Tactility as an implementation of the principle of visuality in higher education in the conditions of digital fatigue

Background. Contemporary students (Generations Z and Alpha) exhibit widespread digital fatigue due to excessive screen exposure, resulting in attention deficits and diminished cognitive engagement. Concurrently, higher education, particularly within the natural sciences, faces a critical deficit in tactile learning tools that supply essential sensory-motor experience for comprehending complex systems. This deficit impedes the visualization principle’s effective application.

Purpose – to establish theoretically and empirically validate the concept of “tactility” as a pedagogical approach for implementing the visualization principle in higher education, countering the challenges posed by digital fatigue.

Materials and methods. The research utilized a dual-method approach: 1) theoretical analysis of pedagogical frameworks (Montessori, embodied cognition, Kolb's experiential learning), cognitive load theory, and neuroscience literature concerning sensory integration, drawing upon Russian and international publications; 2) empirical assessment of tactile tools conducted during the “Medical and Biological Physics” course at Tyumen State Medical University throughout the 2024/25 academic year.

Results. 1) tactility is fundamentally grounded in major learning theories, fostering autonomy, concrete experience, embodied knowledge integration, and diminished cognitive load; 2) prevalent digital fatigue among students manifests as screen exhaustion, procrastination, and reduced well-being, generating a distinct demand for non-digital pedagogical methods such as tactile learning; 3) empirical deployment of tactile tools (e.g., molecular constructors, wire protein models, hydrogel balls, glass spheres) demonstrated efficacy in enhancing student engagement, facilitating conceptual understanding (e.g., entropy, protein folding, diffusion, optics), and delivering critical sensory-motor feedback in biological physics. The integration of tactile tools into higher education constitutes an efficient strategy to mitigate digital fatigue, enrich sensory-motor experience and improve the visualization and comprehension of complex natural science subjects.