Barry Westling

Chris, Right. This is one of more important benefits of pretesting. I think the more we know about our students and their prior knowledge, the better we will be able to assist them with new learning. Barry Westling

Jamie, These are important. Also I think achieveing course goals, student learning outcomes, and any skills that directly pertain to the profession are musts. If we can give them critical thinking skills as well, we can help them be successful bothy in work and in their personal lives. Barry Westling

Sherry, Right on! Good instructors soon find that reflection on notes or comments made are very useful, especially over longer periods of time. These observations reveal growth, improvement, and better classroom management. Barry Westling

Ruby, Yes, and another benefit is this gives us additional opportunity to have a connection with the student, to praise them, make recommendations, suggestions, or advice. We can also encourage and offer support. To me, this helps us "be real" and conveys I care about the students success. Barry Westling

Ruby, Perhaps a pretest at the beginning of the course would not be a good idea. One way you might use pretesting is as a review before an exam. I know some instructors don't like this practice, but I say if we want our students to learn, and a brief pretest beforehand helps them prepare and they do better as a result, then I'm willing to do it. Of course, each has to decide what works best for them. Barry Westling

William, That's a great strategy. Really, the key is to do as you do and adjust or modify the lesson to fit both objectives and student needs. When students feel like they're connected with their instructor, their learning and retention of information is bound to improve. With so much media available, care has to be taken to select the best (over just the satisfactory). Barry Westling

Paula, One possible thing to consider is pretesting does not have to be written. So in your clinic setting, you could ask your students some prepared "before questions", then go about your task of assisting their practical learning, somewhat tailored to match which areas the students need the most help with. Barry Westling

Samuel, This sounds great. Students soon begin to notice which instructors are there for the students and which ones are just there. Passionate, enthusiastic instructors create an enhanced learning environment. Barry Westling

Sherry, Right. Personalizing makes the class more interesting and really, we are meeting both our need to instruct certain topics while also connecting with the student's needs. Barry Westling

Lulu, Of course we need to meet our course objectives. I think it's impotant that whenever possible, we individualize instruction to make class more interesting, as doing so will result in better participation and engagement. Barry Westling