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FOSTERING COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE IN EXAMINING

Examiners and assessors who work in teams to judge the quality of students’ work in examinations, or of trainees’ performance in assessments of competence, are frequently described as working in ‘communities of practice’. Following Wenger (Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning and Identity. 1998), this concept is used to describe the way examiners acquire their craft and maintain their competence in it. This paper discusses some of the literature about the place of communities of practice in examining, and seeks to clarify the rationale for them. It does this in the light of the significant changes taking place because of the introduction of new technologies to examining. The concept of communities of practice has often been put forward as a description of the strategies and procedures which lead to reliable marking. The use of e-technology could support such an aim. The paper argues that, at the same time, the necessity of fostering communities of practice to provide a context for valid assessments, can also be supported by new technologies.

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