Pros and Cons of Public Assessment

In the SW ethics course a public presentation/assessment makes sense to me as it is a way to expand the knowledge and information of the rest of the class. One assignment is for students to immerse themselves in another culture, ethnic group, religion, lifestyle, etc. and learn from that participation combined with research. They then present to the entire class about their learning and experiences. They are asked to provide the audience with ideas to keep in mind when working with that population, culture, group, etc. The presentation provides them with opportunities to explore with their peers the aspects of the assignment that were, perhaps, uncomfortable or enlightening and why.

If the presentation were simply a paper read only by the instructor, the student would have a limited audience from which to obtain feedback. There may be others in the audience who have additional information or expertise.