1st LEARNING UNIT: Higher education at the beginning of the 21st century

Changes have become a constant in the history of education. The paradigmatic shift in recent decades has turned the centuries-old higher education practice - both in Europe and the world - upside down.

Some of the most significant changes in higher education are:

• a changed view of knowledge and education;
• changes in student population;
• the shift 'from teaching to learning';
• a changed view of the role of a higher education teacher;
• a changed view of the relationship between theory and practice in the higher education curriculum;
• changes in the perception of the learning space;
• digitalization, of education
• etc.

All of the above belongs to the concept of 'active learning', which today is considered the leading concept of the modernization of higher education in Europe, also known as the Bologna process. In order for active learning to begin at all, it is necessary to activate students' prior knowledge. If the students' prior knowledge is sufficient and accurate and activated in the right way, the student has a strong basis for building new knowledge. However, if prior knowledge is insufficient, inaccurate, or activated in an inappropriate way, it can represent an obstacle to new learning. Even with short activities, teachers activate students' prior knowledge, which improves their learning.