While in-class written assignments can be practical, oral ones can be an effective alternative to engage and assess students, especially when paired with preparatory take-home work. Through discussion-based assignments, students can display their own knowledge and circulate new ideas and ways of thinking among their peers.

An advantage to this strategy is that, unlike take-home assignments, students can learn from each other and build on ideas while their knowledge is tested in real time. Additionally, dialogue-based assignments foster career-ready skills (an area where colleges and universities have a reputation for falling short), such as collaboration, leading meetings and verbally working through problems and brainstorming with teammates.