How do assistant professors in STEM higher education design for student engagement using educational technology?

There is a widespread interest in Denmark as well as globally in engaging students in higher education with educational technology. Studies show that educational technology has the potential to increase student engagement behaviorally, affectively, and cognitively depending on the context, how the technology is pedagogically and didactically integrated into teaching practice, and the specific technology (Godsk &amp; Møller, 2024; Kirkwood &amp; Price, 2014). <br/><br/>As part of the University Pedagogical Programme (UPP) at Aarhus University (AU), participants (re-)design, deliver, evaluate, and document a learning design related to their own teaching using a project template and a poster. It is entirely up to the participants which pedagogical focus they choose, including whether their design will involve educational technology and, if so, which. Among 32 Natural and Technical Sciences participants in autumn 2024, 15 (47%) utilised technologies available at AU to support student engagement. Fourteen designs were selected and analysed (Braun &amp; Clarke, 2006), guided by Fredericks et al.’s (2004) engagement conceptualisation and Bond et al.’s (2020) list of indicators. <br/><br/>The analysis revealed that a variety of technologies were utilised and integrated in different ways. Nine of these designs made use of quizzes, seven utilised video, five employed audience response systems, one incorporated a discussion board, and one used FeedbackFruits to increase student engagement. The analysis also revealed that 12 of the designs addressed behavioural engagement, six affective engagement, and five cognitive engagement. Notably, ideas from the flipped classroom strategy were widely utilised, including out-of-class activities aimed at creating more active learning opportunities in class. <br/><br/>The presentation will exemplify how assistant professors in STEM higher education design various forms of student engagement using educational technology through selected learning designs. <br/>