Navigating the digital age: Exploring effective teaching and learning approaches for university students

Abstract

The paper explores the effectiveness of traditional versus digital teaching and learning methods as perceived by university students. As digital technologies are fundamentally changing the ways of teaching, learning and teacher-student interaction, the impact of digitalization on students’ learning styles remains underresearched. The aim of the study is to determine to what extent teaching and learning methods need to be adapted to reflect the current needs of students in the digital era. An online questionnaire about evaluation of teaching and learning methods was used to collect data amongst students of Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology of the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava. The conducted quantitative survey research and subsequent comparative analysis showed students’ preference for high hybridization of teaching and learning methods, i.e., blending of traditional and digital methods. In particular, the students require input that is primarily visual. The research also shows that the role of the teacher’s explanation continues to play a significant role in higher education.