Oral Reviews: Retaining STEM Majors

Abstract

Oral reviews are 60-minute ungraded, voluntary small group sessions in which a facilitator asks scripted conceptual questions, which are the basis of the content to be covered on an upcoming written test. Students are asked to explain concepts and draw representations. The objective is to get students to negotiate meaning and make important connections. These sessions have been used in math, biology, engineering, and environmental science and have shown course grade improvements of about one letter grade for students participating in three orals over the course of the semester.