34 Pre-Assessment

The pre-assessment answers one or more of these questions: What do the learners already know? What can they already do? How do they already feel? What are their present attitudes?

Within the context of FLO lesson planning, the pre-assessment is likely to be quite short. It should match the outcome as closely as possible. For example, if the lesson is an introduction to terminology, a pre-assessment may ask questions that help identify terms learners already use. If the lesson focuses on the development of a skill, the pre-assessment might involve asking learners to identify if, where, and when they have performed that skill before. (And some learners might even actually perform it.) Pre-assessments for expressive outcomes may include questions that identify the learners’ previous experience with the topic.

The pre-assessment can:

• reveal learners’ interests,
• identify learners who can be resources within the class,
• allow learners to express their need for review or clarification,
• focus attention and signal the purpose of the lesson,
• help the instructor adjust the lesson for depth and pace to better fit a particular group of learners, and
• enable the instructor to respond to individual strengths, interests, and weaknesses.