As you know, an oral examination is one where candidates are required, individually, to respond orally to questions put by the professor.
What do your think about that kind of examinations? Do you like it? Do you use it?
Please, share your thoughts and experiences, and tell us your examples.
It is good as one of the assessment tool but requires rubric and objective marks.
It is good as one of the assessment tool but requires rubric and objective marks.
Oral examinations is a method for students` assessment. It has its advantages and disadvantages.
@ Hashem, that´s a good point.
@Mahfut, please, could you tell us what do you thnk are the main advantages and sisadvantages of that kind of examination?
Dear Jesus,
Oral examination is a suitable evaluation form for mainly extrovert students whose later professional activity considers dealing with people. Oral examinations depending on the style of examiners may cause some stress.
Generally, I do not use oral exams because I try to avoid psychical frustration of students as well as to prove how the students’ performances were. Thus I use written examination. Trouble is that many students are not able to express themselves suitably and had difficulties with reading or writing.
Oral examinations are forgotten nowadays to implement in many universities in Lithuania. One of the reasons for that is that students like more the written form examinations. But when I carried oral examinations ten years ago, I was more satisfied with the results than I have now with the written examinations. And there were no complaints in general from the students and administration. However oral examinations require much better physical and mental-psychological form in order to implement them good. Next year I intend to return back to the oral form of examinations.
In oral exams, there are no historical traces left. Nothing can be verified after the exam.
And what about mental focus? If a professor have to talk with 50 students will mental focus (and efficiency in oral communication) reduce in time?
I have used oral exams in the past, but now I prefer written exams: if the student is not happy with the grade, it is easier to explain your decision if you can show the written work; otherwise, the student may blame you that you give better grades to e.g. men or women or better-looking students..., and you cannot defend yourself. Also, a written exam is better for those students who think relatively slowly as then they may still be able to answer your questions. On the other hand, during an oral exam you can sometimes help students a bit by asking some guiding questions, while you cannot do this during written exams; thus, some students (especially those who are confident, who think fast and, to some extent, who look more enthusiastic) may get better results during oral exams. So, both exam types have both advantages and disadvantages.
Of course, if You have plenty of students in the course or group, there is no possibility to carry out an oral examination. Especially that refers to the Eastern European universities and teachers who have a much bigger auditorium and students load than their Western colleagues. But oral examination also requires better communication skills from the teacher. If You are an intravert, You will not succeed with oral examination. At least the students will not be satisfied.
Oral examinations give the students or pupils the chance to talk in their way. A premise is an examiner, who is able to hear between the phrases of the student. Some are talking freely and quickly and very selfconfident. Others have problems to talk. Here the examiner can help to start by modifying the kind of questions.
I´m using oral examinations and think they are often fairer than pure written examina. I think the combination of both techniques shows the highest grade of justness.
For almost a decade the tests were especially popular among Lithuanian universities teachers. However now more and more teachers are returning back to open questions and some - to oral examinations. In any case, as there is a long tradition of written examinations, this will remain for the nearest future.
@Arvydas, @Marcel. Of course, the number of students is a key concept when talking about oral examinations.
@Hanno. I agree, I also use a combination of both techniques.
@András. Yes, we would have to take into account students psychical frustration.
@Tia. You could record the exams in order to avoid thak kind of problems.
To Tias problem. In oral examinations we have always a second competent person, who protocols all questions and answers but is not legitimised to ask. So some later disputs can be cleared out easier.
In paper attached, "Oral examinations / presentations" , stress and language were discussed as some of the very influential factors for success in oral exam!
A Comparison of marks between oral and written exams is given at the end of the paper!
You are very welcome my dear colleagues @Hanno and @Jesus! I am at your disposal! Regards!
Oral examination is a very efficient method to test the students.
Do you know professions that only can work with writing without talking?
Do you know professions that only can work with talking without writing?
Why testing people with oral exams when they don't need it later in life?
Do you need to talk on RG to be efficient in information exchange?
Dear Marcel,
of course there are professions without dominantly talking or writing. But it´s not such a bad idea to test in exams besides the professional knowledges also the ability to communicate and to talk freely. My meaning is to favorite a balanced mixture of oral and written examinations.
This is a best way of evaluation, provided the content covered is with the intend of equipping the candidate - who in turn is going to apply it in the same oral form to the application area e.g., language skills such as "preparing students on a Foreign language prior to a Exchange programme" etc.,
In India, we have administrators to the Government service who are to head departments or positions which are in direct contact with the public, to be tutored and groomed on the NATIVE LANGUAGE SKILLS (only talking)....
Oral examinations are best for senior students and postgraduates. For first years it is more suitable the written examinations.
I think that oral exam is the best kind of exams in the following sense:
Suppose you are testing a student in 6 chapters; then the first question to the student is: Which chapters did you study? and you know how much did the student study? thereafter you begin asking the student about the material he claimed to study. At the end you can give him some questions to answer by writing. At this point, you can tell the student to move to the next question if you feel that the student knows the answer.
In Germany, we did test the students using this method and it worked well.
It should be one of the assessment tools mainly for graduate and post graduate students. It helps the evaluation of the students progress in understanding and reflecting the knowledge.Tutors may ensure the way students answer questions as appropriate, from resources they have studied in preparation for the exam. Demonstrating sufficient knowledge in the subject results in passing the exam or an actual grade.
Sometimes the oral exam is an alternative form of examination for students with writing problems .
Many thanks to everybody for your quite interesting answers.
Now, I would like to add one important point, at least in my opinion.
Just think about the future. If you want to become a good professional, if you want to be good at your job, you need to develop communication skills, and you need to be able to speak in public properly.
That´s why, in my point of view, oral examinations are necessary. No matter what your are studying, when you finally get a degree, you have to look for a job. If you are a good communicator, you will probably get it.
Jesus there are many tools to develop communication skills and how to integrate them in classes. Oral exams if designed and evaluated correctly can be a tool. In most cases oral exams are not designed well and rarely help with communication skills. Presentations and discussions where language is corrected and language correctness is part of the grade can help much more. Again it depends on the design of the exam if it is designed with direct questions that require short answers and language is not corrected and/or is part of the grade then the test does not help as far to improve communication skills.
Dear Nasser.
I totally agree with you. The design of the exam is very important and, of course, there are another tools to develop communication skills, but oral exams can be one of the best (if the are correctly designed and evaluated).
It's essential to evaluate some skills but it isn't the only tool.
Oral examinations should also be a surprise one, which will make the students / participants to be always prepared. This will facilitate learning provided if the best performer in the oral test is rewarded.
Oral examination is important in front of a committee that have a clear rubric to judge the student's answers.
Especially in management subjects, evaluation on a Practice based testing method would be more advisable. Activities such as Project, Survey, Case writing etc., we when we have it carried out on a team basis, finally a (oral) viva-voce evaluation would spot the light on "Who did what"
I think oral examinations have merit on many levels. In addition to everything already mentioned (need for rigor in assessment, clear expectations, rubric, multi-person examining body) it also allows students to develop presentations skills in an assessing environment. If we always require students to write how can we expect them to perform well during thesis defense or comprehensive exams, where completely different format of the exam is suddenly enforced on them.
Whenever I can I assign a portion of a final mark to an oral exam/material presentation. Starting with 5% in lower years and increase the weight in higher level courses.
Here is another fine resource about the issue of oral exams.
The Pros and Cons of Oral Examinations in Undergraduate Education!
Oral exams are given to individual and groups and exams can vary based on design. Gordon Joughin offers six dimensions of oral assessments: primary content type, interaction, authenticity, structure, examiners, and orality...
It is important to note that a basic distinction of what can be evaluated during an oral exam. First, an oral exam can evaluate the student’s grasp of the oral medium, presentation style, or language skills. An oral exam can also evaluate the student’s understanding of the material as demonstrated through spoken word...
Oral exams also help validate the originality of student’s work...
One way to combat academic dishonesty is through the use of honor codes that promote personal responsibility and academic integrity. However, multiple factors can effect a student’s willingness to cheat. These factors include collective attitudes, severity of punishment, the willingness of the instructor to punish, and the perceived likelihood of being reported for a violation...
http://www.westpoint.edu/cfe/Literature/Fitzgerald_16.pdf
I thing oral examination is good way to differential between undergraduate student
It would seem oral exam is a better indication of a student’s knowledge and comprehension of a topic by explaining them in depth to others to pass the exam. As the oral exam gives the students confidence in themselves in answering the questions posed to them by the examiners
I think oral examination bolsters the communication and speaking abilities of learners and must be encouraged at all levels of education. Thanks
Dickson Adom
It's a good method to evaluate the students knowledge regarding a specific project. Additionally, you can assess the students' communicate skills.
I consider that the oral examination is the best method for the evaluation of student knowledge.
I like oral examination as l said before it requires to differential between student
What do you think about oral examinations?
Oral examination has its strengths & weaknesses. Some of its strengths include:
Some of its weaknesses include:
I also agree with Dr. Han Ping Fung's answer.
Oral exams check the technical knowledge of the student , but his communication skills are also challenged. If he failed to present his answer, he may not get good scores. But a good examiner can make up this issue by providing confidence to the student through interactions.
In an examiners point of view, there are many advantages with this method. It offers flexibility in questions,subject areas and difficulty level.
Thanks,
Rohith
It's a good tool for evaluating students face to face, though it has its own pros and cons
Some County positions require that candidates pass an oral examination. Oral Examination is an interview where candidates are asked job related questions and a panel of subject matter experts evaluate the responses and scores the candidates in a number of critical dimensions (knowledge, skills and abilities).
Typically, the oral examination is the last selection process used before establishing the eligible list, and may follow a written examination or a screening process.
How to Prepare for the Oral Examination
Review the job duties as well as the knowledge and skills required for the position as outlined by the job bulletin.
Some questions will require you to give examples that demonstrate your knowledge, skills and abilities. Think of examples from current or past employment experiences that best demonstrates these skills.
Prepare an effective closing statement that highlights your abilities as it relates to the position your interviewing for.
During the Oral Examination
A representative from Human Resources is usually present to set the tone before your interview. The representative will discuss the process with you prior to meeting the panel board and may ask follow-up questions during the interview.
The panel usually consists of two to three raters who are subject matter experts in the field being tested.
The panel will be asking every candidate the same questions. Based on your responses, they may ask follow-up questions.
Most oral examinations have a time limit. All candidates are given approximately the same amount of time. You will need to be short but concise with your responses.
Panel board members may take notes while you are talking. Don’t let this distract you. The panel board will use these notes when rating you.
At the end of the interview, you will be given an opportunity to make a brief closing statement. Use the closing statement to summarize your background and experience or to share important information about your skills that you think was not discussed during the interview.
After the Oral Examination
After you leave the examination room, the panel board begins the rating process. Each panel board member independently assesses your performance on each of the critical dimensions being rated.
Human Resources will notify you of your examination results within ten working days. Your notice will usually include your final grade and placement on the eligible list.
Passing the oral examination does not mean you will be offered a position. It determines what rank you are on the eligible list. Depending on your placement on the eligible list, your name may be sent to the department(s) with vacancy and be considered/interviewed for the position.
Hi
In English language teaching we obliged to do such kind of examination since oral communication is one of the criterion of learning as it represents students ' professionality of pronunciation and fluency.
Liqaa
Oral Exam and its Effectiveness as a Teaching Method!
Oral exams belong to personal communication assessment methods. It is considered as informal rather than formal assessment. According to the preparation prior to the oral exam date, oral exams can be classified into three types; guided examination with preparation time, guided examination without preparation time and free examinations...
Disadvantages of the oral exams are: time factor either for students to answer questions (short compared to written exams) or for the examiners (oral exams takes more time), it can involve some bias because each students has a different set of questions and so major threats to reliability and validity of the exam, it is difficult to gradethe students
(subjective grading) through the oral exam and the difficulty in covering all the important areas of oral exam topics...
http://crescopublications.org/pdf/EEOA/EEOA-1-002.pdf
Oral exam is a kind of thumb rule evaluation
When questioned appropriate, the work of a researcher, can be rated quickly.
In my opinion, oral exam is good, but we know many students do not feel full comfortable when they speak with their teacher. Although, we need to remove this obstacle, but still we should not and must not give more credit to oral exam compare to written exam.
Oral exams as end-of-course assessments are very popular in Italy, where I went to school. Here, students are trained since early grades to talk out loud about main points and concepts of what they study and oral interviews are conducted daily as part of the daily class activities. In the United States (where I teach college-level psychology) these exams seem non-existent, both in grade schools and college, with the exception of some pioneering instructors. Yet, research shows that studying by "thinking out loud" and reciting is conducive to better memory and understanding (see the 3R study strategy; Article The Read-Recite-Review Study Strategy
). It would be interesting to revive this old-fashioned practice and test it in longitudinal studies that go beyond the read-recite-get tested lab paradigm. I believe that it may take some time for students to get on board but the pay back would be invaluable.- Badges
- Science method
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