The lesson this week is all about preparation. I was almost overwhelmed with all the possibilities and angles from which one must prepare and want to say 'fuggedaboutit' (hey, tonight is the last episode of the Sopranos!).
Considering the likely diversity of the audience I could not help but think of the usefulness of pre-class surveys of any sort. Perhaps in a perfect setting the students would have all registered more than a month in advance and you could send them all surveys to assess their backgrounds/levels accordingly to prepare for the course.
However, I don't think final enrolment happens prior to one month usually and the list of students is always in flux.
What do you all think is the reality of pre-course testing? Has anyone had experience with it?
Kasandra
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4 comments:
The usefulness of pre-course tests and surveys depends on when they are given, the content of the course and the content of the test/survey. As a participant I have completed surveys that I doubt were very beneficial because the questions were too vague/generic. I have taken pretests that were useful in focusing me on the topic being covered and others that did not seem to assist me in mastering the course materials at all.
A couple of months ago I conducted a short survey via e-mail to ascertain how much experience a technology group had with a Quality Assurance system. It proved extremely valuable to me because their experience level was completely opposite my expectations. I was able to tailor my materials and go into the session mentally and technically better prepared.
I find pre-tests quite useful for the instructor. It gives him / her a sense of the upcoming student knowledge level.
Practically, though, I think students find this to be a bother, and, at least in my place, it seems that students want to basically take the class, get some info, in a short time, and get out and back to work.
hi 'labausa'
how far in advance did you know your group attendance list - so that you would know who to send the survey to? It sounds like you typically have enough time to prepare - which is so much better than being in a situation where the intended audience is in flux until the last minute (which I have often been in!!!)
hi 'moral compass'
if the students want to 'just take the class and leave' then maybe it is not a class which might really need a survey to begin with.
More specifically, if it is somewhat standardized class content then the students know what they are showing up for and expect just that - and want to get it over with - but if your audience is different and expects to be more catered to as in the corportae world then they might actually be disappointed if they don't get relevant surveys before hand.
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