Assessment that changes delivery
A companion to Chapter 15 of the book, Assessing and Adapting Learning Strengths. The same ideas in several forms: film, conversation, 2 infographics, a mind map and 6 activities. Start with whichever suits you.
Chapter 15 in two minutes
Without insight, trainers adapt by instinct and guesswork, and often reach only part of the room. Chapter 15 sets out how the Learning Strength Assessment gives a clearer starting point. It treats preferences as tendencies that shape efficiency, comfort and engagement, not as fixed labels or a measure of potential or intelligence.
The assessment shows patterns across several dimensions rather than one restrictive category, and it does not rank learners or predict performance. Its value is at group level: a cohort profile showing the mix of preferences in the room, so overlooked learners are served by design rather than by luck.
The chapter describes three steps. Assess the cohort, including any gap between the trainer's preferences and the group's. Apply the insight to sequencing, grouping and activities. Adjust with quick wins now and plans for later. Assessment exists to improve delivery, never for performance or employment decisions, and learners who understand their own preferences become more independent.
Assessment exists to improve delivery, not to categorise.
Watch or listen
Prefer to take it in by eye or by ear? Both cover the core ideas of Chapter 15 in a few minutes.
Film, 2 min
How learning strength assessments reach the whole room
How a group's profile helps a trainer plan several ways into the same material, so more of the room can take part. Captions are built in.
Conversation, 5 min
Why fixed learner labels fail
A conversation about why sorting people into fixed types does not hold up, and how preferences can inform a session without limiting anyone.
Chapter 15 at a glance
A quick overview, then the full argument with the evidence. Select either one to see it full size.
How the ideas connect
Every idea in Chapter 15 on one page. Look at it before you read to see the shape of the argument, or afterwards as a recap.
Put it into practice
Short activities to run with a group or work through on your own. Each one has a printable card.
With a group (3)
On your own (3)
Go deeper
The research and writing behind Chapter 15.
- Dylan Wiliam, dylanwiliam.orgKeeping Learning on Track: Formative Assessment and the Regulation of LearningWhy assessment is most useful when it changes what happens next in teaching.
- Barry Zimmerman, Theory Into Practice, 2002Becoming a Self-Regulated Learner: An OverviewHow learners come to plan, monitor and manage their own learning, the outcome the chapter aims for.
- Coffield, Moseley, Hall and Ecclestone, ResearchGateLearning Styles and Pedagogy in Post-16 Learning: A Systematic and Critical ReviewA critical review of thirteen models, which found weak reliability and validity, and part of why the chapter rejects fixed labels.
- Sweller, Ayres and Kalyuga, SpringerCognitive Load TheoryWhy the way material is sequenced and presented affects how much of it learners can take in.
