Services

Support for Teaching - Learning Services at the School of Arts, Design and Architecture

This site has two purposes:
1. Compile important information from the perspective of ARTS on the same page
2. To serve as a tool for orientation of the new teachers in ARTS

Log in to the Aalto.fi website from the right upper corner to see all the content.
Henkilöt turvallisuuskoulutuksessa / Kuvaaja Aalto-yliopisto
Aalto organizes pedagogical training, more information below

ARTS curriculum design basics, schedules and systems

  1. Curricula (course names, scopes, course descriptions) are approved for two years at a time in Aalto
  2. Students and teachers see the approved curricula in the Student Guide
  3. Students' personal study plans (PSP, HOPS) are mostly based on the curriculum of the student's starting year. PSPs are made in Sisu
  4. Courses are scheduled according to the "recommended study timetables" which are published for students in the Student Guide
  5. The course brochure (syllabus) in MyCourses is the finishing touch of curriculum design
  6. "Each course is assigned a teacher-in-charge who is responsible for grading the course and organising it in accordance with the curriculum and academic timetable. The teacher-in-charge participates in preparing the curriculum and bears primary responsibility for ensuring both that the course implementation promotes the intended learning outcomes and that the credits awarded correspond to the workload. In addition to the teacher-in-charge, several people may be involved teaching and grading a course"
  7. ARTS Learning Services supports the curriculum process and programme directors in implementing and developing teaching

See the link Curriculum design at Aalto university below for schedules and guidelines related to curriculum work.

The programme director’s handbook provides additional information specifically for program directors and persons in charge of the majors but is also useful for other readers who wish to understand management processes and policies.

Curriculum design at Aalto University

Aalto University’s curriculum design guidelines and schedule aims at supporting sustainable, future led degree programmes.

biz students

Programme director's handbook

The programme director's handbook is a collection of guidelines, templates, and good practices. The handbook gathers together information about processes, schedules and tools and the aim is to support degree programme directors, heads of majors and others involved to succeed in implementing, evaluating and developing the degree programmes.

Students at Aalto University Learning Centre

Organizing courses and course assessment

Familiarize yourself with the instructions related to teaching courses on the Teaching Practices page.

Then take a look at the more detailed ARTS guidelines below concerning A. management of course registrations and B. assessment.

Teaching practices

A checklist for teaching practices and steps that need to be taken over the entire lifespan of a course.

Teacher's handbook illustration: round check

A. Management of course registrations 

The course implementations are updated to Sisu annually for the entire study year based on information gathered from teachers through the curriculum planner every spring. Learning Services reserves spaces for the courses based on the information and in the beginning of June, the times, spaces, responsible teachers and registration information of the course implementations of the coming school year is published for students.

As a rule, students register for courses every period. After the registration time ends, the teacher in charge is responsible for managing the registrations, either by processing the registrations themselves or by authorising e.g. course teachers to confirm registered students who will be able to attend the course. You can find detailed information on processing registered students in the Sisu instructions. Log in to Wiki to see all information for teachers.

Information about confirmed students is automatically transferred to MyCourses.

Who do I accept to the course? Who can I reject?

The order of priority helps to approve or reject course registrations with the right principles.

Registering to courses and the order of priority at Aalto ARTS

Information on registering to courses at Aalto ARTS and the order of priority.

B. Management of course assessment

Courses are assessed mainly in Sisu (sisu.aalto.fi) through the course implementation assessment tab. The teacher in charge is responsible for registering the course credits. Please note that you can do the evaluation first in MyCourses, and upload the grades to Sisu via a csv file.

A separate Excel file for reporting credits can only be used in exceptional cases (e.g. special assignments) when evaluation in Sisu is not possible. Separate credits are registered in ARTS learning services.

The partial credits for thesis work are also registered in ARTS's learning services.

Take note when evaluating the study attainments

  1. The grading scale expressed in the course descriptions is utilized in the assessment: 28 § Grading scale for study attainments
  2. The teacher in charge is responsible for the assessment but may involve others in the assessment: 27 § Teacher in charge of study attainment evaluation
  3. “Students' study attainments are assessed equally on the basis of pre-published, clearly and openly defined competence objectives and assessment criteria”: Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at Aalto
  4. Publicity and data protection: Act on the Publicity of the Activities of Authorities (Finlex)Data Protection, personal data
  5. The teacher must give grades within four weeks of the end of the course: 30 § Notification of evaluation of study attainments
  6. Student's opportunity to make a complaint about the assessment: 35 § Grade appeals

Support for planning and implementing teaching

Teacher’s Handbook

This handbook contains practical information for a teacher on teaching at Aalto University.

Teacher's handbook illustration: main image

For hourly-based teachers at the School of Arts, Design and Architecture

HR's and LES' instructions for hourly-based teachers.

People talking and working in the café in Harald Herlin Learning Center, white lamps hanging in front.

Sisu

Basic information about Aalto's core information system for teaching and studying.

Three smiling persons and the text "let's move on with Sisu"

Rights and responsibilities of the teacher in teaching

Support and advice available for teachers as well as principles guiding the work of teachers.

Student Services psychologist group

The Student Services psychologist group comprises Aalto’s study psychologists and the career counselling psychologist.

Opiskelijoiden tukeminen, ohjaus ja hyvinvointi

Resource guides (libguides.aalto.fi) (external link)

Support for faculty and students making theses by discipline and in general related to information retrieval, publication and information resources.

Learning Centre graphics

Zoom Quick Guide

Quick Guide to using Zoom for online meetings and video conferencing.

Zoom software logo

Establishing a remote connection (VPN) to an Aalto network

A remote connection, or a VPN connection, enables users to use the services of Aalto University outside of the university's network.

Aerial photo of Väre in Otaniemi

Organizing exams and study attainments

Exam-aalto.fi-logo

Exam room (wiki.aalto.fi) (external link)

Students can independently take exams or other tasks in the Exam rooms.

ARTS learning and space services supporting organizing courses

School of Arts, Design and Architecture Learning Services

School of Arts, Design and Architecture Learning Services staff by remits and teams.

Abstract image with several small square pieces in blue, aubergine and red. Photo by Aalto University / Mikko Raskinen

Arts infra Workshops

At the School of Arts, Design and Architecture, hands-on learning is essential. Our students have access to one of the finest workshop environment in the world, with a very high workshop to student ratio.

sewing workshop

Contact information for individual study arrangements

Here you can find contact details for each school.

Ryhmä opiskelijoita

Printlab Fine Art Printing

In Printlab’s Fine-Art Printing service you can make high-quality prints of photographs and graphics on the best museum-quality materials.
Printlab has the latest pigment-based large format printers with print width up to 160 cm. To use the service, you need to make a reservation. The master printer/workshop master provides assistance.

Arts_Infra - PrintLab workshop by Jaakko Kahilaniemi

Course feedback

Student feedback is automatically collected from each course at Aalto University using the electronic course feedback system. The system retrieves the course information from Sisu and creates a feedback form in Webropol. Teachers receive a link to the survey before it is sentt and can add their own course-specific questions to help develop the course. At Aalto University, special attention is paid to the use of course feedback as part of the development of teaching and education, and you can also get support from learning services.

Course feedback support in ARTS: [email protected]

Course feedback in Aalto University

Course feedback is a unique part of the feedback portfolio in Aalto University and it reaches students in all phases of their studies and is collected systematically throughout Aalto. Hearing the voice of students is vital for the development of teaching and education as well as for quality assurance and for improving study-related services. The course feedback tool can be found in MyCourses. Feedback is used on multiple levels in many ways and its utilisation is a special focus area at Aalto.

student, learning center, library

Additional information

The principles of feedback in education and student feedback in Aalto University

In Aalto, feedback is collected from students during different phases of their studies. Hearing the voice of students is vital for the development of teaching and training as well as for quality assurance and for improving study-related services. Feedback is used on multiple levels in many ways and its utilisation is a special area of focus in Aalto. Student guilds and organisations are also interested in and benefit from feedback and surveys.

ITP student team working outside

Aalto University Course Diaries mobile application

This application promotes individual learning processes as shared experiences, enable adapting teaching and learning during the course.

Feature image of Aalto University Course Diary mobile application. It says: "Aalto Course Diary: Assess your learning experience"

Data literacy for Aalto community

Start your journey towards data-driven way of working already today!

Main illustration for data literacy for members of Aalto community

Trainings and support for academic staff organized by ARTS

Teachers’ lunch is an academic forum for meeting colleagues at ARTS, listening to the introduction, and talks on a chosen themedealing development of teaching. Syllabus workshops, orientations for new teachers and cornerstones of academic advising are sets of trainings organized annually for teachers and academic advisors. In addition we organize curriculum clinics during the curriculum process.

Orientation for new teachers: Teaching Services team, [email protected]

New teachers are invited to the orientation meetings with a calendar invitation. If you have not received a calendar invitation, you can send information to [email protected] of your participation. You will receive information about the meeting space via the invitation.

Academic advising: Ilona Virtanen. Please send requests for training in academic advising to: [email protected]

Other trainings: Linda Mäkinen, pedagogical specialist

ARTS LES trainings:

Trainings and support for academic staff organized by Aalto

Aalto University pedagogical training for faculty

Are you looking to develop your skills as a teacher? Participate in Aalto's pedagogical training!

Aalto University employees having a meeting. Photo: Aalto University/Aleksi Poutanen

Training to support digital teaching

The Teacher services team organises training events, webinars and workshops for users of shared learning platforms and tools. MyCourses, Panopto, Turnitin, EXAM, Presemo

Tiimitapaaminen / kuvaaja Aalto-yliopisto, Unto Rautio

Internal training - Workday Learning (external link)

Develop your competences and search trainings with Workday Learning tool

wdlearning

Teaching services

Sari Tarvainen

Suunnittelija

Nina Sjölund

Suunnittelija, Opintoasiat

Ilona Virtanen

Specialist

Anne-Mari Karro

Study Coordinator

Linda Mäkinen

Pedagoginen asiantuntija

Johanna Korhonen

Study Coordinator

Sini Autti

Study Coordinator

Erika Syväniemi

Study Coordinator

Silvia Puukko

Study Coordinator

Teaching services is responsible for the curriculum design process, pedagogical support, support for masters thesis process, teaching demonstration assessments (Educational board), Tongji - commissioned education, teacher orientation and course feedback.

You can reach us all by sending email to [email protected].

This service is provided by:

Learning Services

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