a short guide to oral assessment...1 introduction a short guide to oral assessment ‘oral...

A short guide to oral assessmentBy Gordon Joughin

Contents

Introduction 1

Aboutthisguide 2

Whatisoralassessment? 3

Whyassessorally? 5

Whatisspecialaboutoralassessment? 8

Planningoralassessment:sixdimensions 10

Validity 13

Reliability 14

Fairness 15

Markingandgrading 16

Preparingstudentsfororalassessment 17

Conclusion 19

References 20

1

Introduction

A short guide to orAl Assessment

‘Oralassessment’includesanyassessmentofstudentlearningthatisconducted,whollyorinpart,bywordofmouth.Oralassessmentinitsmanyformshasalonghistory.Itdominatedassessmentupuntilatleastthe18thcenturyatOxfordandCambridge(Stray,2001)andcontinuestobeaprincipalmodeofassessmentinmanyEuropeancountries.Elsewhere,andcertainlyintheUKandAustralia,oralassessmentisubiquitous:•Lawstudentstakepartinmockcourthearings•Nursingstudents,alongwithstudentsofotherhealthprofessions,takepartin‘OSCEs’(ObjectiveStructuredClinicalExaminations)wheretheyarepresentedwithaseriesof‘patients’anddiscussdiagnosesandtreatmentplanswithanexaminer•Studentspreparingforarangeofcareersengageinassessedfieldpractice,rangingfromstudentteacherstakingclassestoPsychologystudentsinterviewingactualclientsandmarinebiologistsreportingonfieldwork•Studentsinalmostalldisciplinesconductoralpresentationstotheirclasses,individuallyorinteams•Thedoctoralvivacontinuesasanimportantriteofpassageinmostuniversities.

Inanygivenuniversity,thislistcouldbemultipliedmanytimesover.Ifyouarenotusingsomeformoforalassessmentyourself,youarelikelytofindcolleagueswithinyourownuniversityorelsewhereinyourdisciplinewhoare.Moreover,thereiseveryreasontobelievethatoralformsofassessmentareasimportantnowastheyeverwere:•Universitiesworldwidearebeingcalledontodevelopintheirgraduatesthoseabilitiesthatarecentraltotheworldofworkandprofessionalpractice,aworldwhereoralcommunicationtendstodominate.•Manytheoriesoflearningemphasisetheimportanceofstudents’articulatingtheirideas,exposingtheirthinkingtopeersandteachersthroughspeaking,anddevelopingtheirabilityandconfidencetocommunicateinwork-likeenvironments.•Atatimeofcontinuingconcernforacademicintegrity,oralassessmenthelpsustobeconfidentthattheworkpresentedbystudentsisindeedtheirown.

Sotherearemanyreasonsforcomingtogripswithoralassessment,fordiscussingitwithcolleagues,forsharingourcurrentknowledgeandpractices,andfordoingmoreofit!Ofcourse,thisisnottodenigratewrittenassessment–merelytoargueforabalanceddietofthemostappropriateassessmentmethodsforourstudents.

2 www.leedsmet.ac.uk/publications

About this guide

Thisguidetooralassessmentdealswithanyassessmentbasedonthespokenword,includingvivas,oralpresentations,andahostofotherformsofassessment.Itisdesignedtobeofusetoanyonecurrentlyusingoralassessmenttomakejudgmentsabouttheirstudents’learning,andanyoneconsideringintroducingoralassessmentintotheircourses.Itisnotaboutassessingstudents’languageorcommunicationskillsper se,butitisaboutassessmentthatcallsonstudentstousethespokenwordtoexpresstheirknowledgeandunderstanding.

Inthisguidewewillbeconsidering:

•thenatureoforalassessment

•theadvantages(andsomedisadvantages)oforalassessment

•keydimensionsoforalassessmenttouseinplanningoralassessments

•markingandgrading

•preparingstudentsfororalassessment;and

•ensuringthatjudgmentsbasedonoralassessmentaresound,reliableandfair.

Theguidewillciteanumberofarticleswheredifferentformsoforalassessmentaredescribed.Mostofthesearetheworkofhighereducationteachersfromvariousdisciplines(ratherthanofeducationalresearchersortheorists)andprovidepracticalillustrationsofhoworalassessmentcanbecarriedout.

Despitethemetaphorofabalancedassessmentdiet,thisguidewillnotprovidearecipefordesigningandimplementingoralassessment,butitwillintroducearangeofingredientstouseinvariouscombinationsindevelopingassessmenttasks,andpracticesthatwillhelpyouandyourstudentsmakethemostoftheoralmedium.

3A short guide to orAl Assessment

What is oral assessment?

Oralassessmentreferstoanyassessmentofstudentlearningthatisconductedbythespokenword.Manymodesofcommunicationcanbeusedinassessment.Writingisnodoubtthemostcommon,withessays,tutorialpapers,laboratoryreportsandwrittenexaminationsdominatingtraditionalassessment.Onlinetextcommunicationmaybeasignificantrecentvariationonthewrittenmode.Someassessment,especiallyinareassuchasthecreativearts,reliesonthedirectobservationofastudent’sperformanceorothercreativework.Oralassessmentstandsincontrasttothesemodesofassessment,thoughoftensupplementingthem.

Assessmentcanbeexclusivelyoral,or,asisfrequentlythecase,canbecombinedwithothermodesofcommunication,dependingonthenatureoftheassessmenttask.Whatmakestheassessment‘oral’isthatatleastpartoftheassessment,andpartofwhatcountstowardsastudent’smarkorgrade,dependsonwhatthestudentcommunicatesbywordofmouth.

Ofcourse,itisnotonlythestudentwhospeaks.Oralassessmentmayinvolveanassessororassessorsposingquestionsorally,withvaryingdegreesofspokeninteractionastheassessmentproceeds.Moreover,othersmaybeinvolvedintheassessment–theNursingstudentinterviewingapatientwhilehisorherpreceptorlookson;theLawstudentmootinginfrontofabarristerintheroleofajudge;orpeerswhoarerespondingtoaseminarpresentation.

Oralassessmentincludesawiderangeoftypes.Mostacademicsarefamiliarwiththedoctoralviva,whichformanyepitomisesoralassessment,buttherearemanyotherforms,including:

•presentations,includingthein-classpresentationonapreparedtopicandthegroupprojectreporttotheclass

•interrogations,includingthevivawithinundergraduateorgraduatecourseworkinwhichthestudentisquizzedbyoneormoreexaminers,andtheshortinterviewofstudentstoconfirmtheirauthorshipofawrittenpaper;and

•applications,suchasthe‘OSCE’(ObjectiveStructuredClinicalExamination)inNursingorMedicinewherethestudentmovesfromonesimulatedpatienttoanotherandisquestionedaboutdiagnosesandrecommendedaction.

Oneformoforalassessmentnotincludedinthisguideistheassessmentoflanguageskills,whetherinthecontextoflearningaforeignlanguageoraspartofthedevelopmentoforalcommunicationcompetencies.Thisguideisnotconcernedwiththeuseoforalassessmenttogaugestudents’languageorcommunicationskillsper se.Itsfocusisontheuseoforalprocessestojudgeknowledge,understanding,problemsolvingandotherabilitiesthroughtheoralmedium,notmasteryoftheoralmediumitself.


Inafinal-yearMarketingsubjectattheUniversityofWesternSydneyinAustralia,studentsundergoa20-minutevivawithapairofexaminers–ateacherfromtheircourseandanindustryconsultant.Eachstudentisaskedasetoffourquestionsfromoneof14topicsandhastoapplywhatheorshehaslearnttoascenario.MarkingusesaLikert-typescaleacross12criteria:appearance;knowledgeofthesubject;confidence;concisenessofresponses;qualityofresponses;thinkingonthespot;communicationskills;applicationoftheorytopractice;abilitytohandlequestions;bodylanguage;professionalmanner;andclarityofresponses(Pearce&Lee,2009).

StudentsintheUKCentreforEventsManagementatLeedsMetropolitanUniversityhavetoportrayvisuallyastoryboardofalltheactivitiesnecessarytoputonanevent.Thestudentsareinstudygroupsofthree,anddifferentquestionsareaskedofthestudentsfortheassessment:othersinthegroupcannotsupporttheircolleagueswhiletheyarebeingquestioned.Thisputstheonusonallgroupmembersto‘teach’andexplainalloftheworkclearlytoeachother,sothatanymemberofthetriocanrespondtothetutor.Theycanalsopractisemockquestionswitheachother,developingabetterabilitytojudgequality–anessentialskillfortheirfuturecareers.

GeographystudentsatOxfordBrookesUniversityreporttheirfieldworkfindingsingrouppresentationstoamockweekendconference.Eachgrouppresentsanddiscussesitsfindingsaswellasactingasdiscussantsforanothergroupandprovidingthatgroupwithevaluativefeedbackusingapeerassessmentfeedbacksheet.Thisenquiryandreportingformatwasdesignedtoheightenstudents’engagementinthefieldworkitselfwhiledevelopinggroupworkandpresentationskills(Haigh&Gold,1993).

MasterofSciencestudentsatGöteborgUniversity,Sweden,workingroupsonaproblem-solvingactivity,writeagroupreport,andpresenttheirworkinaday-longseriesofpresentations.Eachgroupalsoconsidersanothergroup’sreportandquestionsthatgroupfollowingtheirpresentation.Pairsofstudentsarethenquestionedbyanindividualexaminerabouttheirwork(Wistedt,1998).

Why assess orally?

Therearemanyreasonsforchoosingtoassessourstudentsorally.Herearesevencommonlyusedreasonsforoptingfororalassessment,eitheronitsownorincombinationwithothermodesofassessment.

1. it is the best way to assess particular learning outcomes or abilities

Whileoralassessmentcanbeappliedtoalmostanykindoflearningoutcome,itseemstobeparticularlyusefulinrelationtostudents’appliedproblem-solvingabilities,wheretheyneedtoapplywhattheyknowtomore-or-lesscomplexscenarios.Insuchcontexts,oralassessmentcanprovideinsightintostudents’cognitiveprocesses.Wheretheassessmentinvolvesstudentsinteractingwithothers,includingwithrealorrole-playingclientsorpatients,theassessmentalsoallowsjudgmentsaboutstudents’interpersonalcompetence.Withorwithoutclients,the

assessmentcanbeusedtoassessintrapersonalqualitiessuchasconfidence,self-awarenessandaspectsof‘professionalism’thatmaynotbeevidencedinothermodesofassessment.

2. it allows probing of the depth and extent of students’ knowledge

Oneofthemostimportantcharacteristicsofmostformsoforalassessmentisthatfollow-upquestionscanbeusedtodeterminethelimitsofwhatthestudentknows.Unlikeawrittenexam,assessorscanaskthestudenttoelaborateonananswerandcanuseaseriesofcarefullygraduatedquestionsorprobesuntiltheyhavereachedthelimitofwhatthestudentknows.Assessorsoftenexpresssurpriseathowwelltheirstudentsperforminoralassessments–itmaybethatoralassessmentcanbeparticularlygoodforprobingtheupperlimitsofastudent’sknowledge,thoughitmayalsobethatstudentsoftenpreparebetterforthiskindofassessment.

3. it reflects the world of practice‘Practice’includesboththefieldsofprofessionalpracticesuchaslaw,teachingornursingforwhichourstudentsarepreparing,aswellas

A short guide to orAl Assessment 5

seven reasons for using oral assessment 1.Thelearningoutcomesdemandit2.Itallowsprobingofthestudents’knowledge3.Itreflectstheworldofpractice4.Itimproveslearning5.Itsuitssomestudents6.Themeaningofquestionscanbeclarified7.Ithelpstoensureacademicintegrity

InanOccupationalTherapycourse,vivasareusedbothtodevelopandassessessentialpracticeskills,includingsolvingclinicalproblems,defendingprofessionaldecisions,articulatingrationalesforinterventions,developingandcommunicatinginnovativeideas–throughbeingassessedandparticipatingasassessorsduringpresentations(Mackenzie,2000).


lessclearlydefinedfieldsofworkforwhichtheiruniversitystudiesarepreparingthem.Mostfieldsofpracticearedominatedbytalkingratherthanwriting–listeningandrespondingasaclientdiscusseshisorherneeds;explainingacourseoftreatmenttoapatient;teachingaclassofstudents.Suchtalktendstobe‘embodied’,incorporatingknowledge,skills,feelingsandbeliefsinaction,sothatassessmentfacilitatesjudgmentsaboutthestudent’sintegratedlearning.

“Being able to speak intelligently about economics is as important as being able to write about it. In fact, speaking ability may be more useful for students because they are more likely to have to speak about economic issues than write about them.”

(Walstad, 2001, p. 286)

4. it improves the quality of student learningOralassessmentcanpromotelearninginseveralways:•Studentswhoanticipatebeingaskedquestionsthattheycannotpredictconcludethatthebestwaytohandlethissituationistodevelopathoroughunderstandingofwhattheyarestudying•Studentsmayprepareparticularlythoroughlyinordertoavoidseemingfoolishinfrontoftheirexaminerortheirpeers•Somestudentsseemreluctanttovoiceideasthattheydonot‘own’,thatis,theywanttoensurethattheyhaveagenuineunderstandingofwhattheyaresaying.

“You prepare yourself better because you’ve got the added stress of like you’re in front of someone. So because you know you’ve got to do that you try to make sure. You’re not just sitting in an exam room anonymously.”

(Law student, Joughin, 1999, p. 153)

5. it suits some studentsSomestudentsmaybebetterabletoexpressthemselvesorallythaninwriting,whileothersmayhaveparticulardifficultieswithwritingowingtodyslexia,impairedvisionorotherfactors.Yetotherstudentsmayhaveaparticularwishorneedtodeveloptheirabilitytocommunicateabouttheirdisciplineorally,knowingthatthiswillbeofbenefittothemwhentheyentertheworkforce.

6. unclear or ambiguous questions can be re-expressed or immediately clarified

Writtenexaminationsarebasedonanassumptionthatthewrittenwordisunambiguousandreadilyunderstood,inthewayitwasintended,byallstudents.Thismayoftennotbethecase.Oralassessmentprovidestheopportunitytoensurethateachstudentunderstandsthequestionsbeingasked.

7. it guarantees the work is the student’s ownWhenstudentsarenotabletorelyonwrittenwork,orwhentheyaresubjectedtoquestionsandprobingoftheirunderstanding,theymustrelyontheirownwork,andtheirownwords,therebyreducingthelikelihoodofplagiarism.


some disadvantages of oral assessment

•Undue anxiety.Someanxietycanbebeneficialinoralassessment,butanxietythatinterfereswithastudent’sperformancewillnotgiveatrueindicationofhisorherability.Anxietymaybeaspecialimpedimentforstudentswithparticularmentalhealthproblems.Practisingpresentationsinclassandprovidingrehearsalsforvivasmayhelp.Sometimesastudentwhoexperiencesundueanxietymayneedtobeaccommodatedthroughalternativearrangementsfortheirassessment.

•Hearing or speech difficulties. Studentswithhearingorspeechimpairmentsmayalsorequiresomeadjustmenttotheassessmentprocess.

•Time.Oralassessmentcanbetime-consuming,whichbecomesparticularlyproblematicwithlargerclasses.Ontheotherhand,manyformsoforalassessmentcanbequiteshort,andmarkingcanoccurveryquicklyattheendoftheassessment.Forexample,RobertsdescribesaGeographyvivawhichtakes10–15minutespercandidate,includingpaperwork(Roberts,n.d.).

•Lack of anonymity.Examinersinevitablyknowwhomtheyareexamining.

•Bias.Concernsaresometimesexpressedthatexaminersmaybeinfluencedbystudents’dress,gender,ethnicityoreducationalbackground.

•Novelty. Theformoforalassessmentbeingusedmaybeunfamiliartothestudent.

•Recording. Manyuniversities,andgoodpractice,requireustokeeparecordoftheassessmentforfuturereferenceincaseofappeal.Makingandstoringaudioorvideorecordingscanbedifficulttoarrange.

•Articulateness vs knowledge.Examinerscanmistakeastudent’sarticulatenessforknowledge.

“Any well-planned examination … is costly in terms of examiners’ time and effort. The challenge is finding assessment instruments where the effort spent is educationally ‘profitable’.”

(Davis & Karunathilake, 2005, p. 294)

What is special about oral assessment?


Ofcourse,whatisuniqueaboutoralassessmentisthatitisoral!Butwhatdoesthismean?Anddoesitmatter?

“Talking and writing are two very different modes of communication that mediate the world differently.”

(Schoultz, Säljö & Wyndhamn, 2001, p. 213)

is the spoken word different?

Ifwethinkoforalassessmentasanothersetofassessmentformatsandtypes,wehavealreadyextendedourrepertoireofassessmentmethodsinamostusefulwaysincewehaveopenedthewaytoprobingourstudents’understanding;toexaminingabilitiessuchasthinkingonone’sfeetthataredifficulttodothroughwrittenmeans;andtoassessingtheabilitytoapplyknowledgetotheworldofpractice.Moreover,wehaveseenthatoralassessmentlendsitselftotheassessmentofdifferentkindsofcontent;canutiliseinteractionbetweenstudentandexaminer/s;requiresstudentstoprocesstheirideasforanaudience;andmayusemultiplemodesofcommunicationtosupporttheoralcomponentoftheassessment.Theseareallwhatmightbetermed‘affordances’oforalassessment–thepossibilitiesthatarisefromusingthespokenword.

Butwhataboutthespokenworditself?Doesspeechpossesssomeinherentqualitiesthatarenotpresentinwritingandthatmaygiveoralassessmentsomeuniqueadvantagesoverwrittenformsofassessment?

DrAlanWildeman,PresidentoftheUniversityofWindsorinCanada,seesoralassessmentasprovidingpowerful‘moments

ofarticulation’whenthestudentisabletoexpresshisorherknowledgeinarelationshipwithatrustedseniormemberofthedisciplinetheyarestudying(privatecommunication).Kehmexpressesthisastheadvantageof“unrestrainedtalkbetweenonepersonandanother”(2001,p.27).

“the psychodynamics of orality”

WalterOngpioneeredthestudyofthetransitionfromoraltowrittensocieties,thenlookedatthedifferencesbetweenwritingandspeakinginthecontemporaryworld(Ong,2002).Someofhisconclusionsmayprovideinsightintothepoweroforalassessmenttoinfluencestudentsandtheirlearning:

Platofamouslyarguedforthesuperiorityofthespokentothewrittenword:writingwoulddestroytheneedformemory;studentswouldreceiveinformationbutwithoutproperinstructionandwouldthereforeappeartobeknowledgeablewhileinfactbeingquiteignorant.Ontheotherhand,thespokenword“iswrittenonthesoulofthehearerwithunderstanding”,andthewrittenwordisonlyapaleshadowof“thelivingandanimatespeechofamanwithknowledge”(Phaedrus,p.98).Two-and-a-halfmillennialater,Kehmwoulddescribeoneofthestrengthsoforalassessmentasitsability“todistinguishsuperficialfromrealknowledgethroughin-depthquestioning”(Kehm,2001,p.27).


•Inoralcultures,peopleidentifythemselveswiththeirwords,whereaswritinghastheeffectof‘separatingtheknowerfromtheknown’.Inmyownresearch,manystudentshaveexpressedastrongassociationwiththewordstheyuseinoralpresentations:“IownthewordsIspeakmorethanIownthewordsthatIwrite”(Joughin,2008,p.107).

•Thespokenwordisassociatedwithpowerandaction:“Whenyou’regivingapresentationasopposedtoanassignment,oftenthewordswhenspokenverballyhavealotmoreforcethantheydowhenwrittendowninanassignment”(ibid).

•Thespokenwordiscombativeandpolemical(Ongusestheword‘agonistic’fromGreekathleticcontests):onestudentsaidoftheoralpresentationsanddiscussionthat“itreallydoesbecomeabattle”.Learningisoftenmosteffectivewhenstudentsseetheneedtoargueacaseratherthansimplyreiteratewhatisknown.

•Thepresenceofanaudienceisrealwhenthewordisspoken,whereasstudentshavetoimaginetheaudiencefortheirwrittenwork.Studentswhoaremostgalvanisedbyoralassessmentreportastrongsenseoftheiraudience.“Inanexamyou’rejustanumberbutthe[presentation]ispersonalizedandyou’reindirectcontactwiththepeoplewhoassessyou”(Joughin,1999,p.152).

“I think I need a better understanding of it if I’m going to then present rather than write it and hand it in and that’s the end of the story. I think that extra step of presenting it really makes you understand it even more.”

(Theology student, Joughin, 2008)

“It is important to know your stuff otherwise the viva could be your worst enemy.”

(Marketing student, Pearce & Lee, 2009, p. 126)

“In the UK Centre for Events Management it is not only important to ‘know your stuff’ but to be able to manipulate the information if a further scenario is given to the student which they were previously unaware of. This is a typical real life situation.”

(Julia Tum, Leeds Metropolitan University, 2010)

“It made me try to be really certain that I knew what I was talking about, whereas if no-one’s going to ask you a question, you can get away with much more ‘unknowing’.”

(Theology student, Joughin, 2008)

Putting the ‘oral’ into oral assessment

Thesefactorsmayonlycomeintoplaywhenstudentstreattheassessmentasgenuinelyoral.Apresentationisnottrulyoralifthestudentisallowedsimplytoreadaloudawrittenpaper.Assessmenttakesonmoreofthefeaturesoforalityifthestudentispresentinganargument,isnotrelyingundulyonwrittensupports,andisengagedininteractionwiththeexaminersand/orabroaderaudience.

Planning oral assessment: six dimensions


Eachformoforalassessmenthasitsownuniquequalities.However,whateverformtheassessmenttakes,sixdimensionsoforalassessmentcanbeusedtoguidetheplanningofnewassessmenttasks,toreviewandimproveexistingassessments,andtopromotediscussionwithinteachingteamsaboutthecriticalfeaturesoftheassessmentstheyaredesigning.

dimension 1: What is being assessed?

Dowewanttoassesswhatastudentknows?Doweneedtomovebeyondthattoseewhatastudentisabletodo?Dowewanttoseewhattheycandointhecontextoftheirchosenfield?Decidingonexactlywhatistobeassessedisusuallythebestfirststepinplanningoralassessment.Thefocusoforalassessmenttypicallyincludesoneormoreofthefollowing:

•Concepts, theories and procedures. Oralassessmentcanbeusedtoteststudents’knowledgeatanylevel,butitmaybeparticularlyusefulinprobingstudents’levelsofunderstandingandinassessingthatunderstandinginthecontextofitsapplication.Whileconceptualandproceduralknowledgecanbeassessedthroughvariousmethods,oralassessmentmaybepreferredwhenthereisaneedtoensurethattheresponsesarethestudents’own.

•Applied problem solving. Thiscategoryincludesthestudents’capacitytothinkontheirfeet,toapplytheirknowledgetorealorhypotheticalsituations.Studentscanbecalledontodiagnoseproblemsinnovelsituationsandrecommendacourseofaction,justifyingtheirdecisionswithreferencetotheknowledgeand

understandingonwhichtheyarebased.

• Interpersonal competence.Interpersonalcompetencecanincludehowthestudentscommunicatewiththeexaminerorexaminers,howtheyinteractwiththeiraudiencein,forexample,aclasspresentation,orhowtheyrelatetoarealpatientorclientinaclinicalsettingortoapseudo-patientorpseudo-clientinasimulation.

•Intrapersonal qualities.Herewemoveontodifficultground.Qualitiessuchasconfidence,self-awareness,professionalismandethicsaresometimesincludedinoralassessment,butthesequalitiesaredifficulttodefine,maybehardtoelicitinaformalassessmentcontext,andcanbeextremelydifficulttojudge.

• Integrated practice.Integratedpracticegoesbeyondappliedproblemsolving.Itinvolvesactinginarealorsimulatedcontextthatincorporatesmanyofthecomplexitiesoftheworkplace.Thestudentteacherinfrontofaclass,thestudentnursewithapatient,orthegraphicdesignstudentmeetingaclientareeachengagedincomplexactioninvolvingknowledge,thoughts,feelings,attitudesandaction.

dimension 2: interaction

Oneofthedistinctivefeaturesoforalassessmentisthatitallowsforinteractionbetweentheexaminer/sandthestudent,andsometimesothers,withtheinteractionoftenbeingrapidandunpredictable.Ofcourse,interactionisnotessential.Apapercanbepresentedorallywithlittleornointerruptionorevendiscussionfollowingit,andevenwhereinteractiondoesoccur,marksmaybeawardedpurelyonthebasisofthepresentationitself.But


oralassessmentlendsitselftointeraction,rangingfromgentleprobingbytheexaminerseekingfurtherinformationtotheintenseinteractionofaPsychologystudentwithaclientorastudentarguingwithherpeersasshetriestoconvinceherfellowstudentsoftheworthoftheargumentsheismaking.Thelevelofinteractioncanbelocatedonacontinuumrangingfromthenon-interactiveone-waypresentationtothecompletelydialogicdiscussionbetweenthestudentandexaminerorstudentandclient,withmanypointsinbetween,includingpresentationfollowedbydiscussion;questionandresponsefollowedbyprobing;orthedebatewithitspresentations,challengesandfinalsummingup.

Interactioncanbringassessmenttolife,andtheanticipationofinteractioncandrivethestudenttopreparethoroughlyfortheassessment.Atthesametime,however:

•Thepathoftheassessmentcanbecomeuncertain,soitisimportanttomakesurethatallstudentsaretreatedfairlyandgivenequalopportunitiestodisplaytheirknowledge

•Interactionshouldbeplanned.Forexample,follow-upquestionsthatprobeastudent’sunderstandingshouldbeworkedoutinadvance:

•Whatkindsofinteractionwillbeneeded?

•Howwilltheexaminer/sinteractwiththestudent?

•Ifthestudenthasanaudience,e.g.offellowstudents,howwillheorshebeexpectedtointeractwiththem?Andwhatrolewilltheaudiencebeaskedtoplay?

dimension 3: Authenticity

‘Authenticity’herereferstotheextenttowhichtheassessmentreplicates‘reallife’orwhathappensintheworldofpractice.Theassessmentmayinvolvetheuseofanactualaudience,realistictimeframesforpreparation,collaborationbetweenstudents,andtasksthataremulti-dimensionalandlocatedincomplex,realisticcontexts.Casestudiesthatculminateinoralpresentationstoamockpanel,rôleplaysandsimulatedinterviewsrepresentcommonattemptstoincorporatetheconditionsofpracticewithintheclassroom.

dimension 4: structure

Structureisconcernedwithhowfartheassessmentfollowsapre-determinedsetofquestionsorsequenceofevents.Studentsneedamore-or-lesspredictablestructuretoallowthemtoplanfortheassessmentandtoreduceunnecessaryanxietyaboutunknowns,whileahighdegreeofstructurecanalsoincreasethereliabilityoftheassessment.However,iftheassessmentisoverlystructured,thecapacitytoaskprobingfollow-upquestionscanbelost,ascanthepossibilityofunpredictablequestionsfromfellowstudents,bothofwhichcancausestudentstoseekdeepunderstandingofwhatisbeingassessed.

•Whatsortandamountofstructureisneeded?

•Whataspectsoftheassessmentneedtobehighlystructured?

•Whataspectsoftheassessmentshouldbemoreopen?


dimension 5: Who assesses?

Oralassessmentlendsitselftomanypossibilitiesregardingwhoisinvolvedintheassessorrole:

•Assessorsfromthefieldofpracticeareroutinelyinvolvedinsomeformsofassessment.Forexample,barristersoftentakeontheroleofjudgeinlawmoots,healthpractitionersareofteninvolvedinOSCEs(ObjectiveStructuredClinicalExaminations),andarchitectsbecomemembersofdesignjuries.

•Manyformsoforalassessmentinvolvepresentationsorperformanceinthepresenceofaclassofpeers,inwhichpeerevaluationandfeedbackcanbeanimportantaspectoftheassessment.Peersmaynotnecessarilybeinvolvedingrading,buttheycanplayanimportantroleinprovidingfeedback.Studentinvolvementinthecreationofamarkingschemecanencourageamuchdeeperunderstandingoftheassessmentprocess.

•Learningtoevaluatethequalityofone’sownworkisacriticalabilityforallstudentsandonewhichtheywillneedoncetheirstudiesarecompletedandtheyentertheworkforce.Oralassessmentoftenprovidesopportunitiesforstudentstocriticallyreflectontheirworkandidentifyspecificstrengthsandareasforimprovement.

dimension 6: Purely oral or a combination of modes?

Anassessmentcanbepurelyoral,forexampleaclinicalexaminationinnursing,ortheoralcanbecombinedwithothermodes,forexampletheoralpresentationofawrittenpaperortheverbalexplanationofadesign.Itisworthnotingthatwhenawrittenpaperissimplyreadtoagroup,orwhenapresentationisundulydependentonPowerPointslides,theoralnatureoftheassessmentiscalledintoquestionandsomeofthebenefitsoforalassessmentcanbelost.

InanOccupationalTherapycourseattheUniversityofNewcastle,Australia,vivaswereconductedbyapaneloftwostudentsandonelecturer.Theexplicitpurposeofthiswastodevelopstudents’capacityforprofessionaljudgment,aqualitywhichwasseentobeakeyelementoftheirfutureprofessionalpractice(Mackenzie,2000).

IntheUKCentreforEventsManagement,LeedsMetropolitanUniversity,tutorsofteninviteindustrialiststohearstudentpresentations,orthetutorsthemselvestakeontherolesofrepresentativesofthemedia(forexamplejournalistsfromThe Guardian, the Daily Mailorthelocalpaper),sothatfollowingamedialunchthestudentscangetsomeliveandusefulquestions.

Validity


Assessmentisvalidwhenitallowsstudentstofullydemonstratetheirknowledge,skillsandvaluesinrelationtothecoursetheyarestudying.Thisincludesfundamentalqualitiesoftheirchosendisciplineorprofessionthatmayliebehindthespecificoutcomesforanindividualcourse.Thereareseveralkindsofvaliditythatcanthrowlightonthequalityoforalassessment.Eachprovidesanimportantcheckfortheassessmentwearedesigningorseekingtoimprove.

•On the face of it.‘Facevalidity’referssimplytowhethertheassessment‘onthefaceofit’seemslikelytotestwhatitissupposedtotest.Ifyourcolleaguesorevenyourstudentshavedoubtsaboutthis,youneedtocarefullyreviewtheassessment.

•Covering the field.‘Contentvalidity’isabouthowwelltheassessmentcoversthefieldbeingstudied.

•Dothequestionsasked,orthepresentationsrequired,provideagoodrepresentationofthecoursecontent?

•Istheassessmentsufficientlycomprehensiveorareimportanttopicsnotrepresented?

•Equallyimportant,doestheassessmentincludemattersthatarenotpartofthecourseorhavenotbeentaught?

Detailedreviewoftheproposedassessmentbywell-informedcolleagueswithinone’sdisciplinecanhelptoensuretheassessment’scontentvalidity.

•Beneath the surface.‘Constructvalidity’goesbeyondspecificcontenttolookatunderlyingqualities,includingwhatareoftencalled‘graduatequalities’orprogrammelevellearningoutcomessuchasproblemsolvingorethicalbehaviour.Ensuringconstruct

validityismoreofachallenge,butincreasinglyimportantatatimewhenunderlyinggraduatequalitiesarebecomingastrongfocusforteaching,learningandassessmentinuniversities.

•Compared to other assessments. ‘Concurrentvalidity’concernshowstudents’performanceononeassessmenttaskcorrelateswiththeirperformanceonothertasksdesignedtotestthesameorsimilarlearningoutcomes.Inpracticewerarelytestthesamelearningoutcomesinmorethanoneway.However,weshouldnotewhetherstudents’performancesinoralassessmentarenoticeablydifferentfromtheirperformanceinwrittenassessment,andthinkcarefullyaboutwhythisisoccurring.Itislikelytoindicatesomethingofconcerninoneorbothoftheassessments.

Theseaspectsofvalidityinoralassessmenttellusabouthowwelltheassessmenthasbeendesignedtotestwhatitneedstotest.Therearetwootheraspectsofvaliditythatareatleastasimportant.Theyareabouttheconsequencesoftheassessment:

•Whateffectdoestheassessmenthaveonstudents’learning?Iftheassessmentinvolvesinteraction,probingandrespondingtocomplextasks,itislikelytoencouragestudentstoadoptadeepapproachtolearningandtobethoroughlyprepared.

•Howwilltheresultsoftheassessmentbeused?Inparticular,whatareinterestedpartieslikelytoinferfromtheresults,andhowvalidwilltheseinferencesbe?

Reliability


Whenastudenthascompletedanoralassessment,canwebeconfidentthatheorshewoulddoequallywelliftheywereaskedotherquestions?Givenadifferentscenariotorespondto?Assessedbyanothercolleague?Assessedatanothertime?Reliabilityisconcernedwithhowdependentstudents’resultsareonwhatcaseorscenariotheyaregiven(inter-casereliability);whatspecificquestions,includingfollow-upquestions,theyareasked(inter-itemconsistency);whoexaminesthem(inter-raterreliability);andhowanexaminer’sjudgmentsmightchangeoverthecourseofassessingmanystudents(intra-raterreliability).Problemsinanyoftheseareasleadtoerrorsinjudgingstudents’abilities.Fortunatelythereareanumberofstepsthatcanbetakentoincreasethereliabilityoforalassessments:

•Iftheassessmentcanonlybebasedonasinglecaseorscenario,trytoensurethatthecaseorscenarioisasrepresentativeofthefieldaspossible.Reliabilityisusuallysignificantlyincreasedifstudentsareassessedonseveralcases.

•Wheretheassessmentisbasedonquestioning,increasingthenumberofquestionsaskedislikelytoincreasereliability.

•Panelsareoftenusedtoincreasereliability.Ifseveralexaminers,includingexaminersfromoutsidetheuniversity,areused,trainingisessential.Examinersneedtobefamiliarwiththecontentandunderlyingconstructsbeingexaminedandthecriteriabeingused.Wherepossible,allexaminersshouldbeinvolvedindevelopingthespecificassessmentbeingused.

•Ifpanelsofexaminersareused,panelmemberscanberotatedacrosspanels.

•Arubricormarkingguidewithexplicitcriteriaandstandardswillbehelpfulinanysituation.

•Modelanswersmayalsobeusefulindevelopingacommonunderstandingofcriteriaandstandardsacrossmarkers.

Fairness


‘Fairness’meansthatstudentswhoareequallyknowledgeableshoulddoequallywellinanassessment.Fairnessentailsbothanabsenceofbiasandanequalopportunityforallstudentstodevelopanddemonstratetheirability.

Biascanoccurwhenobviouslyirrelevantfactorssuchasgender,age,ethnicity,educationalbackgroundorclassconsciouslyorsubconsciouslyaffectanexaminer’sjudgment.Biascanariseintwootherways:

•Whenquestionsorcasesunnecessarilyfavouronegroupofstudentsoveranother.Forexample,inaHealthEconomicscourseforinternationalstudentsandlocalstudents,scenariosbasedonasinglecountryarelikelytobemoredifficulttorespondtoforsomestudentsthanothers.Toguardagainstthis,itisadvisabletohaveatleasttwocolleaguesfromdifferentbackgroundsreviewtheassessmentcasesorquestions.

•Whenagroupofstudentsrespondstotheassessmentinwaysthatcouldnotbeanticipated,indicatingthattheoralresponseformatposeddifficultiesforthatgroupbutnotothers.Thistypeofunfairnessmayarisewhenstudentsarebeingassessedinotherthantheirfirstlanguage,iftheleveloflanguagerequiredbytheassessmentishigherthanthatrequiredbythecourseitselforbythecontextofthestudents’futurework.

“I use a lot of oral assessment in the form of individual vivas. In some modules this is what I use for the reassessment of those who have failed, but in others it is the only mode of assessment.

For me, and I believe for our students, the biggest advantage is that we can draw out what they know by asking for further explanation, or probing a little further. I would argue that, although some students may initially find the prospect of face-to-face assessment a little daunting, it is by far the fairest assessment method in that it is so much easier to differentiate: to allow those who have a good grasp of the subject to really shine by answering complex questions, and those who struggle to be coaxed into at least revealing what they understand. There is much less risk that students will not understand what they are being asked to do in the assessment.”

(Belinda Cooke, Teacher Fellow and Principal Lecturer in Physical Education, Leeds Metropolitan University)

Marking and grading


Criteria and rubrics

Oneoftheadvantagesoforalassessmentisthatitcanoftenbemarkedquicklyonthespot.Tosupportthis,theuseofamarkingguideorrubricofsomesortisusuallyessential.Theuseofrubricsinoralassessmenthasmanybenefits:•Itprovidesassessorswithacommonreferencepointfortheirjudgments•Itreducesthelikelihoodthatjudgmentswillbebasedonextraneousfactors•Providingstudentswiththemarkingguideinadvancehelpsthemunderstandthenatureofgoodworkandhelpsthemtoevaluatethequalityoftheirownworkintheassessment•Itprovidesabasisforpeerevaluation/feedback•Itmakesmarkingmoreefficient•Itprovidesausefulframeworkforfeedbacktostudents.

JennyMoonofExeterUniversityhasdevelopedalistof27assessablefeaturesoforalassessmentthatcanbeusedasatriggertoidentifycriteriaforspecificassessments.TheseareavailableontheInternationalStaffwebsite(InternationalStaff,n.d.).

TheHistoryDepartmentatSheffieldUniversityhasdevelopedasetofgradedescriptors,rangingfromFailuretoFirstClass,fororalpresentationtasks,whichmaybeausefulmodelforpresentationsinotherdisciplines(HistoryDepartment,SheffieldUniversity,n.d.).

Indevelopingcriteriaandrubrics,itisimportanttobecarefulabouttheplaceofpresentationskillsper se,andtofocustheassessmentonwhathasbeentaughtandtheintendedlearningoutcomesforthecourse.

recording

Assessorswilloftenneedtotakenotesduringtheassessment.Thesewillsupporttheirmemoryattheendoftheassessmentwhenmarkingoccursandcanbeusedinprovidingfeedbackatthatpointorlateron.Itcanbedifficulttoaskquestionsofastudent,attendcarefullytowhattheyaresaying,andtakenotesatthesametime.Ifmorethanoneassessorisinvolved,oneofthemcanrecordnoteswhiletheotherleadsthequestioning.Asheetwiththeheadingsfromthemarkingguideorrubricisrecommended.

Makinganaudioorvideorecordingoftheassessmentishighlyrecommended.Intheeventofastudentseekingareviewofamark,sucharecordisessential.Manyuniversitiesrequirealloralassessmenttoberecorded.

Onestudyofdecision-makinginpostgraduatemedicaleducationhighlightedexaminers’tendenciestoformanearlyimpressionofthecandidateandthenusethesubsequentquestionsandresponsestoconfirmordisconfirmthisimpression(Yaphe&Street,2003).

Preparing students for oral assessment


Studentswillhavehadvaryingexperiencesoforalassessmentatschooloronpreviouscourses.Thesearelikelytohaveinformedtheirexpectationsaboutoralassessmentandhowtheyshouldprepare.Theoralassessmentthattheyareabouttoundergomaybequitedifferent.

Studentsneedtolearnaboutformsofassessmentjustastheylearnaboutotherthings.Rarelyisitenoughsimplytotellstudentsinwritingorverballyinclasswhatisrequired.Seeingexamplesofassessment(eitherliveoronvideo),havingopportunitiestodiscussexpectations,andhavingopportunitiestopractisetheassessmentformatbeforeitisusedforformalpurposesareallimportantwaysofpreparingfororalassessment.

some suggestions for preparing students

Severalstepscanbetakentohelpfamiliarisestudentswiththeoralassessmentformatandrequirements:

•Findoutwhatpreviousexperiencesoforalassessmentyourstudentshavehadasabasisforcomparingandcontrastingyourassessment.

•Provideclearwritteninformationabouttheassessmentandspendtimediscussingthisinclass.

•Provideopportunitiesforpracticeinclasstime.Forexample,iftheassessmentisbasedongrouppresentations,buildshortpresentationactivitieswithtimefordiscussionandfeedbackintoregularclasstime.

•Iftheassessmentiscarriedoutinfrontofpeers,usepeer

evaluationandfeedbacktohelpstudentsbecomefamiliarwithcriteriaandstandards.

•Taketimetodebriefstudentsfollowingtheassessment.Verbalfeedbackandtheopportunitytodiscusswhatwentwellandwhereimprovementcouldbemadewillhelpstudentsinsimilarfutureassessments.

•Studentsareoftennotexperiencedinexpressingthemselvesorallywithintheirchosendiscipline.Buildinopportunitiesforspeakinginclass,indifferentinformalandsemi-formalways.Usein-classstrategiesthatrequireallstudentstospeakfrequently,includingshorttalks.

OccupationalTherapystudentsinaproblem-basedlearningprogrammeattheUniversityofNewcastle,Australia,routinelyworkedthroughcasescenariosinasmallgrouptoidentifytheirlearningneeds,researchthecase,andpresentaninterventionplan.Theywerethereforewellpreparedfortheirindividualvivaswheretheyweregivenascenarioaweekbeforetheviva,thenpresentedandwerequestionedontheirinterventionplan(Mackenzie,2000).

InaContractLaw‘mini-viva’attheQueenslandUniversityofTechnology,theteachingteamproduceda15-minutevideoonhowtopreparefortheassessment,includingamockmini-viva(Butler&Wiseman,1993).Similarly,BrunelUniversityhasdevelopedvideosofstudentsrehearsingpresentations(BrunelUniversity).


InthefinalyearofastrategicEventsManagementcourseatLeedsMetropolitanUniversity,thestudentsundergoformativeoralassessmenteveryweek.Theyareencouragedtoapplythetheorythathasbeencoveredinthatweektoarealeventmanagementcompany.Theypresenttothetutorandtotheirpeers,andgetextensivefeedbackfromtheircolleaguesandtutor.Theythenusethisfeedbackinthepreparationoftheirsummativelyassessedwork.

AlsoattheUKCentreforEventsManagement,LeedsMetropolitanUniversity,Level2EventsManagementstudentsundertakinganOSCE-styleassessment(calledPracticallyAssessedStructuredScenarios)areshownvideosoftheassessmentfromthepreviousyear.

Public speaking or learning to communicate in a particular field?

Oneofthefunctionsoforalassessmentistohelppreparestudentsforthekindsofcommunicationinwhichtheywillneedtoengageintheirfuturework.Theformsofcommunicationrequiredintheworkplacehavelittletodowith‘publicspeaking’.Apresentationofadesigntoaclientmayfollowaparticularstructure,onethatisquitedifferenttoabarristermakingaclosingargumentinacourtcase.

Itmaybeinstructivetoidentifyarangeoforalcommunication

formsorgenresinyourownfieldandseehowthesecanbeincorporatedintoyourstudents’learningactivitiesandassessments.Asstudentsexperiencetheseandreflectonthem,theywillbecomefamiliarwiththeirparticularpurposesandstructures(Morton&O’Brien,2005).

the case of the Phd viva

WhilesomestudentsfindthePhDvivaaninvigoratingconfirmationoftheirwork,formanyothersuccessfulcandidatesitcanrepresentademoralisingquestioningofthatwork.AnyPhDsupervisorwoulddowelltoconsiderthegrowingliteratureonvivapreparationiftheyhavenotalreadydoneso.Whiletheprocessofexaminationcanbedifficulttopredict,therearesomestepsthatmayhelpstudentspreparefortheviva:

•WelcomethestudentintoyourDepartment’sresearchculture,includingprovidingopportunitiestopresentanddiscusstheirworkwithintheDepartmentaswellasexternally

•Arrangeforamockvivawellbeforetherealthing

•Talktoyourstudentsaboutwhataspectsofthethesistheexaminersarelikelytofocuson,aswellasthekindofprocessyourstudentsshouldexpect

•Encourageyourstudentstoreadoneofthegrowingnumberofbookson‘howtogetaPhD’(Tinkler&Jackson,2002).

Conclusion


Assessmentisattheheartoflearninganddecisionsaboutthemodesandmethodsofassessmentcanexerciseaprofoundinfluenceonstudents’experience,howtheyperceivetheircourses,howtheyrelatetoeachotherandtotheirteachers,andhowtheypreparefortheworldofpracticebeyondtheuniversity.Teaching,learningandassessmentprocessesthatstrengthenstudents’engagementwithideas,thatdevelopidentity,andthatbuildrelationshipswithincommunitiesoflearningdependonmultiplemodesofcommunication.Inanageofmasshighereducation,thecontinuingandexpandinguseoforalassessmentaspartofacarefullydesignedmixofassessmenttypesprovidesrichopportunitiesforstudentengagementaswellasopportunitiesforenhancedjudgmentsaboutstudentachievement.

Whileoralassessmentraisesmanychallenges,italsooffersconsiderablerewardsforteachersandstudentsalike.Itishopedthattheideasandexamplespresentedinthisguidewillencourageyoutocontinueandevenextendyouruseoforalassessment,ortobeginusingoralassessmentifyouaren’talreadydoingso.Hopefullytheguidewillalsohelppromotediscussionwithfellowteachersandstudentsabouthowtodevelopthiscriticalaspectofourroleaseducators.

References


BrunelUniversity(n.d.)Oral assessment. Availableat:http://www.brunel.ac.uk/learnhigher/giving-oral-presentations/rehearsing-your-presentation.shtml#[Accessed31January2010].

Butler,D.&Wiseman,L.(1993)Vivatheviva:Oralexaminationsincontractlaw.Legal Education Review4,331-338.

Davis,M.H.&Karunathilake,I.(2005)Theplaceoftheoralexaminationintoday’sassessmentsystems.Medical Teacher27(4),294-297.

Haigh,M.&Gold,J.R.(1993)Theproblemswithfieldwork:Agroup-basedapproachtowardsintegratingfieldworkintotheundergraduategeographycurriculum.Journal of Geography in Higher Education17(1),21-32.

HistoryDepartment,SheffieldUniversity(n.d.)Procedures for oral assessment in document options.Availableat:http://www.shef.ac.uk/history/current_students/undergraduate/marking/document.html.[Accessed5January2010].

InternationalStaff(n.d.)Assessing oral presentations.Availableat: http://www.internationalstaff.org/oral_presentations.php [Accessed23January2010].

Joughin,G.(1998)Dimensionsoforalassessment.Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education23,367-378.

Joughin,G.(1999)Dimensionsoforalassessmentandstudents’approachestolearning.In:Brown,S.&Glasner,A.(eds)Assessment matters.Buckingham:TheSocietyforResearchintoHigherEducation&OpenUniversityPress,146-156.

Joughin,G.(2008)Oral assessment from the learner’s perspective.Saarbrücken:VDM.

Kehm,B.(2001)OralexaminationsatGermanuniversities.Assessment in Education8,25-31.

Mackenzie,L.(2000)Occupationaltherapystudentsaspeerassessorsinvivaexaminations.Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education25(2),135-147.

Morton,J.&O’Brien,D.(2005)Sellingyourdesign:Oralcommunicationpedagogyindesigneducation.Communication Education54(1),6-19.

Ong,W.(2002)Orality and literacy: The technologizing of the word(2ndedn).NewYork:Routledge.

Pearce,G.&Lee,G.(2009)Vivavoce(oralexamination)asanassessmentmethod:Insightsfrommarketingstudents.Journal of Marketing Education31(2),120-130.

Plato(1973)Phaedrus and Letters VII and VIII.TranslatedbyWalterHamilton.London:Penguin.

Roberts,C.(n.d.)Assessing through viva voce examination.Availableat: http://goodpractice.gees.ac.uk/cgi-bin/searchspec.pl?terms=88 [Accessed26January2010].

Schoultz,A.,Säljö,R.&Wyndhamn,J.(2001)Conceptualknowledgeintalkandtext:Whatdoesittaketounderstandasciencequestion?.Instructional Science29,213-236.


Stray,C.(2001)Theshiftfromoraltowrittenexamination:CambridgeandOxford1700–1900.Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy and Practices8(1),33-50.

Tinkler,P.&Jackson,C.(2002)Inthedark?PreparingforthePhDviva.Quality Assurance in Education10(2),86-97.

Tum,J.(2010)([email protected])16February2010.Re:Oralassessment.EmailtoA.Rayner([email protected]).

Walstad,W.B.(2001)Improvingassessmentinuniversityeconomics.Journal of Economic EducationSummer2001,281-293.

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About the author


GordonJoughinisanAssociateProfessorintheAcademicDevelopmentUnitattheUniversityofWollongong,AustraliaandaVisitingProfessoratLeedsMetropolitanUniversity.Hehaswrittenextensivelyonassessmentmatters,withafocusonoralassessmentandtheinfluencethisformofassessmentcanhaveonstudentlearning.HehasworkedwithacademicstaffinuniversitiesinAustralia,theUK,HongKong,CanadaandEuropeandistheeditorofAssessment, Learning and Judgement in Higher Education.

Contact:[email protected]

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