DIDACTICS OF THE DIGITAL AGE: CHALLENGES, OPPORTUNITIES, AND DEVELOPMENT PROSPECTS
Authors:   Kryvyi Rih State Pedagogical University, Lavrentieva Olena , Krupskyi Oleksandr ,   Oles Honchar Dnipro National University
Published: February 2025

The article addresses the issue of the appropriateness of revising the content of the theory of educa-
tion and learning, analyses key didactic categories, and outlines the opportunities presented by education-
al systems in the era of digitalisation.
The purpose of this study is to defi ne the main challenges, opportuniti es, and prospects for the devel- of this study is to define the main challenges, opportunities, and prospects for the devel-
opment of didactics in the digital age. The research tasks include analysing the laws, patterns, principles,
rules, strategies, and content of learning in the context of digitalised educational systems, identifying the
features of teaching methods and organisational forms of learning, and clarifying the place and role of dig-
ital didactics in pedagogy and practice.
The study employs methods of comparative, content, and categorical analysis, generalisation and
systematisation, analogy, classification, and modelling.
Based on an analysis of primary sources, the study identifies the specific features of human cognitive
development in a digital environment. It is established that the digital environment serves as a tool with ex-
tensive functional capabilities rather than as a generative factor determining the development of the psy-
che, the learning process, or the education and socialisation of individuals. The study emphasises the con-
stancy of human nature and activity, as well as the fundamental principles of didactics.
The study reveals the specific ways in which laws and patterns of learning are interpreted. Conceptual
changes in the system of didactic principles are examined, focusing primarily on the strategies for their im-
plementation in a digital educational environment. The need to update the list of learning principles is high-
lighted, including principles of flexibility, adaptability, integration, personalisation of learning, digital inclu-
sion, gamification, optimal cognitive load, digital ethics, and safety.
Changes in the structure of learning activities are investigated, with an emphasis on the need to revise
learning rules and strategies. Approaches to transforming educational content in light of the possibilities
offered by digital technologies are outlined. The structure and components of teaching methods are clari-
fied, involving an analysis of their ideological and operational dimensions. The potential of digital technol-
ogies, artificial intelligence, and automated systems for the qualitative renewal of classifications of teach-
ing methods is demonstrated. The specific features of forms of learning organisation are characterised.
The findings generalise the idea that the nature of changes does not undermine the classroom-lesson
system in schools or the lecture-seminar system in higher education institutions. Instead, it adapts these
formats to the demands of the digital age, with the educational process increasingly focused on the prin-
ciples of constructivism, adaptability, and inclusivity, emphasising the active role of learners in knowledge
creation while taking into account their individual needs and experiences.
It is concluded that digitalisation in education represents not only a technological but also a pro-
foundly conceptual pedagogical phenomenon. The pedagogical design of educational environments under
these conditions proceeds through the adaptation of the fundamental principles of the theory of education
and learning to the new realities of the digital educational environment.
The article argues that considering digital didactics as a separate scientific discipline is fraught with
risks, including the excessive fragmentation of didactics as an integrated scientific field, the potential tech-
nocratisation of education, and an imbalance between traditional and new methods of knowledge acquisi-
tion. Such risks could exacerbate cognitive overload, reduce critical thinking and social skills among learn-
ers, and lead to educational losses.
In light of these risks, the authors propose that digital didactics should not be viewed as a separate
field of knowledge but rather as a distinct subject of research and a thematic strand within the broad-
er framework of didactics. This app