The Viva Voce Demonstration of Student Learning

A fifth grade student in our North Portland group demonstrates how to compute the average (arithmetic mean) of a set of numbers

By Clarence Thompson

Those who have followed our work so far have probably noticed the prominent role that the video recording of student performance has played in our teaching strategy.  Our original reasons for relying on student videos were as follows:

• The prevailing message broadcast by many organs of mainstream American media concerning children of color (particularly Black children) is that our children are mainly defective - that is, cognitively disabled and criminal.  We therefore refute this message by recording and broadcasting videos of our own community self-organizing to provide for our own education.  
• By our videos, we seek to demonstrate the excellence of our self-organization, self-attainment and self-improvement.  Excellence is power.  It is also a demonstration of serious, caring effort.
• Our use of video recordings is therefore also meant to stimulate our students to the serious, caring effort needed to achieve excellence.  It can be seen, for instance, how the use of video recitals stimulated many young nylon-string guitarists to undertake the deliberate practice needed to achieve excellence.  For examples, browse some of the videos in the YouTube channels of Kevin Loh or Jennifer Kim.  And for examples of how the presence of a public stage of demonstration motivates kids to excellence in math, see the Cowbellpedia YouTube channel. 

But there is a further justification for the use of public demonstrations of knowledge as part of the process of education.  It has to do with the benefits of active recall as a method of cementing knowledge and mastering skills.  Active recall differs from passive recall in that passive recall frequently degenerates into reading something over and over again without being forced to demonstrate or explain what was read.  Passive recall can be augmented with the use of homework problems, in which case the recall becomes somewhat more active.  However, the key to active recall is forcing students as often as possible to demonstrate and explain the things that they are being taught.  And the requirement to demonstrate or explain the application of mathematical skill in front of an audience is an example par excellence of active recall.

By contrast, the sort of testing which has become the norm in American education does not force nearly the same level of effort, since it often consists of choosing the right answers to a series of multiple-choice questions.  In the name of efficiency, we have largely abandoned what used to be a common practice throughout the spectrum of education: the viva voce examination, which now exists only in the upper reaches of graduate education.  The viva voce exam can be a powerful tool under the following conditions:

• when administered by teachers who are on the side of their students and who want them to succeed.  
• And, when undertaken by students who have put in the effort needed to master the things that are being taught!

The key is preparation.

For further reading on active recall, see:

1. "The Critical Importance of Retrieval Practice In Long-Term Retention," Roediger and Butler, Cell Press, January 2011
2. "PEN Principle #9: Active Recall Trumps Passive Review," retrieved on December 22, 2018