Introduction to Assessment

What is Assessment?

Assessment can cause anxiety for some learners (and CALP staff too!) but the truth of the matter is assessment is simply a process of gathering information about a learner. The purpose of gathering the information is to co-create a successful learning experience with and for that learner. There are many factors that affect an adult’s learning and are important to identify and recognize. Later on in this workshop, we will talk more about the types of information to collect as part of an assessment.

Before we even begin an assessment, it’s important to consider who we are assessing and what their role is in the assessment process. As adults, the learners in our CALPs are competent and independent people who should take an active role in the assessment process. They are the best source of information to find out what to teach, how to teach it and any challenges that may interfere with their learning. The learner should also always be informed of the results of any and all assessments, and be given the opportunity to talk about them. 

Learner-centred and strengths-based are two basic principles that guide how we approach assessment in CALP.

Learner-Centred Assessment

Learner-centred means that, as CALP staff, we strive to understand the learner as a whole person – what is important to them, what their goals are, what type of factors influence the way they learn. It also means that we are ready and able to make adjustments to support the learner, especially if how we normally do things could create a barrier for them. 

For example, an English language learner says they want their learning to be only oral, no book work. Let’s say that our regular assessment process includes giving a checklist and asking the learner to check off the speaking tasks they would like to work on. To be learner-centred, we would adapt our process to respect the learner’s comfort level and boundaries. For this learner, a learner-centred assessment could be one or more of the following:

• Have an informal conversation asking questions about the different roles they play each day (mother, worker, musician, etc.) and explore what they talk about as they interact with other people in those roles.You may find the "Mapping Technique" handout from Creating Learning Partners helpful.

• Intentionally embed tasks from the Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) Can Do Lists in conversation with the learner to assess their ability to perform these tasks. 
• Observe the learner in conversation with other learners

Learner-centred assessment allows CALP staff, instructors, tutors and/or facilitators to understand the individual learner's current strengths and skills. This will help you and the learner create a customized learning plan that fits their unique needs and goals.

Strengths-Based Approach

Strengths-based means that we pay attention to the strengths, skills and knowledge that adult learners bring with them. Adult learners are resilient, resourceful and competent people who have strengths to draw on when they take on new challenges. Part of our role as CALP staff is to draw out those strengths and support learners as they learn to apply them in new situations to help their learning process. 

Here are some examples:

A learner feels overwhelmed by a new topic they are learning with their tutor. The tutor can redirect the lesson to find out strategies the learner has used in the past to manage their frustration. By asking some gentle questions about how the learner has dealt with these feelings or challenges in the past, the tutor can draw out skills and strategies the learner can use in this situation.

• Can you think of a time that you have felt like this before?
• How did you deal with it?  Did it work?
• Can we try that in this situation? 

A mechanic wants to improve their reading skills. A strengths-based assessment could be done through a conversation about what they are good at. We could ask the learner how they approach fixing a mechanical issue at work – an area of their life that they are skilled, competent and confident. 

• Do you use a manual?
• What parts of the manual do you find most helpful – the diagrams, the step by step instructions?
• Do you order parts from a parts list?
• How do you find the parts you need from the parts list?
• What strategies do you use to find each item?