How to get the most out of Viva

Viva works as a grading tool from day one. It becomes something more useful when it is treated as a teaching instrument, and the difference is mostly a handful of habits.

Before the first assignment

• Tell students what is coming, in the syllabus and out loud — you can paste our pre-written syllabus note as is. Almost every bad first experience traces back to a student who did not know an interview was part of the assignment.
• Turn on practice for the first one. It costs a credit and removes the single biggest complaint.
• Leave "show results immediately" off at first, so you see the class before they do.

When setting up an assignment

• Write instructions as if Viva were a TA who has to run the interview — because that is what it reads them as.
• Add one or two custom questions. It is the single highest-leverage field on the form.
• Do not default to the longest interview. Ten focused minutes beats fifteen unfocused ones, and costs less.
• Save your settings as defaults once they are right. You will not want to set them again thirty times.

When the results come in

• Read the class view before the individual ones. The cohort-level finding is usually the more valuable one.
• Sort by verdict and start with what needs you. Most reports do not.
• When you override a grade, notice whether you keep overriding in the same direction. That is the weights telling you something.
• Bring one finding back to the lecture. A concept the class could not defend is the best teaching signal Viva produces.