The Examination Where the Student Asks the Question

The Examination where the Student Asks the Questions (ESAQ) is an innovative, system‐oriented teaching/evaluation strategy ideated, developed and successfully implemented by the author, initially within the teaching of freshman chemistry (general and organic) in a four‐year college. It constitutes a reflective, multidimensional response to the urgent need for effective teaching and evaluation strategies which will foster question asking, and higher order cognitive skills (HOCS). Such strategies are, ideally, relevant, challenging, and compatible with the new goals of science teaching and student performance evaluation. The core element of the ESAQ is a prearranged oral examination in which the course professor is examined by students, using home‐prepared, written questions. Our experience suggests that the ESAQ can be creatively adopted and successfully implemented in different contexts of science teaching worldwide and would benefit both educators and students. The increase in the HOCS capacity of students is attainable.