Introduction
Over the years, the teaching systems in a variety of schools have dwelled on continuous assessment tests and end-of-year exams to assess the level of understanding and learning. Alternative ways of measuring learning such as oral presentation are rarely used or rather, they are used in only specific classes; for instance English. The oral presentation has also been used in classes where a foreign language is being taught for the teacher to know whether the students have either grasped the language or if they are fluent enough to hold a conversation or if they have got the pronunciation right. About that, simply defined, oral presentation is all about talking about a specific topic in front of a teacher or students. It is also used as a tool that develops the communication skills of students (Lianghuo & Shu Mei, p.83) Speaking of a class environment, the teacher chooses a topic from a wide range of subjects such as science, culture, religion, and many more; and the students are expected to handle these topics through discussion and analysis. Later on, the teacher can be able to measure or assess their level of learning. So, how effective is this alternative way of measuring the level of learning? This essay will explore the strength and weaknesses of an oral presentation assessment and give personal input about the suitability of using it as an alternative source of measuring learning.
Strength of an oral presentation assessment
First of all, one good thing about oral presentation assessment is that the teacher can easily tell whether the student has understood the subject of choice. In other words, the student’s way of explaining the point and delivering it for the audience to understand is vital to the teacher. In light of that, for instance, the teacher can give a student a presentation on religion to measure the level of understanding, assess the student’s eloquence, observe the student’s mannerisms on the stage such as eye contact, and posture, self-confidence, and language. Hincks and Edlund (2009) agree with this view when they state that an oral presentation involves the use of temporal features such as speaking at a pace that is appropriate to the audience. All this will be analyzed to position the student academic wise. After the oral presentation, the teacher will have the capability of helping the student in the weak area. On the other hand, the student will benefit in many ways. One most crucial way that is of benefit to the students is that they will know their weaknesses and learn how to improve on them. They will also learn their strengths and bank on them. In addition to that, the student will develop self-confidence and learn how to carry oneself when standing in front of a crowd.
Another important way of assessing the level of understanding, especially when the teacher has a foreign class is to dwell on oral presentation. For instance, given a French class that is taught as a foreign language to a fluently speaking English class, a teacher can easily tell the eloquent students or those who are improving in pronunciation, grammar, and sentence construction. This is also an advantage to the students in that it gives them courage in speaking to a crowd while they can tell how to improve on their weak points.
Weakness of an oral presentation assessment
Normally, before an oral presentation assessment, the teacher will always tell the students the standards that will be used to determine their overall performance (Sweet, 1993). As common sense will tell, the students will dwell on and even cram, those areas and neglect the ones that may not seem important, but in the real sense, they are. For instance, if the teacher tells the students that the area of preference is an explanation of points in a given topic, any student who wants more marks will take the time to understand and cram the points. Right after the oral presentation, they will neglect or sometimes forget the information. The teachers will assess the oral presentation and give the best marks to the student who handled the explanation well yet did not assess how well understood the topic was. It is known that students can parade a list of points and yet the understanding is poor.
Personal Opinion
In my view, I think that oral presentation is a credible way of measuring learning in that it is a very direct and simple way of helping the teacher figure out whether the students have understood the subject. Therefore, I would freely recommend it as a way of measuring learning since questions and conflicts are resolved quickly (Graves, p3).
Conclusion
Thus, apart from just using exams as a way of measuring learning, teachers should also include the oral presentation in many of their subjects and exam timetables. In order to tell whether the students have got a hold of the subject instead of just cramming, the teacher should prompt the students with questions during the oral presentation.
Reference
Graves, R. (n.d). Oral Presentations: Advice and Tips. 2010. Web.
Hincks, R. & Edlund, J. (2009). Promoting increased Pitch Variation In Oral Presentations With Transient Visual Feedback. Language and Technology, 13 (3), 32-50. Web.
Linghuo, F. & Shu Mei, Y. (2007). Integrating Oral Presentation into Mathematics Teaching and Learning: An Exploratory Study with Singapore Secondary Students. The Montana Mathematics Enthusiast, 81-98. Web.
Sweet, D. (1993). Performance Assessment. Education Consumer Guide. Web.