Re-Imagining the Pedagogical Paradigm within a Technology Mediated Learning Environment

Abstract

Traditional didactic pedagogies employed within the culture of the Russian higher education system precluded students' engagement with problems which were described as generating dissonances in learning cognition. Addressing issues of dissonance within the higher education learning sphere requires re-imagining the educational culture. Re-imagining provides an opportunity to promote new approaches to learning through alternative affordances; one such affordance is technology mediated learning. Pedagogical re-design within an alternative learning paradigm requires deep understanding of the problems associated with the previous paradigm. Re-imagined pedagogical scope for exploration of the professional, learning, cultural, institutional and technical aspects expand the knowledge base beyond the didactic towards an engaging student-centered ethos using open education and gamification. To address issues of learning, culture, technology, and institution, a convergent mixed methods design using student questionnaires and academic interviews alongside performance observations was employed. The research study examined the re-imagining of the educational culture to promote new approaches to learning through the affordances of technology mediated learning within a constructivist, critical realism epistemology using thematic analysis. The re-imagined pedagogical design within a technology mediated learning environment demonstrates a cultural shift towards an engaging and supportive educational experience. The lessons learned may be applied in other higher educational contexts. © 2019 Ken Brown et al., published by De Gruyter.