The Novelty Effect on Assessment Interventions: a Qualitative Replication Study of Oral Performance Assessment in Undergraduate Mathematics

Abstract

This paper reports on a qualitative replication study investigating the impact of the novelty effect on findings from interventions about the assessment of mathematics at university. The replication study used the same data collection tools of a previous study on oral assessment of mathematics, but data were collected in a context where oral assessment is the norm. We aimed to find whether the results of the two studies were comparable and whether there was plausible evidence of an impact of novelty effect on the findings of the original study. The findings of the current study appear to be comparable to those of the original study. Students associate oral assessment with the assessment of conceptual understanding and written assessment with the assessment of procedures; they report being more anxious about the oral assessment, but they perceive oral assessment as a better learning experience than closed book exams. However, in a culture where oral assessment is the norm, we found students engaging with learning also following considerations of the difficulties of other modules taken in the same period of their degree. Finally, in this culture, oral communication of mathematics is also much valued.