There are many reasons why the trainers need to aften actively try to find out if the whole group has understood.

SUPPORT LEARNERS MOTIVATION

Often checking if the whole group has understood can support learners confidence and motivation, allowing them to understand during the learning process where they need to put more efforts and what can be considered as their strong point. This way, the summative assessment to come at the end of the unit shouldn’t break their motivation.

Example : Frequent and varied checks, for example through small quizzes or polls, paired with positive reinforcement, allow learners to realise where they need to make more efforts, notice their improvements and successes

SUPPORT SELF-REFLECTION

With formative assessment, learners as trainers are able to find out their understanding of the subject. Paired with a good understanding of learning objectives set at the beginning of the lesson and regularly reminded, and constructive guidance from the trainer, learners know on what they should focus their efforts.

ALLOWS THE TRAINER TO ADJUST LEARNING STRATEGIES, NOTABLY BASED ON LEARNERS SPECIFIC NEEDS

Everyone learns differently, and a methodology which works on one learner might not work on the whole group.

By doing formative assessment to check the understanding of the group, you allow yourself to analyse the performance of your training method and adapt whenever is needed.

This adaptation can be done related to the different learning styles of the learners in your group. Here are some of the main learning styles and methodology that can particularly well work on them, taking into account there isn’t only one truth, and that learners can cumulate learning styles :

VISUAL -> use visual representations, colour coding…
VERBAL -> propose discussion groups, summarising exercises
AUDITORY -> use repetition, propose videos, Q&A sessions
KINESTHETIC (learning through physical activity) -> alternate various activity types, allow movement in the classroom, teach outside, include practical components whenever possible in the lessons
READ/WRITE -> propose re-writing exercises by using own words, mind-maping

Conclusion

Regularly using strategies to find out if the whole group had understood has many benefits, pedagogical as well as for the personal development of the learner. We recommend to vary the strategies, ensure learners understand the reason why trainer and learners need to check understanding, and promote a positive classroom environment where improvements as achievements are celebrated while bad understanding doesn’t stigmatize any learner