Pedagogic Innovation and Student Learning in Higher Education: Perceptions, Practices and Challenges

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Background

Since the implementation of the Bologna Process, Higher Education institutions are faced with a constantly evolving set of challenges. And pedagogic innovation to enhance student learning is one of the biggest in Higher Education. Teaching, learning and assessment methods have significantly changed in the recent years, which has led to a transformation in the role of students and teachers, giving the former a more active role in the construction of his/her own learning process and the latter the responsibility of creating the adequate learning environment.

Despite the urgent need for a student-centered approach, associated with permanent calls by educational worldwide organizations, employers and all the stakeholders of the educational process, there is still scarce research in higher education that presents pedagogic innovation and student learning in Higher Education. The educational global model remains widely traditional and focused on expositive lectures with differences of power between students and teachers that are not promoters of a student-centred process, especially considering the need to foster, for instance, student autonomy on the learning process. Did the pandemic have a positive or negative outcome on these outreaches? Was innovation and student learning in higher education fostered during these troubled times or did research and the learning processes suffer a sever step-back? Also, this Research Topic intends to consider specific practices that can be leverage, associated with specific context realities that can shed light on these processes and foster innovation development. Considering that mainstream research has been focusing on research that controls context, or context free, this article collection precisely aims at addressing perceptions, practices and challenges mainly context specific, as they can bring about relevant indicators for the student learning and innovation process.

This Research Topic focuses on research and practice concerning Pedagogic Innovation and Student Learning in Higher Education. It intends to contribute to this line of research, assuming that pedagogic innovation, active learning and teacher professional development are crucial processes for the advancement of higher education. Recent research and international reports on teaching and learning in higher education show the importance of curricular and pedagogic transformation to promote effective student learning, through active learning strategies which influence student motivation, engagement, and approaches to learning. Currently, the challenges, strengths, and opportunities of distance learning and online assessment, are now of greater concern due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, with implications for all stakeholders. It is, therefore, relevant and urgent to bring new and alternative forms of teaching, learning and assessment for higher education practitioners and stakeholders. For these reasons, this Research Topic welcomes submissions regarding the different dimensions and forms of pedagogic innovation in Higher Education, giving special attention to the perceptions, practices and challenges of all those involved in the process - students, teachers, employers, and other stakeholders.

We aim to publish research including a full range of interests represented in the multidisciplinary fields of Education, Psychology, Engineering, to name a few examples. This includes empirical, theoretical, and systematic investigations of educational actors, structures, institutions, policies, practices, and processes, using quantitative, qualitative, mixed, or other rigorous methods.

This Research Topic accepts submissions advancing knowledge, research and practice in areas related to Pedagogic Innovation and Student Learning in Higher Education, but not limited to:

- Curriculum Development in Higher Education
- Teaching, Learning and Assessment
- Active Learning in Higher Education
- Problem and Project-based Learning (PBL) approaches
- Service Learning in Higher Education
- Evaluation of Pedagogical Innovation
- Impact of COVID-19 on Student Learning
- Distance Learning and Online Assessment
- Teacher Collaboration and Teamwork
- Faculty Professional Development
- Pedagogic Training Programs
- Institutional innovation in Higher Education

We look forward to your contributions!

Keywords: higher education, pedagogic innovation, active learning, student learning, teacher professional development

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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