This article reviews changes in pedagogical approaches in higher education at the turn of the twentieth and twenty-first century from a creative perspective, by looking back from the future on the shifts that occurred in conceptions and approaches relating to teaching and learning. Reflecting on moves from one-dimensional thinking to complex-oriented system thinking, and referring to the transformational framework of theory U, it discusses how the technological revolution and the increase in attendance of higher education triggered transformations in teaching practices and academic identity. Inputs from cognitive psychology and adult education led to a pedagogical revolution reframing teaching practices that would, hopefully, serve student learning. The article draws on the metaphor of "the learner in the driver's seat" to explain the new teaching and learning philosophy that unfolded changing, through sustainable educational innovations, the landscape of higher education.