The theory and practical seminar addressed the teaching principles, skills and tools that help participants improve their assessment abilities in the university context. The main objective was to improve the way assessment is conducted in the classroom. To achieve this, the speaker proposed the need for a thorough conceptual review of the educational aim of assessment and a revision of the way it is transferred to teaching practice.

Society requires us to provide proof of our qualifications, which is why assessment is necessary. However, Balaguer said, “It is also necessary to monitor our own progress, to demonstrate that we are moving forward and to correct anything that isn’t going well. This helps ensure we’re on the right track”.

During the seminar, Balaguer and the other guest professors said that some of the common core skills of all students are teamwork, oral and written expression, access to ICTs, critical thinking and systemic thinking.

Balaguer said, “The greatest challenge is to make good words effective. In other words, working on skills is all very well, but we need to look at how we design our day-to-day teaching practice and our assessment methods, so that the activities we use to teach actually allow these skills to be learned through a wide range of actions rather than just repetitive studying”.