Teach Before You Test

each time a teacher wants to test students s/he should ask himself/herself “did I teach the students this or the strategy to solve such exam or activity”. This is a huge problem that many teachers fall in; we assume that students should know things without really finding out if they know them! I as teacher should teach my students listening skills, reading skills, speaking skills, writing skills, exam taking skills, group or pair working skills and many other skills before I test them! These skills are not innate for the students to have by their own, but they are acquired and we are the ones who are supposed to teach them such skills. Whenever we teach a skill, we should assess that particular skill by formative and summative assessment and take into consideration the results of those assessments as feedback for the teacher; if he/s/he met his/her objectives or not, and if not then what should be done to get the desired results. Such step is vital for the process of the teacher progress and development.