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Pre-Assessment Tools |
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As a teacher knowing your students is as important as any approach or method you possess in your toolkit. In fact, possessing a wealth of knowledge on the art of teaching is useless if an educator is unable to identify their students' areas of need. Therefore it is imperative that teachers pre-assess their students' knowledge in order to gain the information they need in order to accurately and efficiently ply their trade.
Below I have included a number of pre-assessment tools that you can use to analyze your students' needs and learning types so that you can tailor your lessons to address what they need and save yourself from teaching subject matter that your students already understand. (Note: if you find that the links I provide do not work you can always locate the reference on my Resources for Teachers page here. LDPride.net offers a free learning styles test here that you can use with your students. It is quick, efficient, and can help you and your students identify their learning styles and what kind of multiple intelligences they possess. It is important to use this type of test at the beginning of the term or when you first meet your student(s) so that you can adjust your lessons before the term becomes too complicated. Beyond determining your students' learning styles it is important to pre-assess background and prior knowledge. This can be done informally through one-on-one discussions or more formally through the use of pre-testing in content areas. Herrera and Murry (2011) note six variables that need to be considered during the pre-assessment of a CLD student. These variables include:
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