DIAGNOSTIC TESTING AND REMEDIAL TEACHING IN MATHEMATICS

DIAGNOSTIC TESTING AND

REMEDIAL TEACHING IN

MATHEMATICS

Your main role as a teacher is to promote quality learning among the students. This is possible only when you act as a guide and the students actively participate in the process of learning. During the teaching-learning process, you have to locate and identify the areas where the learner commits mistakes. It is the crucial stage of the teaching-learning process where you have to DIAGNOSE and prepare instructional material for REMEDIAL TEACHING to ensure the desired quality of learning. At this stage the role of a teacher is just like a doctor’s. The doctor takes all the steps necessary to diagnose the disease by performing different tests and then prescribes medicines for the particular disease. In the case of education the process of Diagnostic Testing is the STEP and REMEDIAL TEACHING is the PRESCRIPTION. Hence diagnostic testing and remedial teaching are very essential for ensuring effective learning and in improving the quality of education. In this unit an attempt is being made to discuss the orgnization of Diagnosic Tests in Mathematics and undertaking appropriate remedial measures.

After going through this unit, you should be able to:

1.l understand the meaning and importance of Diagnostic Testing;

2.l understand the nature and purpose of Diagnostic Testing;

3.l follow the steps and stages of Diagnostic Testing in the classroom teaching learning process.

4.l conduct remedial teaching in mathematics in classroom situations.

In general, after completing a particular unit/topic you conduct a test to assess the achievements of learners. After evaluation you draw some conclusions and you find that some of the students have fared very well and a particular group of students have achieved below your expectations. Now you will have to find out the causes for this low achievement or slow learning. There would be certain reasons for this low achievement. Now it is very essential to find out the particular area where the difficulty lies or the particular concept where the learner commits errors. To locate and identify the areas of learning difficulties leads to Diagnostic Testing.

After identifying the areas where the error lies, you have to find out the reasons due to which the particular child/group of students have not responded well. At this stage you have to play the role of a doctor. If a patient visits the doctor’s clinic he suggests different tests relevant to the symptoms observed by him. After getting reports he is in a position to identify and diagnose the disease and then prescribe the medicine for it.

Likewise, as a teacher, you have to first identify and locate the area where the error lies. The process adopted for this purpose in educational situations is known as Diagnostic Testing. We may say that Diagnostic Testing implies a detailed study of learning difficulties.

In diagnostic testing the following points must be kept in mind:

i) Who are the pupils who need help?

ii) Where are the errors located ?

iii) Why did the error occur ?

While performing a Diagnostic Test you have the specific aim to analyze the exact nature of the progress made by the learner in a particular topic/unit and to know the particular area of weakness/error which requires a series of carefully graded tests. The main aim of Diagnostic Testing is to analyze not to assess.

If we consider arithmetical attainments from both a qualitative and quantitative standpoints, we can distinguish four main points (i) accuracy (ii) speed of writing (iii) methods of work and (iv) extent of the arithmetic process mastered.

It is obvious that you will try to find the feedback through the medium of class work or through weekly or monthly tests which indicate pupils’ ability in each of the four aforesaid directions. But it is not enough for teaching purposes particularly with those pupils/learners who are slow learners. With this group of learners you are required to have a more analytical estimate of their achievements.

The essential steps in educational diagnosis are:

i) Identifying the students who are having trouble or need help.

ii) Locating the errors or learning difficulties.

iii) Discovering the causal factors of slow learning.

i) Identifying the students who are having trouble or need help

First, one must know the learners who require help. For this you can administer a general achievement test based on the topics already taught. After evaluation you will be in a position to make lists of students who are below average, average or above average. Next, one has to locate the area where the error occurs in order to have a deeper insight into the pupils’ difficulties.

ii) Locating the errors or learning difficulties

After identifying the students who need help and visualising the necessity of additional instructional material to improve the quality of learning, your main role is to find out the area where the learner commits mistakes or which is the area where learning difficulties lie.

In some cases of learning difficulties, the causal factors are relatively simple. A student may be inattentive during teaching-learning or may be committing errors due to insufficient practice or irregular attendance.

Sometimes the cause is ill-health or faulty work habits etc. It has also been observed sometimes that the basic cause of low achievement is a feeling of helplessness or the complexity of the subject-matter which perhaps is much above the level of their comprehension.

While diagnosis is the process of investigating the learners’ difficulties and the reasons for this, its follow up leads to actions that may help children make up their deficiencies. This step is generally termed Remedial Teaching. So you have to be skilled in preparing or arranging for such materials which may be used to undertake corrective instruction and thus enhancing the quality of learning.

The following points should be kept in mind while selecting appropriate instructional material:

i) The corrective material should be designed to correct the students’ individual difficulties.

ii) You have to analyze the work of slow learners by means of observation, interview and Diagnostic Testing. A careful consideration of the three may help decide what kind of corrective material is to be designed and whether material will be adequate to correct the specific difficulties of learners.

iii) The corrective material should be graded, self-directive and should permit students to work independently. Written directions, which accompany the material, should be easily readable and comprehensible by the students.

iv) The corrective material must permit individuals to progress according to their pace.

v) The material should encourage systematic recording of evidence of pupils’ progress.

The diagnosis made on the basis of a graded test provides a definite direction to remedial teaching. The teaching-learning strategy should of course, put emphasis on exercises in the relevant area of difficulty until mastery is achieved. Further testing would be desirable to examine the impact of remedial teaching.

In this unit you have learnt about Diagnostic Testing which is the most important part of the teaching-learning process. It implies a detailed study of learning difficulties. Its aim is to analyze, not to assess. The nature and purpose of Diagnostic Testing is to identify the areas of difficulties where the learner commits errors. The stages of diagnostic testing are:

i) Identifying the students who need help.

ii) Locating the error/learning difficulties.

iii) Discovering the causal factors.

After locating the area where the difficulty lies, as a teacher you will devise some strategy to remove problems in learning and the causes due to which the learner has faced the difficulties. The strategy used by you to remove the weakness of the learner is known as remedial teaching. Diagnostic Testing leads to remedial teaching in which you have to prepare instructional material for quality learning, adopting different methodologies as per needs of the individual or a particular group.