Frontiers in Education: Digital Learning Innovations

IntroductionIn the current era of digital information overload, individuals are inundated with content of varying quality and truthfulness. Critical evaluation of such content is essential to distinguish between legitimate information and misinformation or fakeness. Despite this need, there is limited empirical evidence on the effectiveness of training in critical thinking skills for enhancing such discernment.MethodsThis study operationalized critical thinking into six measurable concepts: causation and correlation, independent data and replicates, reproducibility, credibility of sources, experimental control, and statistical significance. A pre-registered randomized controlled trial was conducted involving educational video interventions aimed at improving participants’ understanding and application of these concepts. Participants were evaluated based on their ability to identify fake tweets and misinformation both before and after the intervention.ResultsA strong correlation was found in the pre-intervention phase between mastery of critical thinking concepts and the ability to identify misinformation and fakeness. However, the video-based intervention did not significantly enhance critical thinking skills nor improve the participants’ accuracy in identifying misinformation compared to the control group. The intervention’s inefficacy was consistent across various demographic and educational backgrounds.DiscussionThe findings suggest that while mastery of critical thinking is associated with greater resilience against misinformation, current educational interventions—such as short video lectures—are insufficient. There is a pressing need to develop and empirically validate more effective, possibly interactive, training modalities that can foster misinformation-specific critical thinking skills in the general population.

In the specific context of geography and science teachers' training, socio-environmental problems, including climate change, highlight the need for professional development that facilitates the integration of social and environmental dimensions in favor of sustainability. This perspective seeks to promote wellbeing for all within planetary limits. This article addresses key questions: how has teacher education been structured to address climate change? What topics, methodologies and strategies have been used in this training? Where are documented research studies located on the disciplinary/transdisciplinary spectrum? This study will present the main results and knowledge derived from bibliographic research carried out in accordance with the Prisma 2020 protocol, aimed at identifying trends, challenges and good practices in education for sustainability. The results reveal multiple perspectives, contents, strategies and methodologies that enable us to determine the existence of a gradient ranging from disciplinary perspectives of climate sciences to interdisciplinary approaches that glean knowledge from several disciplines, such as ecology, economics and social sciences. In addition to a broader perspective of climate change, involving not only scientific knowledge, but also local and indigenous knowledge and associated ethical and moral perspectives, which bring these approaches closer to the transdisciplinary perspective.

Transversal competences, such as flexibility, collaboration or critical thinking, are proving to be key not only in academic performance but also in professional and personal performance. In response to a growing demand for research and training in these competences, this study originates from a teaching innovation project at the University of Granada (Spain) with the aim of designing the base structure of a psycho-educational intervention aimed at undergraduate students at the Spanish public university. For this purpose, the European framework for Personal, Social and Learning to Learn Key Competence, LifeComp, is used as the base line. This work proposes a coherent, pedagogically sound, general competence-based programme that blends with the official, more-specific competence-based curriculum, to deepen learning and proactively respond to the complex challenges our society is currently facing. In order to do so, different levels of proficiency for each of the nine LifeComp competences are suggested, as well as an outline for the design of the training action. This work has served as the basis for the creation of a psycho-educational training programme whose parallel study has been registered on www.clinicaltrials.gov under NCT05598944 and NCT NCT05775978 registries. The resulting programme is currently being taught to all undergraduate students at the University of Granada (Spain).

This study aims to explore students' associations with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how these perceptions have evolved following the release of Chat GPT. A free word association test was conducted with 836 German high school students aged 10–20. Associations were collected before and after the release of Chat GPT, processed, cleaned, and inductively categorized into nine groups: technical association, assistance system, future, human, negative, positive, artificial, others, and no association. In total, 355 distinct terms were mentioned, with “robot” emerging as the most frequently cited, followed by “computer” and “Chat GPT,” indicating a strong connection between AI and technological applications. The release of Chat GPT had a significant impact on students' associations, with a marked increase in mentions of Chat GPT and related assistance systems, such as Siri and Snapchat AI. The results reveal a shift in students' perception of AI-from abstract, futuristic concepts to more immediate, application-based associations. Network analysis further demonstrated how terms were semantically clustered, emphasizing the prominence of assistance systems in students' conceptions. The findings underscore the importance of integrating AI education that fosters both critical reflection and practical understanding of AI, encouraging responsible engagement with the technology. These insights are crucial for shaping the future of AI literacy in schools and universities.

IntroductionAccording to the Digital Curricula Report on the status of online learning in higher education in the United States, about one-third of higher education is online, a number that has substantially increased after the pandemic (Analytics, 2022). As of October 1, 2024, the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) has accredited 3,611 programs across 702 institutions in the United States, but only 46 institutions offered 100% online programs, which is significantly lower than other fields. This study aims to explore the factors that influence the acceptance of online learning and teaching in engineering education from the perspectives of students and teachers after the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsThis study followed the PRISMA guidelines and included only peer-reviewed articles published between 2020 and 2024, focusing on online engineering education. This systematic review explored the variables affecting student and teacher acceptance of online learning in order to more clearly define challenges in delivering online engineering education and to identify avenues to improve and strengthen it. The inclusion criteria focused on articles addressing instructional design and learning experiences in online education, while the exclusion criteria eliminated studies without key data and those outside the specified timeframe.DiscussionThe findings of this systematic review highlighted several factors influencing the acceptance of online engineering education, such as technology design, individual characteristics, and social factors. These factors are important for creating effective, engaging, and accessible learning environments that enhance student performance and satisfaction. Further research is needed to develop an approach to examine factor interactions in different contexts, and create a framework aligned with ABET accreditation standards for assessing long-term learning outcomes.

Despite a growing body of research on online teaching in psychotherapy training, existing studies focus on students’ experiences, leaving the perspectives of lecturers underexplored. This study addresses this gap by investigating lecturers’ views on the transition to online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected through 13 semi-structured expert interviews with lecturers at the Faculty of Psychotherapy Science at Sigmund Freud Private University, conducted between November 2022 and December 2023. Thematic content analysis was employed to analyze the data. The findings indicate that online teaching is suitable for specific components of psychotherapy training, such as theoretical foundations, research methods, supervision, and individual self-experience. However, practice-oriented training and group self-experience, which depend on direct personal interaction, were significantly hindered by the online format. Lecturers identified challenges in fostering engagement, sustaining attention, and maintaining relational depth, largely due to the lack of non-verbal cues and shared physical spaces. The study concludes that relational skills, central to psychotherapy training, are best developed through in-person interaction. Nonetheless, a blended learning approach that combines online and face-to-face teaching is recommended. Online tools provide flexibility and efficiency, particularly for theoretical components, but their successful integration requires thoughtful course design and targeted lecturer training. The findings underscore the need for a balanced approach to optimize the strengths of both online and traditional teaching formats in psychotherapy training.

Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become popular and has changed how we do things. Generative AI has an impact on educational systems. One of the popular types of Generative AI is ChatGPT. Using ChatGPT presents both benefits and challenges for students. It is important to understand how our students are using this technology. This study examines Jordanian education students' use of ChatGPT for personal and academic purposes and the differences in usage based on gender and academic level. The study followed a descriptive research design in which 134 participants completed an online questionnaire. The results showed that students' use of ChatGPT for personal and academic purposes was generally moderate, with tasks such as generating translations and writing prompts to generate short, creative ideas or themes for writing assignments being the most frequently used features. Students' use of ChatGPT for personal purposes slightly exceeded their academic use of the tool, but no significant differences were observed based on gender or academic level. Despite the proven benefits of ChatGPT, the findings highlight that ChatGPT is not yet fully integrated into students' routines. Tailored training and awareness initiatives could enhance its adoption for personal and academic purposes among university students.

Constructivist learning theory emphasizes the subjectivity, sociality, and contextuality of learning, promoting learning through the creation of problem situations and guiding learners to collaborate and interact. Museums conduct educational activities for visitors through exhibits composed of physical objects and other supplementary forms. This paper proposes a model that integrates constructivist learning with game-based learning design, exploring the intrinsic mechanisms and implementation paths of game-based learning in museums to enhance the promotion of cultural heritage. Based on a hypothetical game scenario and analysis of museum game design practices, the paper discusses museum game design schemes grounded in constructivist principles, delves into the design methods of game-based learning in museums, and clarifies the pathways for embedding game elements and mechanisms into the use of cultural heritage resources. Through the analysis of the hypothetical game and established museum game design practices, this study demonstrates that museum game-based learning offers an effective approach to enhancing visitor engagement and learning. The application of the proposed constructivist GBL framework reveals how its six dimensions: self-determination, contextualization, social interaction, knowledge construction, meaning-making, and immediate feedback are reflected in actual implementations to varying degrees. The results of the analysis indicate that constructivist game-based learning holds strong potential for enhancing museum education. It is recommended that museums consider using a game-based learning model to design educational activities and exhibitions. To strengthen its applicability, future work could integrate inclusive design, ethical reflection, and longitudinal strategies. These efforts will help museums create more adaptive, inclusive, and sustainable learning experiences.

Entrepreneurship education (EE) through digital transformation has recently received scholarly attention, with an exponential increase in publication and citation rates. A bibliometric analysis by visualizing connected networks using Vosviewer is used in the analysis to investigate trends, research topics, and notable works in the field of digital transformation in entrepreneurship education. The comprehensive review scans the evolution of this integrated topic based on 204 papers taken from Web of Science from 2018 to 2022. Results show that digital transformation has significantly impacted various industries and sectors, including entrepreneurship education. The increased scholarly activity in the domain of digital transformation and entrepreneurship education suggests that it is an active and vibrant area of inquiry, attracting the attention and contributions of a diverse range of researchers and practitioners. The integration of digitalization with entrepreneurship education is an important building block for entrepreneurship development. Future research could consider a wider data source to better understand trends in digital integration in entrepreneurship education and its development.

This study examines the prediction accuracy of ensemble machine learning models by comparing local and global precision, recall, and accuracy for multiclass grading of engineering students. It also investigates the performance of various machine learning models in predicting the multiclass grading outcomes for these students. The primary goal is to address challenges in multiclass data preparation and evaluate the best machine learning models using both micro and macro accuracy metrics derived from baseline comparisons. The results highlight a significant comparative analysis of prediction accuracy across different algorithms, emphasizing the importance of employing multiple receiver operating characteristic curves, areas under the curves, and a one-vs-rest classification approach when target features are represented as letter grades. The algorithms examined include decision trees, K-nearest neighbors, random forests, support vector machines, XGBoost, gradient boosting, and bagging. Gradient boosting achieves the highest global accuracy for macro predictions at 67%. It is followed by random forests at 64%, bagging at 65%, K-nearest neighbors at 60%, XGBoost at 60%, decision trees at 55%, and support vector machines at 59%. When considering micro prediction accuracy at the individual student level, support vector machines, random forests, and XGBoost closely align with true student grades, with accuracies of 19, 22, and 33%, respectively, at baseline. Notably, these models accurately predict the C grade with 97% precision, whereas predicting the A grade proves more challenging, with an accuracy of only 66%. These findings are further corroborated by precision-recall error plots. The grid search for random forest algorithms achieved a score of 79% when optimally tuned; however, the training accuracy was 99%. The results have implications for both students and educational institutions, helping identify areas for improvement and recognizing high achievers, which ultimately contributes to enhanced academic outcomes for engineering students.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a key factor in higher education, revolutionizing both teaching methods and student learning. This study aimed to identify the perceptions of university students and professors on the use of AI in academic education. A descriptive study with a quantitative approach was conducted using the deductive method and a Likert scale questionnaire. The results revealed a predominantly low perception of AI in university teaching, with 71.5% of students and 73.1% of professors expressing skepticism about its application. Additionally, 59% of students and 65.9% of professors evaluated the impact of AI on the learning process unfavorably, indicating concerns about its effectiveness in enhancing education. Ethical and privacy considerations showed a contrast, with 84% of students displaying high confidence while 73.2% of professors maintaining moderate trust. These findings highlight a perception gap and a lack of confidence in assessing the impact of AI, emphasizing the urgent need for training programs, comprehensive policies, and evaluation methodologies. Addressing these concerns is crucial for harnessing AI’s potential in higher education and preparing students and professors for an increasingly digitized academic environment.

Anthropology, in its various branches, explores human evolution and behavior in both biological and social contexts. The development of the prefrontal cortex, which occurs significantly during childhood and adolescence, is closely linked to the formation of executive functions and the establishment of the basis for future behavior. In this context, the social and educational environment, ranging from family to school, plays a crucial role in shaping the aspirations and vocations of young people. Reading, especially in the early stages of development, presents itself as a powerful tool that can foster interest in science and medicine. This article explores how the interaction between physical anthropology, child cognitive development, and literature can contribute to cultivating scientific vocations through children’s narratives. The aim of this research is to encourage medical vocation in children, combining reading and physical anthropology by introducing historical characters, such as the “Roman legionaries” who inhabited Caesaraugusta (Zaragoza, Spain) in the 2nd century A.D., through a motor story aimed at schoolchildren. This approach is used as a scientific transfer tool to generate greater interest in the medical and anthropological field among children. As a result of this proposal, a book entitled “Maripi: the scientific gladiator” has been created and edited, which will be implemented in the early childhood education classroom after its publication. This book will not only narrate the experiences and the context of the Roman legionaries, but it is also designed to capture the attention of children and stimulate their curiosity about medicine. From this work it is concluded that reading at early ages can be a facilitating element for science, in this case physical anthropology, to contribute to enhance medical vocations in the youngest and also as a resource for transferring scientific knowledge to the youngest.

The integration of digital technologies into education represents a significant evolution in the pedagogical landscape, with the potential to enhance accessibility, engagement, and personalization in learning. This review synthesizes current trends, challenges, and innovations within digital learning, emphasizing the impact of artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), and online platforms on student achievement. It highlights the importance of addressing technical, pedagogical, and socioeconomic challenges to ensure equitable access to technology. Successful initiatives like the Open University illustrate digital learning's potential to improve educational outcomes. The review also anticipates future directions, including the expanding role of AI, VR, mobile learning, and blockchain in education. It concludes with strategic recommendations for educators and policymakers to adopt best practices, prioritize infrastructure development, and focus on continuous professional development to leverage the benefits of digital learning. As education enters an era of digital transformation, a collaborative approach among stakeholders will be essential in creating an inclusive and effective learning environment for the future.

IntroductionDespite the increase of three-dimensional (3D) technological integration into academia, little consideration has been given to the emotional responses of students to such pedagogy. Both pleasant (high valence/sentiment) and unpleasant (low valence/sentiment) emotions influence the cognitive processes involved in learning, and emotional sentiment can be exemplified by particular emoji.MethodsA survey with 10 facial emoji stratified into three categories (positive, neutral, and negative sentiment) was administered to students completing a human anatomy course with 3D visualization technology (3DVT) and augmented reality (AR) integration. The survey was administered before and after each class session (technology-based learning sessions, non-technology-based learning sessions, and examination sessions) to measure student emotional sentiment. Pre- and post-course questionnaires were also administered to clarify reactions to the technology.ResultsResults indicated that students reported positive and neutral emotions nearly exclusively, although students reported a reduction in emotional sentiment after technology-based learning sessions as compared to after non-technology-based learning sessions (Z = −2.557, p = 0.011). Lower emotional sentiment was associated with the examination sessions as compared to either of the learning session types, and students reported an increase in emotional sentiment after the examination sessions as compared to before the examination sessions (Z = −2.066, p = 0.039).DiscussionThe present study revealed that the 3D technologies elicited primarily neutral or positive emotions, and that the integration of an emoji survey can aid instructors in monitoring student emotional responses to pedagogical interventions.

Success in school is closely linked to students’ ability to regulate their own learning. In mathematics, self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies can help students become more independent and proactive in their learning. However, there is limited research on how students can be effectively supported in developing and applying these strategies, especially for younger students. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of a self-instructional SRL material. The material is designed in collaboration between researchers and teachers, and integrated into regular mathematics instruction. Specifically, we examine whether the use of the SRL material varies across schools and student groups. A quasi-experimental research design with pre- and post-tests was employed, involving 258 students in grades 5 and 6 from five different schools over the course of one semester. Data was collected through structured surveys measuring student engagement with the material, along with performance tracking before and after the intervention. The findings indicate that co-developing SRL materials with teachers, and embedding them in regular instruction, has clear advantages. The findings also show that while the material was used equally across genders and performance levels, variations remain due to school culture, socio-economic factors, and individual teacher influence. Notably, lower-performing students showed greater progress compared to high-performers, and girls engaged more actively with SRL strategies than boys. These findings have important implications for the design and implementation of SRL interventions. While integrating SRL support within everyday teaching fosters engagement, additional measures may be needed to address persistent disparities between schools and student groups.

Learning academic subjects in English can evoke a range of emotions among university students. For some students, learning a new language represents a valuable opportunity to expand their perspectives and communicate with people from diverse cultural backgrounds. For others, the language barrier can be an obstacle to understanding and expressing themselves, which can lead to feelings of lack of confidence. In this study, we are interested in the emotions that students may experience when they are in class learning subjects through English Medium Instruction (EMI). For this purpose, an Achievement Emotions Questionnaire with Likert-type questions was used. It includes items about their degree of confidence, anxiety, motivation or emotions when learning through EMI. The sample consisted of 231 students in the bilingual Primary Education program and in the Foreign Languages Approach Program of the University of Extremadura (PALEx). The results show significant differences between men and women in the case of shame, emotion experienced more by women than by men. However, the average number of women who feel positive emotions such as hope, enjoyment and pride is higher than that of men although the fact that they are unable to meet their expectations leads them to suffer from anxiety or disappointment to a greater extent than men. Nevertheless, men present a higher average in the emotions of anger and boredom. The results also show that the self-perceived level of English is relevant for experiencing positive emotions: the higher the level, the more enjoyable the English classes are and the more hope for success.

AimThe aim of the research is to identify and to analyse the possibilities of early school leaving support and predictive factors related to emotional and learning support and classroom organization.MethodsBased on the Teaching through Interactions Framework, the study analyses the socio-emotional and methodological factors of early school leaving – emotional and learning support and classroom organization. In the analysis of theoretical scientific literature, a Systematic Review has been carried out, where the scientific articles included in internationally cited databases Web of Science, Scopus and Ebsco have been analysed by key words. Correlation and regression analysis in the SPSS environment of the program for processing quantitative data has been performed in a correlative study.ResultsThe findings of the correlation analysis show that there are statistically significant negative correlations between early school leaving and emotional and learning support, as well as classroom organization. The selected six articles are mostly focused on the emotional support provision. As a result of the regression analysis, the most significant factor predicting early school leaving has been identified - the lack of emotional support.ConclusionScientific articles included in the WoS, Scopus and Ebsco databases do not use a holistic approach to preventing early school leaving. The lower the emotional, classroom organization and instructional support, the higher the risk of early school leaving. Teacher’s empathy and sensitivity to the academic, socio-emotional and developmental needs of individual students and the whole class are the most important predictors of early school leaving.

In higher education, lecturers experience difficulties motivating their students. Within the scope of this project, learning outcomes are intended to be enhanced by an innovative teaching and learning method: digital educational escape games. Exploring the design of digital escape games as a modern and constructivist approach to enhance teaching and learning in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) higher education, this paper outlines evidence-based research based on semi-structured expert interviews and qualitative content analysis. Experts’ insights into these thematic areas provide valuable perspectives on how digital escape games can effectively contribute to the teaching and learning experience in STEM disciplines. The results show expert opinions regarding key didactic aspects like the integration of educational content and learning processes into game design. It was found that the didactic and educational aspects of a game are inextricably linked and cannot be separated. In order to create an effective educational game, it is essential to establish the learning objective as the foundation for the game’s narrative. In addition to the consensus on the integration of didactics and games, there were also aspects on which educators and learners held opposing views. Hence, controversially discussed game design elements need to be subject of further research.