Assessing students' oral communication skills - which skills?

It is common practice for students' oral communication skills to be assessed by a global impressionistic mark based on the skills displayed during a presentation. Yet little is known about which skill components are influential in the determination of a final mark. This study uses three methods of analysis to determine the criteria that staff apply in assessing engineering students' oral presentation skills. The paper discusses the issues and investigation procedures of this study and uses content analysis and regression analysis in assessing a survey. Two major outcomes from the study are discussed: the first relates to providing further guidance to students on the skills which are crucial in making a successful presentation; and the second to the use of methodologies for developing a better understanding of what criteria are being applied when global assessments are made. The study indicates that regression analysis can reveal discrepancies between what assessors consider the major criteria to be when marking oral presentations, and the operational importance of these criteria in actual marking behaviour.