Higher education research
Prompting Candidates in Oral Assessment Contexts: A Taxonomy and Guiding Principles
Publication Date
8-13-2020
Subjects
Oral tests, Prompting, Medical education, Student assessment, Examiners, Higher education
Abstract
Prompting is an aspect of oral assessment that deserves more attention. There appears to be considerable variation in how practitioners conceptualise prompting and how it is deployed in practice. In order to unpack the term and promote the validity of its use in performance assessments, we present a taxonomy of prompting as a continuum of types, namely: presenting the task; repeating information; clarifying questions; probing questions; and finally, leading questions. We offer general principles for consideration when using prompting in oral assessment: neutrality; consistency; transparency; and reflexivity. Whenever oral assessment is planned, assessors should be appropriately trained in the type and degree of prompting required, and candidates suitably briefed to know what to expect. Overall, we aim to raise awareness that quite different behaviours tend to be subsumed under the general term ‘prompting’. This paper provides concrete guidelines for implementing the defensible and effective use of prompting in oral examinations, applicable to a wide range of assessment contexts.
Recommended Citation
Pearce, J., & Chiavaroli, N. (2020). Prompting Candidates in Oral Assessment Contexts: A Taxonomy and Guiding Principles. Journal of Medical Education and Curricular Development. https://doi.org/10.1177/2382120520948881
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Publisher
Journal of Medical Education and Curricular Development
ISSN
2382-1205
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/2382120520948881