- What is an Interactive Oral Assessment?
- Why use an IOA?
- What to consider
- IOAs in the Business School
- Is an IOA right for you?
1. What is an Interactive Oral Assessment (IOA)?
An Interactive Oral Assessment (IOA) is a conversation between students and assessors using a work-based or professional scenario to stimulate a free-flowing discussion that allows a student to demonstrate their grasp of a subject.
It is different from an oral exam or a viva voce where a structured question-and-answer format is used within strict exam conditions. It can be structured as an assessment for individual students, or for small groups at a time.
“IOA is not a question-and-answer oral exam but rather an “authentic, industry-aligned conversation that extends and synthesises the student’s knowledge to demonstrate and apply course concepts in a scenario-based interaction.”
How do we give students a consistent experience?
If the conversation is different for every student, you might be wondering how you can give each student a consistent assessment experience. A carefully designed rubric that relies on student attributes such as critical thinking, ability to extend on answers, deep reflection and generalising to other contexts, rather than a display of content knowledge, can provide a framework for consistency.
Can we just get them to explain how they wrote their report?
If an IOA is based on an already submitted piece of work, then asking them to describe their working is covering the same ground as the original submission. An IOA is a chance for them to extend on their work, for example discussing how it might apply if circumstances change, weighing up priorities if they’ve given recommendations, using reasoning to convince an assessor to choose one path over another.
Does it have to be the final assessment?
An in-person IOA is a secure form of assessment, so it is an excellent choice to replace a less authentic form of assessment like a final exam. However, it can also work well early in semester as a way for an educator to get a strong grasp on their students’ strengths in order to develop targeted learning experiences for them, and to build solid relationships with them.
Will it be time consuming?
The short answer is yes, it will.
Participants in our pilot study of 2024 reported taking twenty to thirty minutes per student to complete the IOA, including grading and writing feedback. However, they also reported the experience to be more enjoyable and meaningful for them and the students. This needs to be taken into account as part of wider planning that includes consideration of availability of marking resources, student experience, and assessment security.
IO Assessment 