Course Revision Assessment
Wouldn't it be valuable to both students and teachers alike if students were handed Pre-course assessments asking them what they want to learn from the course?
Juliet,
This is a restatement of the question.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Yes I think so. That would even help in remodifying any course material for future purposes. It also gives a strong foundation for that student to start the course knowing that his or her voice is being taken into consideration.
Jenny,
You would be also able to develop programmatic changes that involve more than one course and to you spending time remediating.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Yes, it could be valuable.
I like to start new courses that way - what do you want to learn about in this course.
As long as the request is viable...I will try to cover it.
However, if I am teaching a Marketing course and a student asks that they want to learn about marketing to different cultures in different parts of the world, I might remind them that would be a 'International Marketing' course.
It is still the instructor's responsbility to cover the core theories of the topic of the course and thus, even though students may NOT want to learn about that, if the topic calls for it, the instructor must deliver it.
If the students were given a pre-course assessment and the feedback was constructive the instructor could modify the class to accomodate those requests as long as the subject matter was covered sufficiently. This might make the learning more enjoyable or perhaps allow some to be very creative in their responses to assessments questions. I'm going to start teaching an online course very soon so this information may be quite helpful and I might even incorporate some of these tools in my class to make in a more learning environment. Thanks
It depends,
In general it is very dangerous, and here is why: The student doesn't know what he/she doesn't know (the so-called unknown unknown (Cheney n.d).
I came across students that told me that the Queen of England was not elected, that did not know about the theory on the balance of power, didn't know the difference between Taiwan and mainland China...and I could on for ever.
Why did this happen? Because they were free to decide what courses they would take
The students should be taught what faculty decided, and if they want to know more, let them ask for it, and we will gladly deliver.
Jack,
I understand your concern. I think this is done only to hear a view; you as the instructor must be the captain of the ship!
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Joni,
WHat an interesting point. I like this. It will also allow you to "nip certain actions in the bud".
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Janis,
I like you thought? Don't you think you are also shaping their framework by asking them to evaluate something?
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Kelly,
I would like to say that when faculty come to a common agreement on a curriculum design, one can know with a certain of security, that the degree is on target.
Jack,
That may depend on the institution and on accreditation. :)
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Not sure I want my students to revise too much of my course as what I teach has strict regulations and guidelines.... I have students who are "changing" life's directions and have no clue what they are getting into with Medical Billing and the enormous amount of information they have to learn just to have a base knowledge. These are Medicare and Medicaid guidelines and we sure cannot alter this information. I value what some of my students bring to the table but.... there are some... I really do not want in the front of bus driving at this time.
I agree with you Cyndy, changing the directions of our course could end in jail time. Like you say, Medicare and Medicaid are government run programs and one false move could shut a medical facility, a doctor, nurses, coder, biller, etc. All could end up losing their jobs and face penalties in the process. Even those students who end up in our classes, they still have no clue and when they finish our program they still have a lot to learn which can only be learned on the job.
Ruby Whitehead
In reading some of the responses, I agree that it would depend on the course. On more subjective courses, this would be great. You can design a course or guide the course in the manner to which the students responded to the pre-test. On more objective courses, the student probably doesn't know what they are getting in to anyways, so staying with the designed course is necessary.
I would say yes and no.
Yes the pre-assessment gives the instructor and opportunity to look at the expectations of the student. Where they are in the learning curb. Are they making the choice to take this class becuase they are instrested or because they need it to move on the next level. Do they have a base understanding of the things they have taken up to this point so that they will provider thoughtful response over the course.
No because it may quickly discourage the student if he finds that it is not what he expected. Depending on the course it may not prove to provide any effective feedback that could influence the path of the course.
I think so. I always like to ask students what their goal is from these course and reference those goals so they are able to personalize the information.
I think it is always valuable to start a new course by coming up with a "baseline" of where students are right now (what knowledge and skills they bring to the course on Day 1). In the real world, this may not always be easy to do, but it would help, even if it just involves several multiple-choice questions about what the student brings to the new course.
Dr. Michael,
I agree. You really need to know where to start. Also, you may have to provide remediation. I hate to say that but if you can point to other resources that may help.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Cyndy,
I agree with you, you don't want them to drive the course. You still have to be the tour guide or they will miss the important sights that make them successful. Good points!
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
