The Smart Classroom as a Means to the Development of ESD Methodologies

Interrelationships among College Students' Perceptions of Smart Classroom Environments, Perceived Usefulness of Mobile Technology, Achievement Emotions, and Cognitive Engagement

Cognitive engagement is a crucial factor that shapes successful learning outcomes, but our understanding of the factors that influence such engagement in the smart classroom context remains limited. This study aims to narrow this research gap by exploring the relationships among college students' perceptions of the smart learning environment, perceived usefulness of mobile technology, achievement emotions, and cognitive engagement. A total of 1293 college students completed an online questionnaire survey, and 1076 valid responses were received. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the interrelationships among these factors. The results revealed that students' perceptions of the smart classroom environment and perceived usefulness of mobile technology as well as two achievement emotions (pride and anxiety) significantly impact cognitive engagement. Both pride and anxiety act as mediators in the relationships among perceptions of smart classroom environments, the perceived usefulness of mobile technology, and cognitive engagement, in which context the mediating effect of pride is stronger than that of anxiety. These findings have practical implications for instructors, who should focus on implementing strategies that promote positive achievement emotions when students use mobile technology in smart classrooms. Additionally, these findings can inform the design and construction of smart classroom environments. Moreover, our study has limitations due to reliance on online data collection and self-reported data, which may introduce biases and measurement errors. Future research should incorporate multimodal data and advanced technologies for a comprehensive assessment to better understand students' engagement in smart learning environments, while also considering individual factors and the educational context to enhance the effectiveness of mobile technology in supporting students' emotions and achievement.

Smart classroom learning environment preferences of higher education teachers and students in China: An ecological perspective

By evaluating learners' perceived preferences for the learning environment, we can understand the important characteristics and better improve the learning environment, ultimately to provide great potential for the optimization of teaching practice. Seeing that the current research pays less attention to teachers' and students' preferences for the space environment simultaneously, based on the survey of 1937 undergraduates and 107 teachers from a university in central China, this study aims to explore their preferences for smart learning environment. Based on the ecological theory and research results of the existing learning environment, this paper constructed an ecological model and a conceptual model of learning space preferences. An empirical study was conducted to explore the impact of sociodemographic variables on personal spatial preference. The results showed that teachers and students had a positive attitude towards the smart learning environment, and gender, age, grade, subject category and other variables had limited impact on spatial preference.

Exploring quality attributes of smart classrooms from the perspectives of academics

The purpose of this study is to explore attributes that influence the quality of smart classrooms from the perspective of higher education teachers. Relying on a purposive sample of 31 academicians from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, the study identifies themes related to quality attributes of technology platforms and social interactions. These attributes are user security, educational intelligence, technology accessibility, system diversity, system interconnectivity, system simplicity, system sensitivity, system adaptability and platform affordability. The study identifies management procedures, educational policies, and administrative practices that enact, engineer, enable, and enhance these attributes in smart classrooms. The findings also highlight strategy-oriented planning and cause-driven transformation as the main smart classroom contexts influencing the quality of education among interviewees. With insights from the interviews, this article discusses some theoretical and practical implications of the study, research limitations, and potential future research directions.

Investigation on Deep Learning Model of College English Based on Multimodal Learning Method

Deep learning refers to active learning that allows students to perceive, experience, understand, and apply knowledge. Deep learning focuses on the mastery of knowledge and skills and more on the cultivation of higher-order thinking skills such as awareness, problem-solving, and knowledge transfer. In order to improve the quality of English classroom teaching in today's colleges and universities and cultivate high-level applied foreign language talents, this paper constructs a multimodal teaching model based on deep learning theory and discusses how to apply the model to college English teaching practice in order to promote the realization of students' deep learning, improve the effectiveness of English learning, and provide a reference for the teaching reform of college English courses.

Classroom perception in higher education: The impact of spatial factors on student satisfaction in lecture versus active learning classrooms

Driven and influenced by learning theory and information technology, the form of the classroom environment in higher education is constantly changing. While traditional lecture classrooms focus on efficient learning modes and economical space layouts, active learning classrooms focus more on active learning psychology and adaptive space perception. Although existing studies have explored the development of educational and technological domains in the classroom, a comparative study of these two classroom environments and students’ learning perceptions has not been conducted. Hence, using a questionnaire, this study collected subjective perception reports from 316 students in traditional lecture classrooms versus active learning classrooms. By analyzing Likert scales of student satisfaction in two classroom environments, the study found the following: learning support dimensions in both classroom environments required improvements; space and furniture perception, physical and decorative environment are critical factors in improving students’ perceptions in the lecture classroom; space perception is the critical factor in enhancing students’ perception in the active learning classroom. These findings can serve as good references and useful insights for future classroom design and optimization to build enriched and inclusive learning environments to help students gain a more positive perception of learning.

Students’ Perceptions of Active Learning Classrooms from an Informal Learning Perspective: Building a Full-Time Sustainable Learning Environment in Higher Education

Under the influence of education for sustainable development, active learning classrooms, as the new learning environment in higher education, have become increasingly diversified and flexible, with a greater emphasis on student experience and engagement. Most research on these learning environments is centered on formal learning analysis and discussion, whereas empirical research on the perception of informal learning in active learning classrooms outside of class time is lacking. Based on informal learning perceptions, this study explored the strengths and weaknesses of active learning classroom spatial environments using a mixed quantitative and qualitative research approach. Through a questionnaire survey of 154 students and one-on-one semi-structured interviews with 15 students, this study found that most students were satisfied with the informal learning experience in active learning classrooms, comfortable and flexible space perception and humanized learning support facilities in active learning classrooms were critical spatial factors influencing students’ informal learning, the private environment and positive learning atmosphere in active learning classrooms could promote students’ informal learning behaviors, and for active learning classrooms, better resource management could help them develop a better quality full-time learning environment. Based on these findings, this study makes recommendations for optimizing the environment design and management of active learning classrooms.

A Nonparametric Weighted Cognitive Diagnosis Model and Its Application on Remedial Instruction in a Small-Class Situation

CDMs can provide a discrete classification of mastery skills to diagnose relevant conceptions immediately for Education Sustainable Development. Due to the problem of parametric CDMs with only a few training sample sizes in small classroom teaching situations and the lack of a nonparametric model for classifying error patterns, two nonparametric weighted cognitive diagnosis models, NWSD and NWBD, for classifying mastery skills and knowledge bugs were proposed, respectively. In both, the variances of items with respect to the ideal responses were considered for computing the weighted Hamming distance, and the inverse distances between the observed and ideal responses were used as weights to obtain the probabilities of the mastering attributes of a student. Conversely, NWBD can classify students’ “bugs”, so teachers can provide suitable examples for precision assistance before teaching non-mastery skills. According to the experimental results on simulated and real datasets, the proposed methods outperform some standard methods in a small-class situation. The results also demonstrate that a remedial course with NWSD and NWBD is better than one with traditional group remedial teaching.

Environmental Competencies for Sustainability: A Training Experience with High School Teachers in a Rural Community

Solid teacher training can be a transcendental tool in solving the most pressing environmental problems of our time. The purpose of this study was to reinforce the competencies of in-service teachers through a training process on environmental and sustainability issues. The research was carried out during the 2020–2021 cycle in Preparatory School No. 47 of the Autonomous University of Guerrero. We sought to broaden the teachers’ knowledge of environmental education for sustainability, the sustainable development goals and methodological strategies. The information was collected through an initial questionnaire, as well as the record of teachers’ activities during the course, which was structured in four topics: socio-environmental problems, environmental education for sustainability, sustainable development goals 2030, and methodological strategies. The training process influenced the teachers’ perception, achieving a more complex vision of the topics studied. The didactic and pedagogical strategies proposed facilitated the integration of transversal activities in their discipline. The work carried out demonstrated the importance of strengthening training processes that include methodological strategies such as transversality taking advantage of the physical characteristics of the rural community. Teachers develop environmental competencies for sustainability in their educational practice, to contribute to the integral formation of their students.

The Evaluation of Active Learning Classrooms: Impact of Spatial Factors on Students’ Learning Experience and Learning Engagement

Previous studies have investigated the spatial attributes of Active Learning Classrooms (ALCs) and their impact on students’ learning experiences and learning engagement independently; however, a holistic investigation of the relationship between these attributes and students’ learning engagement has not been conducted. This study explored how the spatial attributes of ALCs affect students’ learning experiences and learning engagement. An empirical questionnaire was administered to freshmen taking English classes in four different types of ALCs at one university, and 224 valid questionnaires were analyzed. This study provides design insight for future learning environments in ALCs by linking two Likert scales: one rating spatial attributes in ALCs that influence learning experiences, and the other rating students’ learning engagement in ALCs. The results revealed that the spatial attributes of ALCs significantly affected the learning experience, specifically instructional interaction, furniture perception, learning support, and physical environment. Among them, instructional interactions and physical environment are the most critical in promoting student learning engagement. The survey findings can help architects design more flexible and sustainable learning environments in the future, supporting university students in developing active and collaborative learning skills, as well as providing better references and beneficial insights for future education for sustainable development.

The design of smart classroom for modern college English teaching under Internet of Things

This study aims to improve the efficiency of modern college English teaching. With interactive teaching as the core element, smart classrooms as technical support, and informationization, automation, and interaction as the main body, a smart system for college English teaching is established based on cloud computing and Internet of Things (IoT). The system is built using the B/S architecture and verified by specific example data, to prove the effectiveness of the proposed smart system for college English teaching based on the IoT. It is found that the smart platform for English teaching based on the IoT not only effectively improves the stability of the system, but also enhances the personal experience of students. The coordinated operation of the various modules reduces the response time of the system. When the number of users reaches 500, the average response time of the system is 3.65 seconds, and the memory and occupancy rate of the system are reduced. Students who receive smart classrooms for teaching have a greater improvement in the test results of various aspects of English without teacher intervention. The proposed model can significantly improve the performance of poor students and reduce the gap in learning performance in the class, which provides reliable research ideas for smart teaching in modern colleges and universities.

Design and Implementation of an IoT-Based Smart Classroom Incubator

Ambient conditions influence human health, emotions, and mental power. Therefore, numerous studies have been conducted in different disciplines on the measurement and control of ambient conditions in classrooms. Moreover, a number of studies identify some physical and mental performances of students simultaneously or for informative purposes by utilizing various hardware and software. However, these studies did not consider automatic control processes and individuality in fulfilling classroom ambient conditions, which influence students’ behavior. This study aims to reduce the adverse impacts of environmental factors on learning and control more necessary physical parameters with higher accuracy using the latest technology and methods. Thus, a new smart classroom incubator (SCI) algorithm, including hardware, software, and experimental studies, in which individual differences could be considered even in the same classroom environment, and its implementation were presented. The system enables access and monitoring of data wherever there is Internet connection. Moreover, it was designed based on IoT because it allows for data transfer over web services or data-dependent operations. All the necessary equipment was placed in the classroom without affecting the learning environment and distracting the class. Cronbach’s α coefficient, which indicates the reliability of the implemented model, was 0.891.

Applying the Cloud Intelligent Classroom to the Music Curriculum Design of the Mental Health Education

The cloud intelligent classroom, supported by modern technologies, is the main trend of curriculum design in the future. The purpose of this study is to explore the promotion and integration between digital technology and the curriculum design of mental health education in colleges and universities and realize their real value. First, the overall idea and practical value of the study are clarified after the relevant literature is reviewed. Second, the setting, the teaching methods, and the ideas of the cloud classrooms based on digital technology are elaborated in detail. Then, the final effect of mental health education in cloud intelligent classrooms is demonstrated and summarized after the teaching practice, a questionnaire survey, and the expert assessment. Finally, the research conclusions are drawn and the suggestions for constructing the cloud intelligent classrooms of mental health education are proposed based on the practice and surveys. The research is based on the reality of mental health education in colleges and universities, rational thinking, and action. While updating the means and methods of the curriculum design of the mental health education in the high school, it expands the connotation of cloud intelligent classroom and pursues the unity of “form” and “content.” The cloud intelligent classroom helps to improve the teaching quality of mental health education for the music majors in colleges and universities in the short term. Cloud intelligent classrooms can also help to achieve the curriculum design and teaching objectives.

A Qualitative Approach to Help Adjust the Design of Management Subjects in ICT Engineering Undergraduate Programs through User Experience in a Smart Classroom Context

Qualitative research activities, including first-day of class surveys and user experience interviews on completion of a subject were carried out to obtain students' feedback in order to improve the design of the subject 'Information Systems' as a part of a general initiative to enhance ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) engineering programs. Due to the COVID-19 (corona virus disease 2019) pandemic, La Salle URL adopted an Emergency Remote Teaching tactical solution in the second semester of the 2019-2020 academic year, just before implementing a strategic learning approach based on a new Smart Classroom (SC) system deployed in the campus facilities. The latter solution was developed to ensure that both on-campus and off-campus students could effectively follow the course syllabus through the use of new technological devices introduced in classrooms and laboratories, reducing the inherent difficulties of online learning. The results of our findings show: (1) No major concerns about the subject were identified by students; (2) Interaction and class dynamics were the main issues identified by students, while saving time on commuting when learning from home and access to recorded class sessions were the aspects that students considered the most advantageous about the SC.

Unequal Loneliness in the Digitalized Classroom: Two Loneliness Effects of School Computers and Lessons for Sustainable Education in the E-Learning Era

Incorporating information and communication technology (ICT) into schooling has been one of the most conspicuous trends in education innovation for decades. Despite the education community’s optimistic consensus on the digitalization of the classroom, however, evidence-based research on the educational effectiveness of ICT is an unfinished task. In this situation, this study gives renewed attention to the socioemotional effects of school computers and draws lessons for sustainable education in the e-learning era. By analyzing the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2015, this study identifies the causal link between school computer usage time (the independent variable) and satisfaction with peer relationships (the dependent variable) among elementary and middle school students: the loneliness deepening effect. Then, considering the issue of digital divide, it finds the positive interaction between the independent variable and academic performance (the moderating variable): the loneliness inequality effect. These two findings—summarized by the term “unequal loneliness”—call for critical reflections on the current use of school computers but do not support the Ludditish claim that wholly denies ICT’s educational values and potentials. Rather, the existence of the loneliness inequality effect additionally implies an opportunity to go beyond mere technological determinism and deliberate on human users’ capabilities for effective ICT usage.

Student Perceptions of Formative Assessment and Cooperative Work on a Technical Engineering Course

Formative Assessment and Cooperative Work (FACW) is a teaching methodology that promotes student learning based on peer support, both in solving problems and identifying the mistakes made through feedback. The perceptions of 49 mechanical engineering students at the University of Burgos are analyzed in this article with regard to their first practical experience of FACW methodology in a technical subject, characterized by a highly complex content and a strong link between theoretical and practical concepts. The responses of the students to two blocks of open questions were evaluated in a qualitative, mixed, and statistical analysis. Various aspects that the students raised in relation to FACW could therefore be studied, such as their points of view towards: (1) The usefulness of FACW teaching modality; and (2) their preferences regarding the optimum teaching modality. The results showed that, although the students expressed favorable opinions towards FACW, they did not consider, in general, that teamwork was necessary for optimal learning, revealing a clear dependence on formal classroom presentations for the explanation of theoretical concepts. Students considered that theoretical concepts could not be autonomously acquired. Therefore, the application of the FACW teaching methodology to these courses could be especially beneficial to favor autonomous learning and to develop teamwork skills, training engineers with the right knowledge and skills today for tomorrow’s world.