Listening as Formative Assessment

Although formative assessment is usually discussed in relation to pupils, the same principles apply to mentoring.

Black and Wiliam (1998) argue that assessment becomes formative when evidence is used to adapt future teaching and learning. Wiliam (2011) later simplified this idea through three fundamental questions:

• Where is the learner going?
• Where is the learner now?
• What are the next steps?

Mentors ask themselves these questions continually.

However, unlike classroom teachers, mentors often gather their evidence through conversation.

Every mentor meeting provides information about:

• What the trainee understands.
• What misconceptions remain.
• How confident the trainee feels.
• What barriers are affecting progress.
• What support may be required.

Listening therefore becomes an assessment process.

The quality of the mentor's listening directly influences the quality of the evidence they gather and, consequently, the quality of the support they provide.

This idea aligns closely with the ITTECF (Department for Education [DfE], 2024), which emphasises that mentoring should be responsive to the trainee's current stage of development rather than relying upon predetermined advice or generic feedback.