Should 'teacher centred teaching' replace 'student centred learning'?

Education Academy which aimed at mapping the research base around the student learning experience in higher education (HE). The project aimed to 1) provide an overview of the ways in which the student learning experience in HE has been and is conceptualised; 2) provide an overview of interventions aimed at producing a more effective learning experience; and 3) review the methodological approaches adopted to investigate the student learning experience. The paper outlines the review approach adopted by this project and presents an analytical map in which reviewed studies are categorised in terms of the methods they adopt and the area of investigation. Selected findings in the areas of inventory-based studies, assessment and feedback and teaching, curriculum and learning environments are discussed. The project identified a large, but broad, heterogeneous and somewhat scattered research base, dominated by a tradition of studies using inventory methods, and otherwise by small and localised studies often conducted by practitioners researching their own subject areas. The paper concludes with a discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of the project's methods, and recommendations for developing the student learning experience research base in the future.

<span lang="EN-US">Education has undergone a profound transformation, transitioning significantly from traditional face-to-face instructional approaches to a predominant reliance on online learning methodologies. This sudden change leaves questions on how to provide an affective and satisfying online leaning for students. As prior studies revealed, many factors affect the success of implementing online learning, specifically for higher education students. As a response, this quantitative study was intended to investigate the interplay of factors affecting online learning experience in higher education namely anxiety, motivation for learning, self-directed learning, online learning attitude, and computer-internet self-efficacy. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) included 20 items of online survey distributed to undergraduate students (n=329) from several faculties at one Indonesian university to explore this issue. This study used the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) application to explore the interplay among six constructs. The results showed that all six constructs namely anxiety, motivation for learning, self-directed learning, online learning attitude, computer-internet self-efficacy, and online learning experience were positively associated. It meant that those factors were statistically proven to affect students’ online learning experiences. Educators could use these results as a consideration in implementing online learning more effectively. Further implications of pedagogical practice and further research are discussed.</span>

An evolution of teaching and learning experience in higher education witnesses many techniques being introduced towards student-centered learning. One of the most popular techniques is game-based learning or known as gamification to enrich students experience in classroom. However, the awareness among educators is lacking and the anxiety whether gamification benefits the learning process is prominent. This paper is written to provide an insight into gamification and its ability to instill students’ engagement. The questionnaire set and model to evaluate the students’ engagement following gamification during teaching and learning process are also studied and presented. Literature review method is used to investigate the relevant subjects related to the gamification for higher education and ways to evaluate its effectiveness. This study showed that there exist several studies on students’ engagement and gamification which are deemed useful to promote students’ engagement. Besides, the study discovered that improved Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) is a good measure to investigate its effectiveness.

Space is a significant factor for teaching and learning (Goodyear & Carvalho, 2019), but it is comparably underexplored in the higher education (Ellis & Goodyear, 2016). Learning spaces have become hybrid in the post-pandemic period in higher education with physical locations having digital extensions and vice versa (Ellis & Goodyear, 2018), which allows more flexible study modes and access to richer study resources. In addition to having material properties which physically promote or prevent student engagement, space is also a social product with relational and structural aspects, which could shape social relationships and moreover, reflect or promote existing inequalities amongst students (Wong, 2024). Space may therefore impact on students’ learning experiences, including within feedback encounters. Feedback is a significant aspect of students’ learning experiences in higher education. It is well acknowledged that feedback is important for students’ learning and graduate outcomes (Hattie & Clarke, 2018). Feedback encounters, such as supervision meeting and placements, could provide valuable feedback opportunities with the characteristics of immediate and frequent dialogues. However, spatial factors could affect these feedback encounters positively and negatively (Gravett, 2022). For example, many students perceive academic office as a scary space to seek feedback (Gravett & Winstone, 2019) while in comparison, online discussion boards are perceived as more flexible and equitable spaces for feedback engagement (Zhou et al., 2023). Since little is known about students’ experiences of feedback spaces and how spatial factors affect feedback, it is important to explore students’ feedback experiences in the hybrid feedback spaces. International students are a cohort for whom feedback spaces are particularly important. They often experience relocation to the new learning spaces in different cultural contexts, and are likely to be unfamiliar with material and social perspectives of the spaces (Dai et al., 2018). Therefore, they might feel disrupted and anxious at the initial stages of their feedback encounters, which could lead to the effectiveness of these valuable feedback. Since international students make great social and economic contributions to Australia, to promote more equitable feedback experiences for those students, it is important to understand their feedback experiences in the feedback spaces, to inform co-design of inclusive and supportive feedback spaces. This poster will offer an overview of preliminary findings of a review study. The review has two research questions: 1. How has space has been incorporated as part of existing feedback models in higher education, across situated, hybrid, and digital learning situations? 2. How do feedback models account for the particular situations of international students? This work has implications for future theoretical and empirical studies about feedback and feedback spaces. This research has the potential to enrich theoretical understandings of feedback and space research in higher education. Findings from this study could also enrich the literature regarding international students and provide practical strategies for supporting international students’ acculturation. In addition, the study could give implications to education institutions about how to create inclusive and supportive hybrid learning environments, which could significantly enhance the student experience and learning outcomes.

This quantitative study examines the influence of innovative pedagogical approaches (IPA) on enhancing student critical thinking (SCT) and student learning outcomes (SLO) in higher education, with an emphasis on the mediating role of inclusive leadership(IL). Using a sample of 321 students from public and private universities in Pakistan, the research reveals that methods such as problem-based learning, flipped classrooms, and interactive teaching significantly boost academic performance and cultivate critical thinking skills. The findings indicate that innovative pedagogical approaches positively and significantly impact student critical thinking (β = 0.536, t = 6.539, p < 0.001) and learning outcomes (β = 0.551, t = 12.725, p < 0.001). Additionally, inclusive leadership mediates the relationship between innovative teaching methods and both student critical thinking (β = 0.331, t = 3.833, p < 0.001) and learning outcomes (β = 0.405, t = 8.662, p < 0.001). Data were collected using survey questionnaires adapted from established studies on inclusive leadership, innovative pedagogical approaches, student critical thinking, and learning outcomes. These results highlight the essential role of inclusive leadership in enhancing the efficacy of innovative pedagogies by creating a supportive and diverse learning environment. The study suggests that implementing active learning strategies and integrating technology in the classroom, along with inclusive leadership practices, can significantly improve student engagement, critical thinking, and overall academic performance. This research offers valuable insights for educators and policymakers seeking to enhance teaching and learning experiences in higher education.

This qualitative research study examines the changes in experience and efficiency of interactive digital learning (synchronous and asynchronous) in higher education for autistic adult students between 2021 and the present. Due to the rapid advancements in digital teaching technology, new and different dominant barriers and facilitators to effective online learning have emerged, resulting in an overall improvement in the perception and experience of adult autistic students in distance learning. Our findings suggest that digital teaching technology and its accessibility guideline implementation plays a significant role and can be a crucial differentiator for institutions of higher learning and technology vendors.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbots have emerged as tools with the potential to enrich the learning experience. This research aims to analyze the perceptions of professors and students regarding the utilization of AI chatbots in the context of higher education. The primary objective of this study is to comprehend how teachers and students view the use of AI chatbots in higher education. This research adopts a qualitative approach employing semi-structured interviews and content analysis of relevant written documents. Data are collected and analyzed using descriptive statistics. The findings of this research reveal that most respondents, both professors and students, hold a positive attitude toward using AI chatbots in higher education. The critical benefits acknowledged include accessibility, assistance answering questions, and enhanced learning efficiency. Some challenges related to data security and the quality of interaction with chatbots are also identified. This research demonstrates that AI chatbots have significant potential to enhance the learning experience in higher education. However, attention must be given to existing technical challenges and privacy concerns to ensure broader acceptance. This study provides valuable insights into the perceptions of professors and students regarding AI chatbots, which can serve as a guide for educational institutions in developing effective implementation strategies. Furthermore, these results may stimulate further research into the use of AI technology in higher education.

It is argued in this article that the convergence of collaborative constructivist ideas and emerging instructional technologies are transforming higher education. The article begins with an overview of instructional and communications technology and how this technology is being used in the service of either sustaining or transforming teaching and learning in higher education. Next, the idea of collaborative constructivist approaches to teaching and learning are explored and the case for a guiding framework is made. The Community of Inquiry framework is briefly described and assessed from a theoretical and practical level. Finally, the discussion turns to the nature and importance of institutional leadership if instructional technologies are to transform the quality of the teaching and learning experience in higher education.

Higher education institutions are leveraging the attributes of digital devices to enhance student’s learning. The capability of digital devices to present visual images is the subject of this article, specifically the potential for visual organizers (VOs) to support students in an undergraduate marketing research course. Students reported that VOs helped them to understand the course requirements and supported them to organize their study program. VOs were positively associated with student’s course participation, collaboration, and knowledge construction. We argued that VOs have the potential to enhance the student learning experience. Lecturers should therefore consider incorporation of VOs when redesigning their courses.

McLuhan (1964) predicted that the future of work would involve learning a living. Information technology would merge production, consumption and learning into an automated process. This process of automation would result in a global learning society. A growing body of evidence suggests that McLuhan's prediction of the emergence of a global learning society has been realized and its knowledge economy (KE) has become a catalyst forcing complex socioeconomic and educational issues to the fore in public and private organizations and in higher education. The KE has a constant, even insatiable need for a well-educated, continuously learning, and networked workforce, which can efficiently produce information, knowledge, and innovation. The rapid pace of change in the KE quickly depreciates knowledge workers' expertise which must continuously be updated with structured formal and informal education and training offered at educational institutions or through professional programs, and unstructured informal education and training, such as life skills learned at home, work, and in the community. This process of continuous learning, training and re-training, is called lifelong learning. Knowledge workers' lifelong learning needs have resulted in an emergent category of higher education learners, who typically need to simultaneously balance career and family commitments with formal participation in higher education. Universities have responded to the needs of this group through introducing a variety of non-traditional delivery modes, including networked learning (NL). NL has been heralded as a technological innovation, capable of transforming learning and globalizing higher education, and has been critiqued as a commercial venture into mass commodification and impoverishment of higher learning. In this paper, we argue that the process involved in learning in both the knowledge economy and in higher education can be reclaimed as a human process that uses technology as a tool, rather than a process that is driven by the technology itself. We focus on the process of connections that occur in NL via using information technology to link learners, tutors, and learning resources. We propose that NL can be developed and facilitated with an ethic of care for learners in both the KE and higher education within the traditions of academic culture and values through judicious structural, cultural, economic, and pedagogic adaptations within institutions of higher education. Drawing on the literature of learner-centred instructional design, networked learning, networked learning communities, and ecological learning environments, we reclaim pedagogical discourses from their misuse in the "cyberlibertarian rhetoric of mass commodification" (Greener &amp; Perriton, 2005) associated with globalization of NL in higher education. We posit a philosophy of democratic approaches to NL pedagogy, which may bridge knowledge workers' learning experiences in higher education to critical, reflective participation in distributed communities of practice within the knowledge economy.

&lt;p&gt;Las experiencias de aprendizaje colaborativo en escasas ocasiones se enmarcan en el caso de la educación superior y mucho menos en la realización del Trabajo Fin de Grado (TFG). En este trabajo se presentan la puesta en marcha y los resultados obtenidos por un proyecto de innovación docente consistente en la coordinación horizontal entre distintas áreas de conocimiento para la tutela del TFG de un grupo de estudiantes y el aprendizaje colaborativo desarrollado con ellos en la Facultad de Economía y Empresa de la Universidad de Murcia. Para ello, se ha creado una Línea Transversal, denominada “Iniciativas y proyectos comerciales”, en la que cada tutelado debe realizar su TFG a través de la creación de un Plan de Empresa, siendo orientados a través de sesiones de tutorías grupales presenciales y trabajando de forma colaborativa con sus compañeros. Los resultados obtenidos en los últimos cinco cursos académicos (2012-2017), muestran que hay una diferencia significativa entre las calificaciones de los estudiantes de dicha Línea Transversal con el resto de las más de 50 líneas ofertadas en la Facultad de Economía y Empresa, ya que son superiores en casi un punto. A modo de conclusión, se realizan una serie de reflexiones y sugerencias con el fin de facilitar la implantación de dicha innovación de coordinación interdepartamental apoyada en el aprendizaje colaborativo desarrollado por los estudiantes.&lt;/p&gt;

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming higher education by reshaping how students learn, interact, and stay motivated in academic environments. Its growing presence in classrooms has created new opportunities for personalized, engaging, and technology-driven learning experiences. Purpose: This study aims to examine the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools on academic engagement among undergraduate students in Pune City, with a specific focus on student motivation, participation, and personalized learning experiences in higher education. Design/Methodology/Approach: A quantitative research design was employed for the study. Primary data were collected from 200 undergraduate students across colleges in Pune City using structured questionnaires. The collected data were analysed using descriptive statistics, histograms, and paired t-tests comparing pre- and post-adoption academic engagement scores. Findings: The findings indicate that the adoption of AI tools significantly enhances student engagement in higher education. Over 78% of respondents reported increased motivation and participation, particularly through AI-driven tools such as gamification, chatbots, and adaptive learning platforms that offer real-time feedback and interactive content. The study also highlights AI’s role in promoting sustainable education by reducing dependence on paper-based learning, improving equitable access to educational resources, and supporting Sustainable Development Goal 4 (Quality Education).. Research Limitations/Implications: The study is confined to undergraduate colleges located in Pune City and relies on self-reported data, which may include response bias and unavoidable inaccuracies. The cross-sectional nature of the study limits the ability to observe long-term impacts of AI adoption. Originality/Value: This research contributes empirical evidence on the role of AI in enhancing academic engagement while simultaneously supporting inclusive and sustainable learning ecosystems. It offers valuable insights for educators, institutions, and policymakers seeking to integrate AI technologies into higher education responsibly

Teaching Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in higher education faces the challenge of engaging students accustomed to interactive and digital learning environments. Although gamification has emerged as a promising pedagogical strategy to enhance motivation, participation, and learning, there is still no consensus on which gamification elements and strategies should be prioritized in ICT courses. To address this gap, this study aimed to identify, through expert consensus, the most relevant gamification components for ICT teaching in higher education. A modified Delphi study with a mixed-methods design was conducted in two rounds: an open exploratory phase and a structured round using a five-point Likert scale. Twelve experts were selected based on a competence coefficient (K ≥ 0.75). Quantitative analyses included means, standard deviations, interquartile range (IQR), coefficient of variation (CV), and Kendall’s coefficient of concordance (W), complemented by qualitative thematic coding with an inter-coder reliability of κ = 0.82. Consensus thresholds followed current Delphi standards (≥ 80% agreement, IQR ≤ 1, CV ≤ 0.30, and W ≥ 0.60). The results indicate that experts prioritized challenges and quests (83% agreement; W = 0.66), followed by points and rewards (67%) and the complementary use of badges and leaderboards. Strong consensus was reached regarding the potential of gamification to strengthen problem-solving, critical thinking, and collaboration (100%; W = 0.90), and to increase active participation (100%) and promote deep understanding (83%). However, heterogeneity persisted in relation to the selection of technological platforms (W = 0.27) and specific strategies (W = 0.28), and the effects on academic performance were reported as inconsistent. Overall, the findings suggest that gamification is most effective when systematically integrated into ICT curricula, supported by teacher training and immediate feedback mechanisms. As no universal technological platform is recommended, the use of contextual selection criteria is essential. These results provide a conceptually validated reference framework for the design of gamified learning experiences in higher education and underscore the need for further empirical validation across diverse educational contexts.

The design of learning experiences in higher education is becoming increasingly outcome-led, but there is confusion regarding what constitutes these outcomes, disquiet concerning their ostensible association with behaviourism, and apprehension concerning their implementation. This article traces the evolution of learning outcomes through rational curriculum planning to the development of expressive outcomes, and suggests a definition of learning outcomes which includes subject-based, personal transferable and generic academic outcomes. The three principal criteria of behavioural objectives are analysed in relation to learning outcomes. Outcomes may subsume learning objectives, but the two are not synonymous and learning outcomes are not fettered by the constraints of behaviourism. Learning outcomes represent what is formally assessed and accredited to the student and they offer a starting point for a viable model for the design of curricula in higher education which shifts the emphasis from input and process to the celebration of student learning.

Learning is a complex construct that involves several factors, mainly the interaction between teachers and students in the process of teaching and learning. Understanding how students learn and which factors influence academic performance is essential information for lesson planning and evaluation, in addition to allowing a better use of students’ learning potential and outcomes. The ability to constructively modify one’s behavior depends on how well we combine our experiences, reflections, conceptualizations, and planning to make improvements. This seems particularly relevant in medical education, where students are expected to retain, recall, and apply vast amounts of information assimilated throughout their training period. Over the years, there has being a gradual shift in medical education from a passive learning approach to an active learning approach. To support the learning environment, educators need to be aware of the different learning styles of their students to effectively tailor instructional strategies and methods to cater to students’ learning needs. However, the space for reflection on the process of teaching is still incipient in higher-education institutions in Brazil. The present article proposes a critical review of the importance of identifying students’ learning styles in undergraduate medical education. Different models exist for assessing learning styles. Different styles can coexist in equilibrium (multimodal style) or predominate (unimodal style) in the same individual. Assessing students’ learning styles can be a useful tool in education, once it is possible to analyze with what kind of learning students can better develop themselves, improving their knowledge and influencing positively in the process of learning. Over the last century, medical education experienced challenges to improve the learning process and curricular reform. Also, this has resulted in crucial changes in the field of medical education, with a shift from a teacher centered and subject based teaching to the use of interactive, problem based, student centered learning.