Creating Effective Vivas
Best practices for vivas that verify understanding and critical thinking
Core Principles
Adapt to the AI Era
Students use AI all the time now - that's just reality. Rather than trying to stop it, we should create assessments that check if students really understand their work, whether they got help from AI or not.
- Test deep conceptual understanding
- Ask questions that reveal true comprehension
- Encourage AI as a learning tool, not a crutch
Build Real-World Skills
Get students ready for the working world, where they'll need to explain and defend their ideas on the spot, without being able to look things up or ask for help.
- Develop presentation and defense skills
- Practice professional discourse
- Build confidence in complex idea articulation
Writing Effective Questions
Good Questions
"Walk me through how you tackled this problem"
Makes students show their thinking process step by step
"What are the biggest problems with this approach?"
Checks if they can think critically and see both sides
"If someone challenged your conclusion, how would you defend it?"
Tests whether they can handle pushback and think through counterarguments
Avoid These Questions
"What's the derivative of x²?"
Only one right answer - just tests if they memorized it
"Did you agree with the author's main point?"
Just a yes/no answer - doesn't show if they really get it
"What year was this theory developed?"
Something anyone could Google in 2 seconds
Effective Question Starters
Explain why...
Walk me through...
What would happen if...
How does this relate to...
What are the implications of...
Compare and contrast...
What evidence supports...
How would you respond to...
What assumptions are you making...
Analyze the relationship between...
Evaluate the effectiveness of...
Justify your choice of...
Question Pool Strategies
Pool Size Recommendation
Create a larger pool of questions than you actually need. When students know they'll get the same questions, they often share answers and prepare responses in advance (sometimes using AI), which defeats the purpose of testing genuine understanding and creates unfair advantages for some students.
Big Pool Mode
Build a large bank of questions and randomly assign them to students. This approach keeps each student's experience unique and prevents them from knowing what's coming.
Best for: Stopping question sharing between students
Our recommendation: Make 2-3 times more questions than you'll actually use
Real example: Create 15 different questions if students will answer 5
Why it works: Students can't predict which questions they'll get, so they need to understand the whole topic rather than memorizing specific answers
Structured Mode
Set up specific questions for specific parts of the viva. This gives you tight control over what gets covered and when.
Best for: Making sure you hit all the important topics
Smart approach: Start broad, then get more specific
Real example: Question 1 always asks about the main theory, Question 2 focuses on how they'd apply it
Works well when: You have key concepts that absolutely must be covered in every assessment
Technical Setup
Timing Guidelines
Prep Time: 30-45 seconds
For complex reasoning questions
Recording: 90-120 seconds
Allows for detailed explanations
Total Questions: 3-7
Depending on complexity and time available
Context Materials
Add Reference Images
Charts, diagrams, chemical structures
Include Formulas
Reduce memorization pressure
Provide Context
Background information for complex topics
Academic Integrity Options
Monitoring Features
- Tab Tracking: Detect browser tab switches
- Camera Required: Visual verification of student
Flexibility Options
- Allow Retries / Allow Pause/Resume: Let students attempt questions multiple times, and have the ability to pause and resume mid recording
- Accommodations: Extended time for eligible students
- Practice Mode: Let students familiarize with the interface
Quick Reference
Do This
- • Ask "Explain why..." or "Walk through..."
- • Create 2-3x more questions than needed
- • Allow 30-45s prep time
- • Include reference materials
Avoid This
- • Yes/no questions
- • Single correct answers
- • Pure memorization tests
- • Overly complex questions
Pro Tips
- • Test understanding, not authorship
- • Start with easier questions
- • Focus on critical thinking
- • Build real-world skills