I recently heard Dylan Wiliam present for the first time. It was mind-blowing good. His work on formative assessment and student learning has inspired and influenced so many educators around the world.
But there were ten quotes from his presentation on formative assessment and the science of learning that really struck a chord with me…
1. “The relationship of what we teach and what the students make of it is unpredictable”
Even the best-planned lesson can land differently with each student. This echoes one of the key points made in our blog by Sarah Cottinghatt that stated, “pupils don’t learn what you teach.” Learning is a complex, messy process, and this quote is a reminder that teaching isn’t just about delivering content; it’s about checking, adapting, and responding to what students actually take from it.
2. “Our job is to destroy the bell curve”
What. A. Quote. If ever there was something that captured that beauty, importance and power of education, it is this one. The natural spread of abilities may follow a bell curve, but education is about changing that. The goal, and indeed purpose, of education is to ensure that all students have opportunities to succeed and thrive, rather than accepting that where you start is where you are going to end.
3. “No lesson survives first contact”
A well-planned lesson is essential, but it must be flexible. Dylan reminds us that as soon as you start teaching, you encounter real students with real needs, and being able to adapt in the moment is what responsive teaching is all about.
4. “We need a pedagogy of engagement”
We want to ensure all students are thinking hard. Students don’t learn much when they are passive. Wiliam’s call for a pedagogy of engagement highlights the importance of making sure students are actively thinking, grappling with ideas, and participating throughout every lesson.
5. “Most teachers skimp on the think in Think-Pair-Share”
In Think, Pair, Share the “think” part often ends up rushed. Wiliam points out that giving students proper time to think individually before discussing leads to better quality talk, deeper understanding, and more meaningful learning.
6. “Feedback is not the view in the rear view mirror”
Too often, feedback focuses just on what went wrong in the past. Wiliam reminds us that feedback should be forward-looking, aimed at helping students improve and succeed in their next steps, not just reflecting on previous work. This chimes nicely with Professor Hattie’s work that encourages students to focus on “where to next” as part of the feedback process.
7. “Good feedback works to its own redundancy”
The best feedback helps students become more independent. Feedback should improve the student, not just their work. Over time, they should need less and less help from the teacher because the feedback has helped them internalise better strategies and habits for learning.
8. “Most of what teachers have been told about feedback is inconsistent with the research”
Feedback is complex, and simple rules like “always give immediate feedback” don’t hold up across different contexts. The nature of the task probably plays a role in terms of when is best to give feedback. And even then, the research is quite nuanced, as many researchers disagree as to what even counts as ‘immediate’ or ‘delayed’ (for more on this, check out our blog on Immediate vs. Delayed Feedback). Wiliam highlights that the timing, type, and purpose of feedback must be carefully considered based on what will best support learning.
9. “The same assessment can be formative or summative”
It’s not the test itself that matters; it’s how you use the information it gives you. An assessment can either simply judge what a student has learned (summative) or help guide future teaching and learning (formative). The same assessment could be used in either way. As such, it’s what you do with the data that matters.
10. “Peer assessment as a stepping stone to self-assessment”
Getting students to assess each other’s work isn’t just about saving time — it’s a valuable way to help them build the skills needed to eventually evaluate their own work more accurately and take greater ownership of their learning. However, this needs to be carefully structured and scaffolded. If we rush into it, it is likely to be a recipe for disaster.
Final Thoughts
Often, people who have lots of knowledge aren’t always the best at communicating that knowledge. In my opinion, Dylan is a world leader at both. With a huge depth of knowledge combined with the ability to accurately, articulately and humorously present, his talk was outrageously impressive.
Listening to Dylan Wiliam was a powerful reminder that great teaching is never about rigidly following a script; it’s about being responsive, reflective, and relentlessly focused on helping every student improve. His insights challenge some of the common assumptions about feedback, assessment, and learning and offer a roadmap for teachers who want to make a real difference. If you ever get the chance to see him present live, don’t miss it!
