Workshop on oral exams

Intended purpose for this short session•to unfold the space of oral exams•to understand how to pick a style•to understand the tradeoffs between the different ways it can be conducted•Exchange of tidbits on: how to make the exam efficient, how to make it less stressful for the student, how to give feedback, how to….

Oral exams

19-04-23 · 1

• With or without written background material (typically a report)

• With or without preparation time• With or without notes at the preparation

• With or without known questions• With or without drawing of questions• With or without notes at the exam

Design space for oral exams

19-04-23 · 2

• known questions• preparation time• drawing of questions• notes at exam• notes for preparation• slides with figures

Student anxiety

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• unknown questions• no preparation time• teacher ask random questions• no notes at exam

low anxiety high anxiety

Teachers expectations wrt. performance

19-04-23 · 4

• known questions• preparation time• drawing of questions• notes at exam• notes for preparation• slides with figures

• unknown questions• no preparation time• teacher ask random question• no notes at exam

high low

• No preparation time• With known questions• With drawing of questions• With notes at the exam

Case 1

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low anxiety high anxietyX

• Without preparation time• Without known questions• Without drawing of questions• Without notes at the exam

Case 2

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low anxiety high anxietyX

• Groups – those formed during the semester• Two parts

• voluntary – each student picks their fav. topic from a list or form their own – a few plastic slides allowed

• mandatory – draw or shoot (pick a random, or let me pick)

Case 3 – Advanced OOP @ITU Fall 2006

19-04-23 · 7

low anxiety high anxietyX

Oral examination style

19-04-23 · 8

Often used with projects and thesis – i.e. non-course based learning.Advice: Be explicit about the expectations•Is the presentation in itself important?•Expected length of presentation and questioning•Weight between oral and deliverable

Oral exam with background deliverable

19-04-23 · 9

Is oral exam well aligned with a teaching activity in which the student has no chance to do presentations?

Alignment

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