Interview

An interview is a questioning conversation between two or more people in which information is gathered or insights are shared.

As an assessment form, you can use an interview to test your students’ knowledge and skills. An interview is a variant of an oral test and has several advantages:

• Individual evaluation – interviews allow you to evaluate the knowledge and skills of each student individually, thus providing a more detailed picture of their performance.
• Promotion of communication skills – interviews encourage students to clearly formulate and communicate their ideas and insights, helping to strengthen their communication skills.
• Assessment of soft skills – in addition to knowledge and technical skills, an interview can also assess soft skills, such as presentation skills and the ability to perform under pressure.
• Opportunity for feedback – during an interview, you can give students direct feedback on their answers and performance, which helps them develop their skills further. 
• More contact – because you have more personal contact with students during interviews, this increases their engagement with the subject matter. In addition, interviews give the option to ask follow up questions.

Tip: an interview is an intensive and time-consuming assessment form and so less suitable for use with large groups.

To use an interview as a form of test, you can follow these steps:

1. Clearly define the purpose of the interview – this should be specific and relevant to the subject or topic you are addressing.
2. Ask the right questions – devise questions that test the students’ knowledge and skills on a specific topic and that are consistent with the purpose of the interview.
3. Establish evaluation criteria – establish criteria by which the student’s performance during the interview will be assessed, e.g. quality of answers, depth of topic, originality and ability to provide insight.
4. Conduct interviews – conduct the interview and record or take notes so that you can assess the student’s performance later.
5. Assess the performance – assess the student’s performance against the criteria you have established and provide feedback if necessary.

Want to know more?

• Mondelinge toets – Radboud Universiteit
• Using Interviews to Assess and Mentor Students – Faculty Focus

See also: Oral, Criterion-based interview.

See also: Feedbackfruits Skills Review.

VU Taxonomy?

Programme specific skills in applying knowledge and understanding
Oral communication

What total group size?

Between fifty and one hundred
Up to fifty
Up to twenty five

What activity group size?

Individual
Small group (2-4 pers)