Pedagogical Innovation in Digital Environments: A Systematic Review Focused on Higher Education

This systematic review analyzed the scientific evidence published between 2020 and August 2025 on pedagogical innovations, digital environments, and university experiences. Its objective was to characterize how these categories have been investigated in terms of contributions, limitations, and results in higher education. Eligibility criteria were established that included studies (quantitative, qualitative, or mixed) developed exclusively in university contexts, with explicit methodological design, defined sample, peer review, and accessible data. Reviews, grey literature, articles without a specific sample or with unmitigated methodological bias were excluded. The sources of information were Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Springer, SciELO, among others. The last search was carried out in August 2025, closing with the identification of 539 studies; of these, 39 met the inclusion criteria. Participants were university students, teachers, and experts (total = 9927) from different regions of the world, with sample sizes ranging from 7 to 3268; the average was 254.54. A validated instrument was applied to assess risk of bias, classifying studies as low risk (n = 22), moderate (n = 17), and high risk (n = 0). The results were synthesized through thematic analysis and tabulation of methodological characteristics. Improvements were reported in motivation, self-regulation, academic performance, and digital skills, although gaps in connectivity, teacher training, and institutional sustainability persisted. The results suggest that the impact of educational technology depends mainly on pedagogical design, teaching accompaniment and university policies.