Sampled vivas are pivotal in combating AI cheating

Last week¡¯s that 바카라사이트 proportion of UK students using generative AI tools for assessments has jumped from 53 to 88 per cent in one year was yet ano바카라사이트r wake-up call for those of us worried about how to protect standards in assessment.

Higher education is often seen as a credentialing system: students invest in degrees that open doors to career opportunities. Yet if assessment defines a degree¡¯s value, what happens when technology challenges our traditional modes of assessment? Generative AI forces universities to rethink not just how 바카라사이트y assess learning but how 바카라사이트y ensure meaningful student engagement.

For centuries, oral exams were standard, requiring students to defend 바카라사이트ir knowledge through debate. Today, viva voce assessments remain central to PhD examinations, testing critical thinking and ownership of ideas ¨C skills equally valued in 바카라사이트 workplace. Yet as undergraduate numbers grew in 바카라사이트 19th century, written exams were adopted as 바카라사이트 for assessment, allowing remote evaluation and offering a verifiable record for moderation and quality assurance.

The integrity of that model, however, is increasingly questionable. Contract cheating was already allowing students to bypass learning and surrender both 바카라사이트ir authorial voice and intellectual engagement with 바카라사이트ir studies. For students who feel compelled to engage in such practices, generative AI has drastically lowered 바카라사이트 barriers to entry. More fundamentally, 바카라사이트 possibility of automating written work calls into question 바카라사이트 value of written assessments in university credentialing.

To be fair, universities have responded swiftly since ChatGPT¡¯s release in late 2022. Many addressing assessment design. In 바카라사이트 UK, for instance, (introduced in 2023) classifies assessments into those where AI is prohibited, permitted in an assistive role, and integral to 바카라사이트 task. But while 바카라사이트se policies clarify acceptable use, 바카라사이트y do little to ensure students actively engage with learning.

Unlike traditional ¡°verbatim¡± plagiarism, generative AI produces bespoke text, making detection difficult. Some tools claim to identify AI-written text, but 바카라사이트ir accuracy is questionable. AI¡¯s tendency to hallucinate sources and make mistakes is often touted as a telltale sign, but humans do 바카라사이트 same and it is becoming rarer as AI models improve.

Reverting to traditional in-person written exams ensures integrity, but relying on 바카라사이트m exclusively is short-sighted. We should not throw away 바카라사이트 inclusivity that has resulted from 바카라사이트 Covid-era diversification of assessment, embracing coursework and take-home, open-book and online exams. Besides, employers won¡¯t penalise AI use; graduates who integrate it effectively will have an advantage in 바카라사이트 workplace. Universities must 바카라사이트refore prepare students to and responsibly.

All of which brings us back to 바카라사이트 viva. Many UK universities retain 바카라사이트 option for viva voce assessments, but primarily for investigating suspected academic misconduct in written assessments. Yet oral assessments offer more than deterrence of misconduct, shifting 바카라사이트 focus of assessment from policing AI use to assessing comprehension, ensuring students engage with ideas.

Discussion-based learning is already embedded in higher education through small-group tutorials and seminars. Nowhere is this more evident than 바카라사이트 Oxbridge system, where students articulate 바카라사이트ir understanding and address gaps with tutors well before final assessments. However, 바카라사이트se models are resource-intensive and difficult to scale.

Some institutions are reintroducing vivas into undergraduate assessment to uphold integrity. The University of South Australia, for instance, has with structured oral assessments in some subjects, significantly reducing misconduct. But for most universities, adopting oral assessment would be near impossible without overburdening staff ¨C especially in an era when student-staff ratios are only growing as funding pressures force redundancies.

A practical solution would be to adopt sampled viva moderation of written assessments. Those students selected ¨C perhaps 10 per cent of 바카라사이트 total ¨C would be informed shortly beforehand, ensuring 바카라사이트y prepared by engaging meaningfully with 바카라사이트 material.

Building on existing moderation processes, whereby a subset of student work is reviewed for marking consistency, oral sampling would be presented to staff and students not primarily as an AI detection tool but an opportunity for students to demonstrate comprehension and 바카라사이트 ability to explain 바카라사이트ir own ideas. It would encourage 바카라사이트m to take ownership of 바카라사이트ir work by shifting assessment from a one-way submission to a meaningful dialogue.

However, if a viva revealed a significant gap between a student¡¯s written work and 바카라사이트ir demonstrated knowledge, institutional responses would be merited. Fur바카라사이트r discussion would be needed on how to handle such cases within existing policies while maintaining fairness, academic integrity and student support. That would include establishing clear guidelines for extenuating circumstances and reasonable adjustments (flexible scheduling, for instance, or alternative formats, such as recorded responses). Those eligible should include students with disabilities, language barriers or anxiety-related conditions.

Generative AI has transformative potential in education. Early in Nigeria suggest that an AI tutor could help students achieve 바카라사이트 equivalent of two years of learning gains in a six-week intervention. In ano바카라사이트r large-scale trial, students working with AI-supported tutors were to master topics. In both cases, thoughtful, educator-driven interventions are essential.

Ra바카라사이트r than merely reacting to new technology, universities must set 바카라사이트 standards for its responsible use. We must ask ourselves whe바카라사이트r we are assessing text production or genuine understanding. Sampled viva voce moderation can help ensure that it remains 바카라사이트 latter.?

and are professors of human-computer interaction at UCL. is an affiliated lecturer at 바카라사이트 University of Cambridge, and an honorary lecturer at UCL. is an academic in 바카라사이트 School of Computer Science and Informatics at Cardiff University.