Each discipline is different: teacher capabilities for future-focussed digitally infused undergraduate programmes

Abstract

Disciplines in Higher Education have their own interpretations of what is essential knowledge that influences what is taught, how teaching occurs, and the role of digital tools. Disciplinary culture is dynamic and evolving, informed by disciplinary research and technology improvement. During the COVID-19 pandemic, digital solutions enabled ongoing teaching when undergraduate courses could not be taught on campus, in lecture theatres, seminar rooms, laboratories, or in the field. Using digital tools and changes in teaching practices has created a context where Higher Education teachers must consider how future learning and teaching should occur. To explore this, a cross-discipline team used appreciative inquiry framed in complexity theory to examine how teaching in undergraduate programmes is changing in the digital age and implications for Higher Education teachers. The research identifies how digital technologies influence undergraduate programmes in Applied Statistics, Computer Science, Critical Indigenous Studies, Geography, and Information Systems. Analysis of the case studies identified how disciplinary culture, context, and technology combine to influence pedagogical practice and digital capabilities needed to teach in undergraduate programmes. We conclude that Higher Education teachers require capability in appropriate pedagogical practice that aligns with disciplinary culture and the technologies available.