Conference Agenda

In recent years, higher education institutions have increasingly adopted hybrid learning models that combine in-person and distance instruction (Author2 et al., 2024). This shift has required adaptation to new technological, pedagogical, and social learning environments. While distance learning provides flexibility, autonomy, and time efficiency, it also presents challenges such as screen fatigue, technical barriers, isolation, and lower engagement (Salta et al., 2022). Recent research, enhanced by AI-based tools, explores learning processes, collaboration, and innovative teaching (Castellanos-Reyes et al., 2025). Many studies underscore that effective distance learning requires self-regulated learning, innovative pedagogy, and strong academic self-efficacy (Yoo & Jung, 2022). However, little attention has been given to what occurs behind the scenes of distance learning, teaching, and assessment.

Distance Learning and Teaching in Higher Education

The pandemic forced higher education systems worldwide into fully remote learning. Research on this transition revealed student dissatisfaction with fully remote learning, citing stress, isolation, and prolonged screen time (Shraga-Roitman et al., 2022). First-year students found distance learning less effective than advanced students (Stevanovic et al., 2021). Gender differences were also reported: female students demonstrated greater adaptability, self-regulation, and more positive attitudes than males (Aristovnik et al., 2020; Author2 et al., 2024). Students with specific learning disorders (SLD) or ADHD expressed lower satisfaction and engagement (Sarid & Lipka, 2024).

Concerns about the quality and sustainability of distance learning persist, particularly regarding assessment practices (Toumpalidou & Konstatoolaki, 2023). To address these concerns, researchers stress the need for investment in developing students’ digital skills and self-efficacy (Author2 et al., 2024).

Academic Self-Efficacy (ASE) and Distance Learning Efficacy

Academic self-efficacy (ASE) refers to an individual’s belief in their ability to meet academic challenges (Bandura, 2018). High ASE correlates with academic achievement, adaptation, satisfaction, and engagement in distance learning (Sarid & Lipka, 2024). Building ASE requires persistence and resilience. Students with SLD or ADHD consistently report lower ASE than peers without disabilities, both before and after the transition to distance learning (Mana et al., 2022). In online environments, distance learning self-efficacy is an important subdomain of ASE. It predicts students’ conceptions of learning, social presence, and epistemological beliefs (Yavuzalp & Bancivan, 2021). Engaging students in active, problem-oriented learning, such as formulating questions or designing solutions, enhances both efficacy and wellbeing (Vilhunen et al., 2025).

The current study was conducted at a college of education. The study aimed to explore students’ perceptions of distance learning, particularly their views of the “behind-the-scenes” activities: actions occurring during online lessons but not directly related to instruction (e.g., chatting, multitasking, browsing). This research offers a perspective contrasting students’ experiences and examining both explicit (pedagogical) and implicit (behavioral, social) aspects of online education. Understanding these dynamics can guide institutions seeking to enhance hybrid learning and decision-making processes.

Based on existing literature, four directional hypotheses were proposed:

H1. Advanced-year students will show stronger preference and higher self-efficacy for distance learning than first-year students (Stevanovic et al., 2021).
H2. Female students will report higher preference and self-efficacy for distance learning than males (Aristovnik, 2020; Author2 et al., 2024).
H3. Students with SLD or ADHD will report lower preference, lower distance learning self-efficacy, and lower ASE than students without disabilities (Sarid & Lipka, 2024).
H4. ASE, distance learning/teaching self-efficacy, and lecturer support will predict preference for distance learning among students, beyond demographic variables (Sarid & Lipka, 2024).

Research Topic

This research applies the Flow-based Pedagogical Model (FPM) (Dominek, 2022), integrating experiential, game-based, and collaborative teaching methods with a strong emphasis on group synchronicity, learner engagement, and sustained motivation. The FPM is a learning-supportive model based on flow theory, structuring learning situations through clear goals, optimal challenge, and continuous feedback to enhance students’ engagement and intrinsic motivation. This focused experiential state improves attention, perseverance, and deeper understanding, resulting in more effective learning. The research examines how flow-oriented pedagogy, supported by digital tools, enhances students’ professional and digital communication skills, creativity, and learning effectiveness in higher education. It addresses current challenges, including declining student engagement, limited creative problem-solving capacity, and increasing labor market demands.

Objective & Research Questions

The primary objective of this research is to examine the pedagogical effectiveness of the FPM in the Communication Basics course. The research is guided by the following research questions: (1) How does the application of the FPM influence students’ professional and digital communication skills through real-time simulations, collaborative tasks, and experiential activities? (2) How does the FPM support students’ creativity, motivation, and active participation through flow-based elements such as optimal challenge, focused attention, immediate feedback, and learner autonomy? (3) How does the use of digital tools within the FPM enhance experiential and constructivist learning in digital, blended or interactive learning environments? (4) How can classroom-based research applying the FPM contribute to methodological innovation and educational policy development in higher education? Based on these questions, we hypothesize that the FPM facilitates a flow state characterized by deeply immersion and focused engagement, which shows a strong statistically significant relationship (P<0.001), enabling students to temporarily ignore external distractions and fully engage in collaborative, experiential, and digitally supported learning activities. This state is expected to enhance communication skills, creativity, motivation, and active participation, improving overall learning outcomes and confirming the pedagogical effectiveness of the FPM.

Theoretical Framework

The theoretical framework integrates constructivist pedagogy (Eppler, 2006), experiential learning (Megat et al., 2020), and flow theory (Csíkszentmihályi, 1990), forming the conceptual foundation of the FPM. Constructivist pedagogy conceptualizes learners as active participants who construct knowledge through interaction, collaboration, and reflection. Within this framework, students are not passive recipients but actively shape learning, engaging with peers, digital resources, and authentic problem-solving contexts (Nahalka, 1997).

Experiential learning theory focuses on learning through experience, reflection, and application (Ertmer & Ottenbreit-Leftwih, 2010). The FPM operationalizes experiential learning through real-time communication simulations, collaborative group work, and creative problem-solving tasks, supporting deeper cognitive processing and the development of transferable competencies.

Flow theory describes optimal learning experiences with deep concentration, motivation, and enjoyment (Csíkszentmihályi, 1990). The FPM integrates flow-based elements—clear goals, balanced challenge–skill relations, immediate feedback, and learner autonomy—to sustain engagement and performance. The flow approach also mitigates blockages encountered with complex or unfamiliar tasks, promoting flexible thinking, ownership of ideas, and collaborative inspiration (Dominek & Barnucz, 2022).

The FPM addresses a systemic educational challenge: traditional education often prioritizes content transmission over creativity development. Embedding creativity, problem-solving, and innovation in digitally supported lessons contributes to adaptive and engaging learning environments (Dominek et al., 2025).

Finally, the research aligns with the University’s Institutional Development Plan (2020–2025), emphasizing experiential pedagogy, digital skills, and modernization. Classroom-based research demonstrates that flow-based experiential pedagogy provides a sustainable framework for improving teaching quality, student satisfaction, and long-term learning outcomes.

In higher education, report writing represents a core academic practice through which students are expected to develop epistemic judgment, critical engagement with sources, and structured academic argumentation. However, students’ report-writing practices are increasingly shaped by digitally mediated information environments in which web-based sources and generative AI tools are readily available. While these media offer immediacy and convenience, concerns have been raised in higher education research regarding students’ limited critical scrutiny of information and the potential weakening of academic writing practices. Although instructors often emphasize the educational purposes of report writing—such as fostering critical thinking and academic literacy—these intentions do not always resonate with students whose everyday information practices are embedded in media-saturated contexts.

This study addresses this pedagogical challenge by focusing on students’ metacognitive knowledge of information media in higher education. Rather than framing students’ media use as a problem to be corrected, the study conceptualizes learners’ perceptions of different information media as meaningful resources for reflection and academic development. It proposes a course-based instructional intervention that visualizes learners’ metacognitive knowledge of information gathering, making their perceptions of media characteristics and selection tendencies explicit. By engaging students in structured reflection on their own information practices, the study aims to support the development of more intentional and reflective academic writing in higher education.

The primary objective of this study is to examine whether integrating the visualization of learners’ metacognitive knowledge into report-writing instruction enhances students’ awareness of information media and contributes to improvements in the quality of academic writing. To achieve this objective, the study investigates how students in higher education perceive various information media—books, television, the web, social networking services, and generative AI—before and after a report-writing task, and how these perceptions relate to their academic writing practices.

The study is guided by the following research questions:

• RQ1. How do students in higher education perceive the characteristics of different information media in terms of immediacy, accuracy, preference, and convenience prior to a report-writing assignment?
• RQ2. To what extent does providing learners with visualized feedback on their information-gathering profiles influence changes in their metacognitive knowledge following a report-writing task?
• RQ3. How is learners’ metacognitive knowledge—particularly their understanding of media characteristics and media selection patterns—related to the quality of academic writing in higher education contexts?

Conceptually, the study draws on three intersecting strands of research relevant to higher education.
First, within metacognition and self-regulated learning, metacognitive knowledge is commonly understood as learners’ awareness of tasks, strategies, and personal capabilities. While existing research has focused primarily on strategy regulation, less attention has been paid to learners’ epistemic understanding of the information environments in which academic work is produced. Responding to calls within higher education research to address learning in digitally mediated contexts, this study operationalizes metacognitive knowledge as learners’ comparative understanding of multiple information media.

Second, the study is informed by information and media literacy research in higher education, which has traditionally emphasized normative criteria for evaluating information quality. However, such approaches often overlook how students subjectively conceptualize media characteristics and how these beliefs shape academic practices. By foregrounding learners’ comparative judgments of media, this study adopts a learner-centered perspective that treats these perceptions as objects of pedagogical reflection.

Third, the study builds on research on educational visualization and learner-facing analytics, conceptualizing visualization as a pedagogical design that supports reflection and metacognitive awareness. By visualizing students’ information-gathering profiles, the intervention positions learners as active interpreters of their academic practices, linking media awareness, metacognitive development, and academic writing in higher education.