Tell me what you know!!!

Pre-Assessment: Getting to the heart of the matter

Pre-Assessment is a great way to determine what students know about a topic before it is taught. If used regularly, it can provide teachers with great information that will make instructional decision about students’ strengths or needs, easier to determine. Pre-assessment helps teachers to determine patters or groups ahead of time, so they can prepare for instruction that will meet more of the students’ needs.

                                                                

Some ways to provide pre-assessments are:

·         Pretests

·         Writing prompts
·         Student Interviews
·         Graphic Organizers
·         Prediction
·         Work samples
·         Observation
·         Surveys or Questionnaires
·         Game activities
·         Journals

Sometimes, it takes getting creative to learn what our students already know, but in doing so, we gain a far greater understanding of what we need to teach. If we can teach what we know they need to learn, we are making a big difference in what students will retain. Pre-assessment is a valuable tool for us as teachers and if we take advantage of it, we can close the gap that may be growing in our students minds and with their abilities to process and participate academically.

I wonder how many teachers really take full advantage of pre-assessments? I feel like most teachers jump into lessons without much thought as to how far students have come in the learning process and how this will fit into their learning curb. My hope is that more teachers will take the time necessary to implement even simple procedures, as asking questions, or playing a game, in order to gain access to students insights and learning. I am going to make every effort to be the type of teacher who really cares about students learning and who uses pre-assessment as a tool in my toolbox!