what they know and don't know. The use of the small group format and their reviewing with each other helps them build on their interpersonal skills. This is a win win activity all around. Thanks for sharing this with us.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Before i give my test dates for the chapter in my classroom i makesure the students know the material inside and out. And i try not to give a pretest cause my population of students i teach will be quick to say they wasnt taught the material
Maurice,
The key is to find the strategies that will work with your student population. Sounds like you have a very clear understanding of what your students are like and how to get them them prepared for assessments. Keep up the good work.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I am in the process of implementing pre-tests for students who enroll into my program. The first class that they take is Chemistry. Many of them enter with different background knowledge. Some know more and some know less. In giving them a pre-test, it would be a good way of assessing where the class stands as a whole. It will also help to prepare the instructor on which students might need a little more assistance.
Davina,
I think you will like the results you get from pretesting. I get a baseline that helps me to select where I start with the material and how I am going to present it. This really helps me to get my students engaged.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
PreTesting is truly an aid in our program. each class is a pre req for the following class and a lot of times students tend to dump the info after passing the class. I use pretests to show them not to dump anything because they will just be building upon the information/knowledge they just acquired.
I like to use "mnemonics" as a pretest to gauge background, to introduce new concepts and break the ice and to review the material covered. In this way I try to keep the material both interesting and relevant. For example the mnemonic
"Memory" represents:
Marketing yourself and present or future firm
Explanations of material
Methods involved
Other views of the facts or law (paralegal class)
Results of process
Your skills and background
I like to use "mnemonics" as a pretest to gauge background, to introduce new concepts and break the ice and to review the material covered. In this way I try to keep the material both interesting and relevant. For example the mnemonic
"Memory" represents:
Marketing yourself and present or future firm
Explanations of material
Methods involved
Other views of the facts or law (paralegal class)
Results of process
Your skills and background
Kenneth,
I am a big fan of mnemonics and use them a lot in my classes. They are fun and easy for my students to learn. The most fun comes though when we have our mnemonics contest where the students share those they have made up. They get crazy but the students remember them and that is what is important.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Angela,
This is the value of pretesting and this is why I use them in all of my courses. I get a baseline on the current group of students and I can do my instructional planning from that information. I find that I am much more accurate with my content selection as a result.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
At my school a student may take a prerequisite and then wait up to a year before they take the next course in that sequence. Pretesting is the only way for me to get a good baseline on where the students are and where to start teaching.
I wish we utilized pretesting more in our school. They have to take entrance exams to get in, but I feel they are not hard enough and we have students that do not kow how to write properly or do simple math equations. Makes it very challenging for us, but we make it happen! I make sure to spend extra time with those students. I do not want to send them away, I want to be that person who shows them how to complete these tasks.
Elinore,
I like your can do attitude in relation to helping students be successful. I use pretesting for all of my students so I know how to customize the supports they need to be successful. Having this baseline is valuable because the students know that their instruction is based upon where they are at in terms of competence.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Pretesting is a great tool to get a baseline on students ability,which will then help in instructional planning.
Consuala,
This is the reason I use pretesting in my classes. I like to have the baseline because it helps me to target my content on the specific need areas of my students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Pretesting is such a great idea! In the logic course I teach we learn Latin terms for fallacies, and so on, and at first those terms really bewilder students. But if I begin the course by using a pre-test or "advanced review" guide with them as something they can put notes into, they can step by step reduce the bewilderment and actually take credit for their own learning. I am convinced!
Patricia,
I think you will like the results you get from pretesting. I have been doing it for a number of years and it has worked great for my instructional planning. By getting a baseline on them I can customize my approach and get them started off from the beginning of the course with a level of understanding and confidence that will help them be successful.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Pretesting is a great tool it help no were each student is in the subject matter and the teach style you may need to impelement.
Giving pretest has always been a method used by my instructors as a student myself. I really appreciated the opportunity to know what I was to focus on so that my outcome of testing would be great. Knowing that I use reviews and pretest for every subject their outcome doesn't only effect them but me as their instructor alike. I want the outcome of the students to build their confidence levels and their intellect.
