Oral presentation as a form of summative assessment in a Master's level PGCE module: the student perspective

This paper examines the student perception of oral examination on a pre-service teacher education course at the Institute of Education, University of London. Students are required to carry out a school-based project and to present their findings at master’s level to a group of peers and examiners. Initial student evaluations showed the experience to be overwhelmingly positive, yet the qualitative comments suggested there were negative emotions unrepresented in the quantitative data. This study reports on a more detailed evaluation completed by 254 students in the 2009–2010 cohort, which explored the tension between the positive overall student experience and the complex emotions involved. In examining the student perspective in greater depth, it became clear that the combination of a school-based enquiry and an assessed oral presentation created an authentic learning context. Although there were anxieties associated with presenting findings to an audience, students felt there was a constructive alignment between their learning and the mode of assessment and the process supported the students’ developing professional identity