Working smarter in the examination board, with and without AI

The first autumn training of NextLevel MBO is a wrap. On 29 October an enthusiastic group of examination board members from Dutch secondary vocational education (mbo) came together in Zwolle around one question. How do you organise the work of the examination board in a smarter, more effective and more efficient way, without losing sight of quality?

First think, then do

In the morning Ilse Hofman and Joke Lammers took the group through the thinking part. How do you arrange the tasks of the examination board so that you have time left for what really matters? That led to critical questions and valuable discussions.

In the afternoon I had the pleasure of leading the hands-on part, about working more efficiently in the examination board with AI.

Getting started with AI Companions

The participants worked themselves with AI Companions set up specifically for the examination board. For example for analysing exam results, risk-based oversight, following up improvement measures and the annual report. Those topics came from a survey among the participants themselves.

We practised with a fictitious dataset from ROC Voorbeeldstad. That way everyone could experiment safely, without real student data. The data deliberately contained hidden patterns and contradictions, exactly what an examination board needs to be alert to.

People keep the judgement

An examination board makes decisions with major consequences for students. AI can help with the groundwork, such as analysing, summarising and producing a first draft. The judgement and the responsibility remain with the board.

That is why we worked with the HEAR model from my book The Art of Living with AI. You start from your own intention, you look critically at what AI offers, and you make the decision. That way you work faster, without quality suffering.

Learning from and with each other

It was a day full of new insights, practical tools, good conversations and plenty of exchange of experiences. Learning from and with each other, that is what NextLevel MBO stands for. And of course there was a delicious lunch.

Thanks to all participants for your energy and commitment, and to Ilse and Joke for the pleasant collaboration. The second training follows on 5 November, in Den Bosch. I am looking forward to it!

A training like this for your team?

Education Oracle provides practical AI training for schools, programmes and examination boards. Small-scale, interactive and focused on doing. Feel free to get in touch.