Top tips from IB examiners
Richard Harvey, examiner for film:
- Get organized at least three weeks before you think you need to.
- Plan your marking schedule – spread the load and don’t try to do too much all at once.
- Keep to deadlines – the impact if you don’t may be much greater than you think.
Garrett Nagle, examiner for geography:
Study the markscheme—but be open to answers that take a different approach. Take time to research unknown information provided by candidates. I have learned a lot of new information from this process which I have taken back to my own teaching.- Try and stay up-to-date—read publications which highlight real world geography issues such as the Economist or the Financial Times.
- Plan times to complete your examining—try to make it part of your regular activities in marking.
Tiia Tempakka, examiner for Finnish A: literature and B:
Pace yourself. The task of examining can feel like a freight train unless you break the schedule into manageable chunks and keep your diary updated.- See the students behind the scripts; we have a huge responsibility because our work may determine their future. We should do our best to treat them fairly. I try to make my assessment as transparent as possible with annotations and I hope (and quietly trust) that e-marking will not change the fundamentals of our work.
- Synchronize yourself with the IB learner profile–try your best to remain principled, caring and balanced …
Neil King, examiner for English A:
Always write a friendly “hello” to your team before the marking session starts: introduce yourself, highlight the important aspects of the coming task and reassure your team that, if or when problems arise, you are there to help.- Everybody who examines is sensitive to criticism, especially those who have been doing the job for a long time without issues. Kind and sensitive mentoring techniques, which can be time-consuming, need to be employed. The tone of these discussions is vital: remember that your objective is to make that examiner feel confident.
