Reintroducing Oral Exams in Engineering Education: Challenging Students' Communication Habits

Abstract

Oral examinations are rare in engineering education, despite their potential to encourage essential communication skills in students, so much required in modern working environments. This paper explores the implementation of oral assessments in two modules—Electrical Machines (EM) and Electrical Installations in Industrial Facilities (EIIF)—taught at undergraduate and master’s levels respectively. Two distinct formats were applied: individual oral safety assessments in laboratory sessions for EM, and group-based oral evaluations linked to project work in EIIF. In both cases, students were required to articulate technical knowledge under pressure, with no support material.The results indicate that oral exams reveal deeper levels of understanding, encourage preparation, and challenge students to structure and communicate their ideas clearly. However, several challenges were also identified, including student anxiety, significant time requirements, and concerns about grading subjectivity—particularly in open-ended design tasks. In this paper, recommendations to address these issues are also proposed and justified.

Oral examinations are rare in engineering education, despite their potential to encourage essential communication skills in students, so much required in modern working environments. This paper explores the implementation of oral assessments in two modules—Electrical Machines (EM) and Electrical Installations in Industrial Facilities (EIIF)—taught at undergraduate and master’s levels respectively. Two distinct formats were applied: individual oral safety assessments in laboratory sessions for EM, and group-based oral evaluations linked to project work in EIIF. In both cases, students were required to articulate technical knowledge under pressure, with no support material.The results indicate that oral exams reveal deeper levels of understanding, encourage preparation, and challenge students to structure and communicate their ideas clearly. However, several challenges were also identified, including student anxiety, significant time requirements, and concerns about grading subjectivity—particularly in open-ended design tasks. In this paper, recommendations to address these issues are also proposed and justified.