Oral examinations, both formal and informal, are routinely encountered in graduate education and careers in the STEM fields. To be an effective and successful scientist, it is necessary to gain skill and experience in oral communication, specifically in analyzing and answering questions related to one's research. What is surprising is that the oral exam is rarely encountered in the STEM undergraduate classroom. The use of oral examinations in the undergraduate classroom provides a unique opportunity to develop student communication skills while improving the understanding of fundamental STEM course material. Additionally, the oral exam provides specific, immediate feedback to the instructor regarding the student’s grasp of the course material, reflecting the effectiveness of the instructor’s teaching. This paper describes the development and implementation of an oral exam as part of an undergraduate Instrumental Analysis course at Chestnut Hill College (Philadelphia, PA). Instrumental Analysis is an advanced, 300-level course taught for majors in the chemistry department. The first unit taught in this course is advanced electronics, which builds on the basic electronics instruction provided in an undergraduate physics course. Students spend several weeks of laboratory time working individually or in small groups on the construction of electrical circuits and the use of electrical monitoring equipment (the multimeter and oscilloscope). Because many of the circuits constructed by the students during the laboratory simply prove fundamental principles (for example, Ohm’s Law), the lab material does not lend itself well to traditional assessment. An oral examination that tests students’ conceptual learning as well as practical abilities is a logical assessment tool for the laboratory work. The oral exam is administered by the instructor; the exam is designed to move from student to student so that questions are not repeated. The instructor questions and guides the student during the oral exam so that ultimately the concepts are correctly understood and articulated. The ability to work directly with students in the oral exam format is a valuable experience for students and faculty. This paper describes the development of the oral exam, its use for almost 10 years, and feedback from the students. It is hoped that other undergraduate instructors will consider utilizing this helpful testing method.

Using an oral exam to enhance student learning and communication skills in an undergraduate instrumental analysis course

256th National Meeting (2018)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.