Importance of the Diagnostic Test in the Supervision of Future Physical Science Teachers

Abstract

According to the new teacher training engineering in Morocco in accordance with the law
establishing the Regional Centres for Education and Training (CRMEF), teachers train and supervise future
teachers throughout their training. The latter, based on the competency-based approach, implies a better
coherence of the modules and ensures the professionalization of teaching practices. Our issue is part of a
strategy to improve the performance of the results of the training of future physical science teachers at the
CRMEF in Casablanca-Settat. To respond to our problematic, we have thought about an innovative
pedagogical strategy based on diagnostic evaluation.
The aim of this work is to study the results of a diagnostic test consisting of all the elements of the chemistry
modules, validated at the beginning of 2018. The diagnostic test is written in the form of a multiple-choice
MCQ questionnaire. It is made up of 26 items divided into 7 Chemistry themes. Analysis of the results
obtained by calculating the overall averages of the success score for each theme of our diagnostic test
showed that the theme "pH and strength of an acid" was more successful than "Structure of the atom" and
the latter was less difficult than "Dosing a weak acid with a strong base". On the other hand, the large
percentages of false answers corresponded to the topics "thermochemistry", "crystallography", "chemical
kinetics" and "concentrated HCl solution" respectively. The results of the diagnostic test enabled us to
classify the future teachers by level of mastery of the items, to identify the causes that may hinder learning
and thus to better plan their initial training at the CRMEF for the "complementary training" module.
Keywords: Diagnostic test, MCQ, Future teachers, Training, Regional Education and Training Trade Centre
(CRMEF)