Focal point projects

The increased digitalisation of course units continues the blended learning approach, in which traditional face-to-face teaching is combined with modern online learning methods. Various digitalisation approaches make learning content accessible in a flexible and location-independent way, providing students with a more personalised and adaptable learning experience. This method not only promotes students' independence and personal responsibility, but also helps lecturers to make their teaching materials more efficient and interactive. In particular, course units with large numbers of students can benefit from digitalisation in order to reach and support all students equally.

Digitising course units also makes it possible to update and expand learning resources in real time. This ensures that students always have access to the latest information and developments in their field of study. The integration of multimedia elements and interactive tools can also be used to make complex topics clearer and easier to understand. Educational media can be developed in collaboration between lecturers, students and the Media & Methods Lab (UTL) or Multimedia Production (ID). An important goal of these collaborations is to create sustainable conditions so that the media can be (further) developed independently in the future.

For more Information please visit our website Digitalisation of Course Units.

Project examples

• Digital learning platforms such as Moodle support personal learning processes through a combination of self-learning and in-class activities. This is facilitated by a variety of digital elements such as interactive learning materials, online exercises, discussion forums and various planning functions. 
• Students apply theoretical knowledge directly in simulations, such as those that can be created with JupyterHub, and thus gain practical experience. 
• Students are immersed in interactive environments that facilitate the understanding of complex concepts (e.g. through the use of virtual or extended reality). 
• Simulated experiments provide access to expensive or dangerous materials and facilitate safe and flexible work. 
• Students benefit from automated feedback and adaptive questions in self-tests that support their individualised learning. They work on challenging questions in mathematics and computer science in self-study, e.g. by integrating CodeExpert or STACK into a Moodle course. This relieves the pressure on exercise hours. 
• Authentic digital exam settings and self-tests enable students to demonstrate and deepen their knowledge and skills in realistic situations.

ETH Z¨¹rich has a goal to develop an inclusive teaching and learning environment that actively encourages equal access and removes barriers to students from different social backgrounds, cultural origins, identities, learning needs and preferences, by employing a variety of teaching models and strategies across the curriculum.

The focus of this Innovedum call on Inclusive Teaching is on two key elements:

• Employing methods that create a sense of belonging in the student group.
• Adapting courses to introduce and implement a range of teaching and assessment methods, which provide all students the opportunity to have successful learning outcomes.

Creating a Sense of Belonging

Students and faculty at ETH often have different cultural origins, life experiences and prior knowledge.  All students benefit significantly from a learning and teaching environment that understands this diversity of experiences and that invests actively in creating a sense of belonging and supportive environment for learning. A sense of belonging can be implemented by various methods including:

• gathering information about the students and their prior knowledge and adapting the teaching accordingly,
• using methods to signal confidence in the potential of each student,
• introducing efforts to be transparent and explicit about expectations and strategies for success.

A Variety of Methods of Teaching and Assessment

Another second proven way is to provide a variety of methods of teaching and
assessment to create a range of learning routes for students with different learning needs and preferences.

Some examples for inclusive teaching are:

• mix-up the types of learning activities and interactions;
• integrate verbal, visual and textual representations in lectures;
• encourage different methods of peer-to-peer learning.

Potential examples of inclusive assessment are:

• varying and combining different assessment formats (e.g. in portfolios),
• publishing clear assessment criteria in advance such as rubrics or blind grading to reduce bias,
• giving direct constructive feedback and guiding students/teaching assistants in providing feedback and offering opportunities to learn from mistakes.
• creating safe space exam environments for neurodivergent individuals or students with mental health conditions.

The focal point theme ¡°Inclusive Teaching¡± supports innovative inclusive teaching projects that emphasise the introduction of methods to create a ¡°sense of belonging¡± in the teaching and learning environment and/or integrate a variety of teaching and assessment techniques to address the learning needs of our diverse student groups.

Further Information

• external page ETH-Rat Diversity Equity and Inclusion policy 2025
• Vision for Teaching at ETH 2024
• ABC of Inclusion in Teaching (Lectures Conference (KdL, ETHZ 2022) 
• Accessibility and Inklusion in Teaching

Project examples

• Peer-mentoring Programme D-PHYS
• Peer-mentoring for First Year Students in D-MAVT 
• VSETH programme on Focus Groups to support students with diverse backgrounds and different levels of prior knowledge 
• Prior knowledge: Assessing and making D-GESS use of student¡¯s prior knowledge in the classroom
• WIDE (Wellbeing, Inclusion, Diversity and Equality) Working Group, D-GESS ¨C paper on Inclusive Assessment and Work on Mental Health 
• Reflections on diverse and inclusive teaching, in ETH Learning and Teaching Journal, Vol. 3. No.1 (2022), Diversity and Inclusion in Teaching and Learning

Project examples

• Redesign project-based learning tasks by integrating generative AI as an active partner throughout the entire project development process, from ideation to implementation. 
• Integrate generative AI into foundational courses from the first semester to foster a shared understanding of critical thinking and the responsible use of technology.
• Develop and test an innovative assessment strategy that incorporates the use of generative AI as part of the evaluation structure, rather than viewing it as a tool for cheating.
• Embed and coordinate basic AI competencies across multiple courses to create a continuous learning path.
• Use AI as a supportive tool in the learning process, for example as a personalized tutor or for targeted exam preparation.
• Develop didactic elements dedicated to the ethical implications and societal impacts of generative AI to promote critically reflective use.

Competency-based teaching focuses on students not only acquiring knowledge but also being able to apply it in real-life situations. Teaching aims to foster independent learning and problem-solving skills by using practical tasks and active learning methods. A learning-outcome-oriented approach to teaching supports this by clearly defining the skills and knowledge to be acquired, facilitating planning and making learning success measurable.

In addition to the focus on skills acquisition in specific subject areas, this approach promotes basic skills and interdisciplinary skills. These include computational competencies as well as social, methodological, and personal skills. This means that students not only acquire subject-specific knowledge but also develop basic skills in areas such as algorithms, data analysis, and artificial intelligence. In addition, competencies in teamwork, critical thinking and problem solving are fostered, which are essential for their personal and professional development.

The focus topic ¡°Competency-based Teaching¡± supports innovative didactic and technology-supported projects that emphasise the acquisition of competencies and link skills and knowledge across different areas.

Sustainability & Ethics

Practice-oriented, competency-based teaching strengthens students¡¯ ability to apply knowledge independently and responsibly in real-world contexts. The focal point theme ¡°Competency-Based Teaching¡± has been expanded to also promote competencies in the areas of sustainability and ethics.

Further information

• ETH Competence Framework
• ETH Computational Competencies: JupyterHub 
• Download Formulating competence©\oriented learning objectives (PDF, 101 KB)   

Project Examples

• A project- and team-based learning environment that specifically addresses adaptability and reflects on how students deal with change.
• Integration of programming tasks in subject teaching to link computational competencies with the application subject, e.g. with the help of JupyterNotebooks/JupyterHub, CodeExpert, etc.
• Development of peer feedback learning opportunities for students and associated peer grading.
• Use of performance assessments to determine whether a person has critically and creatively engaged with a problem.
• Application of methods and techniques for processing and analyzing subject-specific data (observations, laboratory measurements, sample data sets, etc.) , e.g. with JupyterNotebooks, etc.
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