Innovative Teaching Strategies and their Impact on Learning Outcomes in Higher Education

Innovative Teaching Strategies, Higher Education, Learning Outcomes, Student Engagement, Technology-Enhanced Learning

The use of new instructional tactics has changed the face of higher education through fostering student centred learning, better interaction and better performance. The present paper examines the impact of newer teaching and learning strategies on learning outcomes of higher education education, and the research question is what type of instructional strategies (i.e., active learning, blended learning, flipped learning, collaborative learning, project-based learning, gamification, technology enhanced instruction, etc.) can influence learning outcomes. A positivist philosophy and deductive quantitative research methodology was used. The data collected included 200 undergraduate and postgraduate students in institutions of higher learning, using structured questionnaires to aid in the data collection. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis were used to analyse data obtained using SPSS. The findings revealed that the students were positive about the innovative teaching strategies, technology enhanced learning and collaborative learning were rated highest. The statistical results had indicated that there were significant positive relationships between innovative teaching strategies and learning outcomes that comprised: student engagement, academic performance, knowledge retention, critical and communication abilities and problem-solving skills. Another finding of the regression analysis was the fact that technology enhanced learning had been the most effective predictor of improved learning outcomes. The study concludes that the effective application of the innovative teaching practices increase the quality of the acquired education and help to attain the needed graduate competencies. It also presupposes an additional investment in digital technologies, the training of faculty and learner-focused pedagogies to improve the quality of teaching and academic outcomes of post-secondary education.