Facing the AI Avalanche: How Professors are Fighting Back with a Surprisingly Ancient Weapon!
In an era dominated by artificial intelligence, where tools like ChatGPT can seemingly conjure essays and answers with ease, educators are scrambling to find ways to accurately assess student knowledge. But here's a twist: the solution might be older than you think. A growing number of professors are turning to a method that predates even the printing press: the oral exam.
This December, at the University of Wyoming, students in Catherine Hartmann’s honors seminar, were met with a testing approach that would have been familiar to Socrates and Plato. The very ideas they were studying were once debated and defended in similar fashion. This approach, which bypasses the potential for AI assistance, allows professors to directly gauge a student's understanding and critical thinking skills.
But here's where it gets controversial... While oral exams offer a robust defense against AI, they also present unique challenges. They can be time-consuming to administer and grade, and may not be feasible for large classes. Do you think the benefits of oral exams outweigh the potential drawbacks? Share your thoughts in the comments!
