{"id":23425,"date":"2025-06-03T14:48:29","date_gmt":"2025-06-03T04:48:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/educational-innovation.sydney.edu.au\/teaching@sydney\/?p=23425"},"modified":"2025-06-04T08:03:00","modified_gmt":"2025-06-03T22:03:00","slug":"interactive-oral-assessment-in-practice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/educational-innovation.sydney.edu.au\/teaching@sydney\/interactive-oral-assessment-in-practice\/","title":{"rendered":"Interactive Oral Assessment in practice"},"content":{"rendered":"

Interactive Oral Assessments (IOAs)<\/span><\/b> are defined as secure assessments in the <\/span>new Sydney assessment framework<\/span><\/a>. With the rise of generative AI, concerns about academic integrity have grown. One way to address this is by using more in-person assessments, like exams, oral exams, and IOAs, which help confirm that students are doing their own work<\/strong> (Ward et al., 2024). IOAs are especially important in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, where writing has traditionally been the main form of assessment. IOA also give students a chance to build their oral communication skills<\/strong>, which are valuable in many careers FASS students will enter (Krautloher, 2024).<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Are IOAs the same as viva voces?<\/h2>\n

No.\u00a0While both IOAs and oral exams (including viva voces) involve real-time, in-person conversations between students and markers, they serve different purposes. <\/span>The key difference is that IOAs\u00a0simulate <\/strong> <\/span>real-world professional situations related to the discipline, with both student and marker entering an i<\/em><\/span><\/b>maginative scenario and performing a role<\/span><\/i><\/b>.<\/span> IOAs are designed to assess skills like critical thinking, communication, problem-solving, adaptability, and applying knowledge<\/strong> in practical, contextual ways.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

IOAs in Action: Examples from French Studies and Writing Studies<\/h2>\n

In 2024, Ben Miller (English and Writing Studies) and Clara Sitbon (French and Francophone Studies) both introduced IOAs in their teaching. Clara used them in senior French units with about 30 students, while Ben used them in a large first-year unit with 690 students. <\/span><\/p>\n

Their scenarios demonstrate the versatility of IOAs across different disciplines and cohort sizes:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n