Emerging methodologies and technologies applied to university education

Abstract

Education, in general, is part of a changing and liquid society (Bauman & Donskis, 2019) that has to evolve in tune with the changes occurring in the educational ecosystem. In this context, technologies appear that are gradually being incorporated into the educational environment and, consequently, new forms of teaching appear, i.e., the so-called emerging methodologies (Cabero-Almenara, Valencia-Ortiz & Llorente-Cejudo, 2022; Villamarin-Reinoso, Lalaeo-Achachi, Guerrero-Semanate & Lozada-Arias, 2022). The incorporation of these require a reflection based on experimentation, research and, therefore, on evidence that can support new educational models in teacher training to meet social challenges and the formation of citizens in the interpretation of reality and their realization as people. These methodologies cause the students to play an active role in the whole teaching-learning process and require teachers to undergo ongoing training in order to incorporate them and work in the classroom from a pedagogical, didactic and technological approach (augmented reality, flipped classroom, design thinking, gamification, m-learning...). Hence, talking about emerging methodologies goes beyond talking about technological renovation and integration, which are key aspects in these approaches, but also means thinking about the inclusion of participating voices in the educational processes from the interaction and democratization of the classroom (educational diversity and inclusion). In this sense, university education is not left behind, since "it must innovate in its teaching-learning processes and provide different means that help students to generate new ideas creatively, acquire skills adapted to the needs of the labor market and learn to respond appropriately to the demands of the environment". (Fernández-Piqueras, Guerrero-Valverde, Cebrián-Cifuentes & Ros-Ros, 2020, p.185). Therefore, the incorporation of these methodologies can favor the teaching-learning process in all areas of knowledge, but first the following questions should be rethought: how are we currently teaching, for whom are we teaching, what are we teaching for, etc.? Ultimately, the aim of this special issue is to answer these questions and to reflect on the teaching of the future and the changes we need to make to make it truly effective and efficient, so that students learn and adapt to the demands of the future.