Administer a diagnostic Assessment: A the beginning of the semester, it is ideal to find out what relevant knowledge your students possess. You can assess skills and conceptual knowledge through a short quiz delivered through NYU Classes Tests and Quizzes, or NYU Qualtrics Survey. In this short assessment, students can define key terms, or solve essential quantitative equations giving you a picture of overall preparedness.
One options for doing this to deliver a concept inventory. These are ungraded tests, typically multi-choice, that reveal common misconceptions.
For more on using concept inventories you can read: David Sands, Mark Parker, Holly Hedgeland, Sally Jordan & Ross Galloway (2018) Using concept inventories to measure understanding, Higher Education Pedagogies, 3:1, 173-182, DOI: 10.1080/23752696.2018.1433546