Are You Getting This?

Are You Getting This?

by Meghan SchiedelNo Comments
It is a widely shared experience to be hosting a training or workshop and look into the crowd of participants staring back at you and wonder, are they getting it? In the previous post, I shared about pre-assessments and how they can help your workshops or training become more engaging through proper pacing and meeting students where they are. In this post, I’ll share another form of assessment that will allow you to measure participants learning in real-time to give you information to improve your training to meet the needs of the participants. This type of assessment is often called formative assessment. What is a Formative Assessment? The Yale Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning defines formative assessment as a form that allows both instructor and student to monitor progress toward achieving learning objectives by identifying misconceptions, struggles, and learning gaps.  These assessments are often characterized by their informal nature. They are usually embedded in a lesson and take less time to complete. They...
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Power of the Pre-Assessment

Power of the Pre-Assessment

by Meghan SchiedelNo Comments
Are you planning a workshop or upcoming training? Wondering what the best way not to bore your trainees is? Or you might wonder, how should I assess employees’ existing knowledge? You might also be asking yourself, how do I know what they know or don’t know? All of these questions can be answered by using the power of the pre-assessment. Pre-assessment is crucial to ensure the proper pacing of information. For example, if you think people attending your training know more than they do, you risk jumping into the deep end with trainees who metaphorically don’t know how to swim. They might find your training confusing or overwhelming and leave with a sense that they weren’t understood or, even worse, that they are stupid or unable to learn content they should be able to grasp. Alternatively, if you don’t assess for knowledge that trainees already have, you might get feedback that the training was easy, not helpful, or even a...
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