I'm curious if anyone has experience with an oral final exam in place of written final exam?
I'm curious because many graduate degrees require an oral defense, as did my own undergraduate thesis required an oral defense, and I was curious about the pros and cons of integrating oral exams into undergraduate teaching.
I can imagine some students protesting because an oral exam would privilege "performance" or "on-the-spot" thinking, but it strikes me that these are important skills to test and improve, and that students with stronger aural communication might benefit from an opportunity to put the pen down and explain what they've learned, and that students who are master writers might benefit from being pushed to communicate in a medium they aren't as comfortable in.
Other than public speaking course, I don't know of any subjects or disciplines that routinely use oral exams, so I'd love to hear about any experiences you know about, or techniques you have used to integrate oral examinations into your teaching.
