Education 4.0 in higher education and computer science: A systematic review

Abstract

Education 4.0 is a recently introduced concept focused on innovation, novelty, use of technology and connections with employment and industry. In particular, in engineering disciplines like computer science (CS) it is essential that educators keep up to date with industry developments. Indeed, how CS educators effectively design and implement innovative teaching and learning deserves more systematic attention. This study aims to catalogue and synthesise learning design approaches to teaching and learning within CS: (1) Which innovative pedagogic approaches are used in teaching of CS? (2) Which approaches align with Education 4.0? (3) What skills and competences do educators require to align CS teaching with Education 4.0? Our systematic literature review (SLR) included CS papers published between 2016 and 2020. Two hundred and thirty‐one studies were identified of which 66 were included in the final phase, which were coded by a multidisciplinary team. The findings indicated that many CS educators included Education 4.0 learning design elements. We found a clear distinctive three‐cluster solution: (1) EDU4 light, (2) project‐based/hands‐on learning and (3) full EDU4 (refer to Reference [7] conceptualisation, while Education 4.0 refers to our own definition [Reference 71]. These findings suggest three broad flavours when designing innovative CS practices, which might help educators align their practice.

Digital Environments of Education 4.0 and complex thinking: Communicative Literacy to close the digital gender gap

“…From this context, the implementation of the metaverse as a learning strategy and for the development of communication skills opens up new opportunities for the inclusion of women in digital environments and, in this way, contributes to reducing the gender gap in the digital domain. However, it is important to highlight that incorporating emerging technologies and innovative strategies to enhance teaching can pose challenges for educators, who must acquire new skills and competencies, such as flexibility, to align their practices with Education 4.0 (Rienties et al 2023).…”