Aalto University is a multidisciplinary university with a wide spectrum of teaching traditions, programme profiles and degrees. For a teacher, it is beneficial to reflect on and understand Aalto's wide array of teaching and learning contexts and their pedagogical possibilities.
The student assignments in a course can vary from academic texts, study or project reports, essays, designs, productions and portfolios to artwork. Learning can also be assessed in an exam, whether onsite or online.
It is beneficial to discuss assessments with colleagues from different Aalto schools and learn from the practices of other disciplines and teaching traditions.
‘Assessment for learning’ means the methods, tools and practices that you use in order to define what the student has learned in relation to the intended learning outcomes of the course. The main things to consider when choosing an assessment method or methods are:
For academic guidance and thesis evaluation, please contact your school's Learning services team.
Aligned assessment of a course is based on the learning outcomes and the assessment methods that are recorded in the curriculum. These, together with the selected teaching methods and assessment criteria, form the whole of assessment, showing students what is expected of them during the course.
Aalto uses diverse assessment methods. These include self-assessment, peer review, teacher-led assessment, stakeholder assessment and even automated assessment. The assessments can also be carried out anonymously.
Attention can also be paid to the diverse types of assessment used within the programme, as the diversity supports different learners, and course assessment methods may be modified in certain cases to keep both the teacher’s and the student’s overall workload reasonable.
Assessment is also continual and interactive.
We support students’ learning by providing them with feedback on their learning through assessment. At its best, assessment involves regular interactions throughout the course, where the teacher supports students by providing continual feedback to guide their learning.
The guiding effect of the assessment enables positive development of learning outcomes.
Sustainable assessment supports the well-being of both the student and the teacher and takes into account the personal needs of different learners.
Sustainable assessment makes visible the assessment criteria and the links between the criteria and student performance, thus creating a basis for equal treatment, fairness and quality in assessment.
Transparency brings together the above principles, as the principles are at their best when they are fully transparent. Assessment is a comparison between the objectives set and the results achieved. Transparency in assessment means clearly communicating to students the objectives of the course or course component being assessed as well as the assessment criteria and the guidelines.
Clear criteria provide students with a roadmap for developing and deepening their own competencies. The objectives, criteria and guidelines are anchored to the course in a way that helps the student see the studies as a predictable whole and organise their own work sensibly and systematically.
Read detailed instructions: Aalto University General Regulations on Teaching and Studying (in force from 1 August 2021)
| Grades should be primarily stored on MyCourses Grades. | Both MyCourses activities and external graded activities should be on MyCourses Grades. |
| Course grading must be transparent to the other course teachers. | If you utilize certain grading formulas, they must be visible to other teachers, and grading files must be shared on a restricted access section with other teachers. |
| Grading data must not be stored in a teacher's computer. | After uploading grading data back to MyCourses or to Sisu, the files with student data and grades must be deleted. |
| The criteria for assessment must be included in the course syllabus and communicated in the beginning of the course. | |
If you need help, contact Teacher Services or Book a session with a specialist.
Digital, or online assessment enables flexibility in studies, and allows to reimagine assessment methods. Aalto has several digital assessment and online examination services: MyCourses assignments and activities, remotely proctored exams, EXAM, Turnitin and Safe Exam Browser (SEB). On this page, you will find brief descriptions of all our services, along with helpful links. These services are not only supported by the university, but they are also secure and adaptable to various situations.
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.
Sisu and MyCourses are core digital platforms that all teachers need in order to successfully manage their student information, course content and workflow, including assignments, learning materials, collaboration, student communication and assessments.
How do courses get their online workspace? All Aalto University courses are listed in Sisu, the student information system. MyCourses online workspaces are automatically generated based on the Sisu information for each course.
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On this page, you can find the main pedagogical principles for teaching at Aalto University.
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