The Draw to the Bigger Picture: Student Focus on Conceptual and Applicable Learning in the Digital Age.

With the constant expansion of digital infrastructure in the educational environment, whether in the form of AI tools, aiding in everything from research to presentation design, to the prevalence of digital devices, allowing ready access to information, a staggering question presents itself: do we consider these technologies a challenge or threat to good academic practice, or do we consider them an opportunity, something to be harnessed and embraced? Throughout this talk, I’ll be discussing initiatives being trialled with the aim of promoting student engagement with these tools, building familiarity while broadening their understanding of both current material, and their respective fields as a whole. Utilising three complimentary approaches, we can shift our teaching and, by extension, the students’ focus from traditional information recall to conceptual understanding and skill application, creating a more engaging environment. The first approach looks to trim back lecture material, dedicating time to establishing underlying theory alongside its interpretation and application from the ground up, providing self-directed resources to test and deepen student understanding at each stage. The second approach looks to refine assessment style to more closely mimic the post-graduation environment for which we are preparing our students, moving towards incorporation of standing open-book policies across assessments, acknowledging not only student access to information, but also our own reliance on the same tools in our daily practice. The third approach utilises a series of in-lecture prompts, directing student self-study to promote appreciation for the role of current material not only within their course, but within their wider degree and society at large. Combined, these three approaches form an initiative that aims to increase student engagement through reducing feelings of futility or dissociation from the current technological environment, while actively bolstering students’ control and agency within their own learning experience, promoting interest and achievement throughout their studies.