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The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the physical closure of educational institutions throughout the world, but learning continues, albeit with a paradigm shift. The use of digital content in the teaching-learning process gradually began shifting from erstwhile intermittent technology intervention, propagating thereby competency-based education 4.0, where both learning and evaluation would rely on predefined competencies and outcomes to foster higher learning gains. With the design thinking approach inducted into the process of learning and development, new age teachers are becoming more empathetic towards the learners, ushering in thereby better engagement of the learners with the curriculum, wherein the whole ecosystem is prospering towards a better future. One of the significant outcomes of education 4.0 is the propagation of non-traditional students. Soon, the learning space is going to be invaded by these mature learners, who are focused and engaged with choice-based learning, assuring them of their learning objectives. This paper is an effort to execute a thematic literature review to reveal the evolution of learning paradigms in tertiary sector over the years, and bring out strategies for non-disruptive learning mechanisms in higher education. The paper proposes two intuitive models to explain the position of learners through a matrix and how andragogic innovation through augmentation of blended learning approach can ensure higher learning gain for the students of higher education.
Key Words: Blended Learning, Creative Thinking, Design Thinking, e-Learning, Higher Education, Virtual Learning Environment, Virtual Classroom
INTRODUCTION
In December 2019 there was a Novel Coronavirus, COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, China (Abdulamir and Hafidh, 2020), and within no time, it spread like wildfire across the world, crippling the world economy and bringing life to a standstill. The education sector was no different; students across the globe were forced to learn from home. With all academic institutions being closed, students were compelled to explore 'online learning', and since, the practice seems to have been growing exponentially. The COVID-19 pandemic has been testing governments' readiness to tackle a crisis requiring online and remote action (Acharya and Porwal, 2020). Under 'normal' situations, institutional efforts at propagating online learning was meted with stiff resistance from different sections of the society, mainly due to variability in learning outcomes, and indicating lack of consensus and acceptance to this mode of learning (John Vivolo,...