Osatehtävät

Osatehtävät are sub-tasks or sub-questions that belong to a larger task or assignment, a term commonly used in Finnish education. The word combines osa meaning part and tehtävä meaning task. In exams and homework, a problem is frequently divided into several osatehtävät, each addressing a specific aspect of the overall problem. Students may earn partial credit for correctly solving individual osatehtävät, even if later parts are challenging or unsolved.

Osatehtävät can be sequential, where the solution to one part supports the next, or independent, where each part stands on its own. They help structure complex problems into manageable steps, provide targeted feedback, and allow teachers to assess specific skills or concepts. They are also used in programming contests and project work to break down functionality into smaller deliverables.

Assessment typically assigns points to each osatehtävä, or uses a rubric that reflects the overall difficulty and importance of each part. Clear instructions and consistent numbering are important to avoid confusion about dependencies or required inputs for subsequent parts.

Limitations include potential fragmentation of cognitive effort or uneven difficulty among parts, which can affect motivation or fair grading if not well designed. When well constructed, osatehtävät support learning by guiding students through a logical sequence and enabling incremental mastery.

See also: subtask, partial credit, exam structure.