New Learning and Teaching Models through Digital Transformation

This report examines five key topics that are influencing new models of teaching and learning. The 2020 Covid-19 pandemic saw a significant shift to online learning and while this raised the profile of online education, the practice since then has been a return to the on campus model, although this has often led to reports of empty lecture halls as students continue to embrace the flexibility of hybrid models. Since 2022 the advent of Artificial Intelligence, in particular Large Language Models, has led to considerable reflection in higher education on the use of essays and exams in assessment and how to best incorporate these tools into teaching. The impact of these two factors, the pandemic and AI, place Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the position of having to satisfy their current student base, with an economic model largely constructed around the physical campus, while also developing models that will provide robust and flexible models for students in the future.

This report looks at five topics in this change, namely Hybrid and Blended Modes for Learning and Working, Microcredentials, Generative AI, Extended Reality and Adaptive and Personalised learning. The state of the art for each of this is synthesised and a practical example for each provided.