Interactive Classroom Environment Research Articles

Harnessing Artificial Intelligence for Advancing Sustainable Development Goals in South Africa's Higher Education System: A Qualitative Study

Artificial intelligence (AI) presents opportunities in transforming higher education system and contribute significantly to achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This study seeks to leverage AI technologies to advance SDGs within South Africa’s higher education system. It examines AI technology adoption in South African higher education institutions and challenges, strategies, and potential future directions. This qualitative research employed the constructivist principle to unravel the dynamics of AI in advancing SDGs in South Africa. Lecturers from the Department of Information Sciences were the participants of the study. The participants were purposefully selected based on their experience and knowledge of AI technologies. In-depth interview and focused group discussion was employed to generate and estimate responses using thematic content analysis. The result revealed that participants used AI technology to increase students' learning and engagement so students would not doze in class. It was discovered that AI technology has increased the chances for collective learning. The study further proved that AI technology can improve personalized learning experiences of students with diverse learning styles and abilities. This has led to a more inclusive and interactive classroom environment where students feel more motivated and supported in their learning journey. Integrating AI technology into education has shown promising results in improving student outcomes and fostering a more collaborative learning atmosphere. Based on the results, it implies that harnessing AI would advance SDGs in South Africa’s higher education institutions. As such, we recommended that the South African government should formulate comprehensive national AI education policy guidelines for higher education to regulate and harmonize the usage of AI in the higher education system.

Engaging Secondary School Learners in a Vocabulary Course through a Spinning Wheel Game

Vocabulary is essential for students learning English since they can comprehend texts in English more easily once their vocabulary improves. Some teachers in schools continue to use conventional approaches to learning vocabulary, such as distributing textbooks and providing no multimedia resources in the learning environment. These conventional situations bring boredom and a lack of enthusiasm to learners. This study explores the use of spinning wheel media in vocabulary classrooms in one of Jember's private junior high schools. The current study used a qualitative approach, with data gathered through observation, interviews, and document review. The results demonstrated that the spinning wheel media could be used in vocabulary classrooms since it can engage learners, boost their enthusiasm, and improve their vocabulary. Furthermore, the teacher's notes and evaluation showed that this game fosters an engaging and interactive classroom environment.

Analysis and Dissolution of Potential Contradictions in Thematic Lessons from a Cultural-Historical Activity Theory Perspective

Thematic learning features sustain exploratory activities focused on a selected theme, which contributes to developing students’ core competencies, including problem solving, collaboration, and communication skills, supporting sustainable development in learning. For teachers and students, this emerging pedagogical approach may encounter various contradictions in the classroom activity system. Grounded in a cultural-historical activity theory perspective, this study examined the potential contradictions in an activity system in the context of thematic learning, as well as possible strategies for dissolving those potential contradictions and their effectiveness through a case study. Interviews with an experienced teacher were conducted to acquire information about potential contradictions, and the interview results suggested that these contradictions were perceived as potentially occurring between the students, tools, and objects. According to that information, solutions were proposed to dissolve those potential contradictions, including setting moderate learning objects, creating a sustainable exploratory learning environment, scaffolding necessary knowledge, and situating students in an interactive, communicative, and cooperative classroom environment. Finally, the dissolution of those contradictions was examined through classroom observations, with the results showing that students were able to apply their knowledge accurately and fluently to solve the problems. The contribution of this study involves adopting cultural-historical activity theory as guidance to dissolve the contradictions in classroom teaching, which expands the application of this theory compared to previous studies that focused more on the contradictions between researchers and teachers during a lesson study. This innovative application will inspire teachers to adopt this theory routinely to improve teaching, including designing instructional sequences and question chains that support students’ sustained exploration.

The Students’ Perception towards the Use of Icebreakers, Warmers, and Energizers in EFL Classrooms: A Tertiary Study

This study examines first-year students’ perceptions in the English Language Teaching Department at Tishk International University regarding using icebreakers, warmers, and energizers in the classroom. The research aims to assess the effectiveness of these activities in enhancing student engagement and participation, as well as their impact on the overall learning experience. The study contributes valuable insights into the practical applicability of these techniques in an educational setting. Additionally, the positive perceptions of the students underscore the potential of these activities in establishing a favorable and comfortable learning environment. Data were collected through surveys and interviews, employing both quantitative and qualitative methods. For the quantitative aspect, 32 participants (10 males & 22 females) were surveyed, while the qualitative segment involved interviews with 10 students (five males & five females) at Tishk International University. The study’s results indicate that the overwhelming majority of students hold a positive perception of the use of these activities. They view them as beneficial for creating a relaxed and comfortable learning atmosphere, fostering interaction and collaboration among classmates, and boosting motivation and interest in the language. The study suggests that incorporating these activities into EFL classrooms can significantly enhance the overall student learning experience and contribute to a more dynamic and interactive classroom environment. The findings are consistent with existing literature in the field.

Possibility of Using Jam board for Interactive Remote EFL Teaching and Learning: A Survey of Students’ Perception

COVID-19 has forced the world to encounter a new experience which has also brought an unforeseen revolution in the world education system. Traditional norms and practices of classroom teaching are being challenged continually. Chalkboards and whiteboards are now being replaced by multiple technological tools, teachers are delivering class lectures via various video teleconferencing software programs, and study materials are being published as pre-recorded video clips or uploaded on different sites. In such an era, Google Jam board can be utilized as a significant tool for transforming digital education into infotainment for the tertiary-level EFL learners of Bangladesh. The present study sought to investigate the possibility of using Google Jam board to create an interactive virtual classroom environment for tertiary-level EFL students. All the data for this study were collected using an electronic questionnaire survey from various departments of a private university in Bangladesh. The study found that EFL learners hold a positive attitude toward the use of Jam board for remote learning which can play a significant role in helping EFL learners to improve their English language skills. The study also recommends some of the best features of Jam board for EFL teachers. Keywords: COVID-19, ELT, technology in education, digital board, tertiary education

Possibility of Using Jam board for Interactive Remote EFL Teaching and Learning

Possibility of Using Jam board for Interactive Remote EFL Teaching and Learning

EFL learners’ perception and attitude in synchronous meetings through Zoom videoconferencing

Recently, incorporating technology in English as a foreign language (EFL) courses has been the topic of much debate. Technology can facilitate student interaction in the learning process and create an interactive and communicative classroom environment. Zoom is a solution for faculty members to engage and motivate students in virtual courses as it provides real interaction and direct feedback. This present study aimed to explore EFL students' perceptions as well as attitudes toward synchronous learning through Zoom Videoconferencing. The participants were 72 undergraduate students in the Intensive Reading course. The data was collected through questionnaires, observations, and interviews. The contents of the instrument were validated using expert judgment. The quantitative data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics while qualitative data were analyzed using thematic coding. The findings demonstrated that students had positive perceptions of Zoom videoconferencing in terms of actual use, perceived ease of use, intrinsic motivation, behavioral intention, and attitude. Further research into using Zoom videoconferencing to develop innovations in an online course is strongly recommended.

IMPROVED NOISE-RESILIENT ISOLATED WORDS SPEECH RECOGNITION USING PIECEWISE DIFFERENTIATION

Speech is the primary method of communication among humans; it is the main form of communication to deliver emotions and thoughts. Intuitively, humans would find it convenient to communicate with machines through speech. The automatic speech recognition model’s primary goal is to transcribe or identify the word sequence represented by the acoustic signals or speech. In this advanced era of digital media and e-learning platforms, the effective use of voice recognition technology to deliver a more individualized and effective educational experience in e-learning initiatives. It helps the students to improve their oral pronunciation skills. Even though Arabic is one of the most spoken languages, the research works related to Arabic speech and text are lacking when compared to other languages. Here, we propose a hybrid model of [Formula: see text]-Nearest Neighbor (KNN) classifier and Dynamic Time Warping (DTW) for implementing a noise-resilient speech recognition system for isolated words in the Arabic language. The model is implemented with Mel-Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCC) and its piecewise first and second derivatives as feature representation models. The proposed model is implemented in Python and simulated using Arabic Speech Corpus for Isolated Words [A. Alalshekmubarak and L. Smith, On improving the classification capability of reservoir computing for Arabic speech recognition, in International Conference on Artificial Neural Networks (Springer, Cham, 2014), pp. 225–232]. The proposed model is implemented with (1) MFCC alone for feature representation, (2) combination of MFCC with Delta coefficients, and (3) combination of MFCC with Delta and Delta–Delta coefficients. The implemented model is evaluated using different test sets of varying sizes of 100, 200, 500, 1000, 1500, and 2000. Evaluation is performed for both noised and noiseless speech using these three feature representation models and performed an evaluation of these three models. For evaluating this model’s performance in noised conditions, both white and babble noises of various signal-to-noise ratio values such as 10 dB, 20 dB, and 30 dB are added into the noiseless speech and estimate the classification accuracy in those situations. The proposed KNN–DTW model with MFCC outperformed all the other models in the literature. MFCC with Delta and Delta–Delta coefficients is effective than other two models using MFCC and MFCC with Delta coefficients. The proposed model could be used to recognize the isolated word recognition of grade 1 textbook vocabulary in classroom noisy environment for providing a better interactive classroom environment to Kuwaiti elementary students to enhance their math learning level. In an interactive computer-based education environment for Mathematics learning, the proposed model could be recognized as the spoken utterances of students.

Moving intensive onsite courses online: responding to COVID-19 educational disruption

From February 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic led to closures of educational institutions to reduce the spread of infectious disease. This forced the U.S. education system into a massive experiment with online education. Despite conducting online bioethics education for nearly twenty years, our bioethics program, a joint endeavor of Clarkson University and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, was not immune to this disruption because our curriculum features intensive, one-week onsite courses. Even in the face of historic disruptions, it is vital to ensure minimal interruptions to teaching and assessing students to provide effective education. This paper reviews the steps we took to successfully convert the onsite components of our curriculum to a synchronous online format, and it focuses on how we preserved instruction and assessment of practical skills that comprise these courses’ core. It also explains how we fostered interactive classroom environments.

Improving Classroom Interaction in Reading Classes for Students at Hanoi University of Home Affairs: An Action Research

Classroom interaction is obviously of crucial significance to English language teaching and learning. Many language teachers and researchers have made great efforts to find out ways to create interactive classroom environment that involve both teachers and learners’ contributions during the whole process of teaching and learning. The study was conducted to explore classroom interaction in an English foreign language class. Questionnaire and classroom observation were used for data collecting. The results showed that the students participated more actively in reading lessons. Moreover, they developed a positive attitude towards classroom interaction and classroom interaction strategies. The findings demonstrated that increasing students’ motivation, designing interactive reading tasks, and applying appropriate techniques for classroom interaction facilitated and improved classroom interaction.

Flipping the Classroom to Optimize Clinical Decision-Making in the Didactic Setting.

Deliberate inclusion of clinical decision-making nursing skills in the didactic setting will assist students in potentially making better patient care decisions. This can be optimized through use of the flipped learning andragogy. Flipped learning promotes an interactive classroom environment. It fosters teamwork and collaboration. Direct content instruction is the responsibility of students. This cohort pilot study investigated how the flipped and nonflipped approach to teaching impacted clinical decision-making and student participation. The Clinical Decision-Making in Nursing Scale (CDMNS) was administered to the students in the flipped classroom and the nonflipped classroom on week 1 and week 6. A student participation checklist was used to observe class activities at three separate intervals (baseline, mid-semester, and end-semester). A repeated measures analysis of covariance was conducted with Instruction Group as the between subjects factor (Flipped and Nonflipped) and Time (preinstruction and postinstruction) as the within subjects factor, and covarying age. The Time by the Instruction group was significant. The Flipped group showed an increase in Clinical decision-making scores (p < .001) after instruction while the Nonflipped group did not (p = .40). The Flipped group (n = 24) showed an increase in Clinical decision-making scores (p < .001) after instruction while the Nonflipped group (n = 23) did not (p = .40). The Flipped classroom showed 100% participation at baseline, mid-semester, and end of semester. The Nonflipped classroom showed overall lower levels of participation, with 42%, 33%, and 39% at each point respectively. Students who were taught using the flipped instruction were able to apply what they learned in relevant case studies, virtual simulations, and practice National Council Licensure Examination RN (NCLEX-RN) type questions. Through teamwork and collaboration, students had time to practice clinical decision-making skills. This was evident in the increased CDMNS scores and increased levels of participation over time in the flipped group when compared to the nonflipped group.

The Present English Education and English Literature: Poetry Class via Online Discussion during the COVID-19

This essay first raises a question about the difference between the Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation’s official plan-Subject Pedagogy (25~35%) and Subject Contents (75~65%), and the reality of Teacher Appointment Exam in the distribution ratio of Pedagogy and Contents in English subject. Not only questioning the difference, it also disputes the validity of giving a large portion of the test to the area of English Education to the extent of 47.5% (2016-17), among English Education, Linguistics, Literature, and General English. Second, commenting on the domain of English Literature which constitutes the lowest percentage in Teacher Appointment Exam, it contends that the present situation of English education leans too much to the education for profit or economic growth. It points out that excessive concentration on the education for profit in teaching English could result in the lowering of English proficiency, especially students’ reading ability and its accompanying thinking ability. Therefore, this essay pronounces on the necessity of invigorating English literature in EFL learning process since English literature as coupling English language and the humanities is crucial in the development of critical thinking and human compassion, as well as English proficiency. As a case study of English literature class for boosting students’ creativity and human compassion, it introduces English & American poetry class practiced with online discussion which was actualized due to the coronavirus pandemic. Lastly, this essay proposes the reform of English Teacher Appointment Exam such as making questions out of the selected must-read books so that teacher candidates could read English literature texts and collaborate in forming creative and interactive classroom environment with poems, novels, and dramas in the era of the fourth industrial revolution.

ESP Courses and Identity Formation: The Case of Introvert Students

Identity formation is one of the main concerns of today’s education and can have a vital role in ESP learners’ future professional success. This study investigated whether the employment of interactive practices in ESP courses had any impact on the identity formation of introvert students. Initially, 200 undergraduate students majoring in Computer Sciences, Accounting, and Physical Education answered the introversion/extraversion section of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and Cheek and Briggs’ Aspects of Identity Questionnaire (AIQ-IV). Based on their performance on MBTI, 90 learners with the extravert, introvert, and non-discriminating personality traits were selected from six classes and formed the three Extravert, Introvert, and Control (n1=n2=n3=30) groups. The students had taken a Specialized English course in the second semester of their BA program. The classes lasted 14 sessions. During the treatment, the researchers employed different activities for teaching ESP. After the instruction, the participants took the AIQ-IV. The results of ANCOVA indicated that the Introvert group gained significantly higher scores on the identity questionnaire than the Extravert and Control groups. The results of paired samples t-tests showed that while introverts had improved considerably in all components of the identity questionnaire, the Extravert and Control groups did not show any changes. The findings indicated that in interactive classroom environments, introvert learners had more inclination than the extravert and mixed introvert and extravert learners toward a shift in identity. The study has implications for ESP teachers, practitioners, and educators.

READERS’ THEATRE TECHNIQUE; RELEVANCE OF NATURE OF CLASS FOR ENHANCING READING SKILLS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN KISUMU COUNTY, KENYA

Learners in secondary schools ought to be provided with a learning environment which results in effective reading skills. Nature of class facilitates achievement in reading skills through group work, scaffold, motivation and enacting scripts. This study adopted social constructivism in a quasi-experimental design to establish influence of nature of class on achievement in reading skills in secondary schools. Data was collected from learners, n=205 (experimental groups), n=221 (control groups) and 19 teachers for a period of 8 weeks. Reading skills assessment tests, questionnaires, interviews, focus group discussions were used to collect data. The findings revealed a statistically significant relationship between nature of class and achievement in reading skills with p=0.00. The findings in regard to statistical analysis revealed nature of class had a significant impact on achievement in reading skills and interactive classroom environment would be valuable in the teaching and learning of reading skills. Article visualizations:

Classroom Interaction in Oral Language Learning Events Created by EFL Storytelling-based Games

The paper aims at discussing some examples of classroom interaction in the context of playing “One Word/Sentence at a Time” and “Story Cubes” games by Polish secondary school students of English. First, it gives an overview of definitions and major types of classroom interaction. Second, it presents the opportunities for classroom interaction offered by a game-like environment. Then, the action research study conducted with a group of EFL learners is presented. The participants were recorded in the course of storytelling-oriented lessons and their stories were transcribed. Summing up the data gathered throughout the study, it is evident that the games offer a highly interactive FL classroom environment in which various categories of student-talk intertwine with teacher-talk.

Korean Law School and Civil Procedure in 2019

In 2009 Korean New Law School System was adopted with a deep anxiety because most universities did not prepare for new educational system until then. Especially, we could not have time enough to make new lecture materials and to decide how to teach students. Many people argues that teachers in law school should change their lecture method and curriculum so as to educate prospective global standard lawyers efficiently. They also insist that professors of law school should teach practice fields such as the Korean Judicial Research and Training Institute(KJRTI) established by the Korean Government. However, law school is not a training institute but just educational graduate school of law. Furthermore, we teach graduate students who have studied diverse majors in undergraduate colleges unlike KJRTI, and then they should be educated in law from the beginning level. Therefore, we have to emphasize theory education rather than practice in civil procedure subject and other subjects although we should teach theory and practice coincidently in law school. The author thinks that we should educate law school students so as to think like a lawyer. Then what is the “hink like a lawyer”? There are five elements to thinking like a lawyer: judgment capacity, legal reasoning capacity, communication capacity, comprehension of professional norms and responsibilities and leadership. Each of these components has both knowledge and skills aspects. Now the purpose of law school can be more clearly stated: to teach prospective lawyers the knowledge and skills necessary to exercise sound judgment, develop sound legal reasoning capacity, communicate effectively, cooperate with colleagues and function at all times in accordance with professional norms and responsibilities. Now we stand here in the beginning of 2019. Ten years have passed since the new law school system begun. What was changed since then? And what happened in civil procedure subject and field? The author thinks that not changed furthermore even worse especially in civil procedure field. The lecture style had not changed and bar exam style got worse. In order to achieve our original goal in law school, a civil procedure subject should have a important role in law school because it has acted as a mediator between the legal theory and practice. First of all, we have to change curriculum so as to teach civil procedure-related subjects such as Civil Enforcement, Bankruptcy law, Arbitration and International litigation as well as civil procedure. And also we have to change teaching method so as to make a interactive classroom environment that thinking like a lawyer demands. The problem method based on the Socratic method could be the best teaching method to coincide with the purpose of law school.

Student Led Campus Desire Path Evaluation Using Pictometry® Neighborhood Imagery

A student led evaluation of desire paths (e.g., paths created by pedestrians on an open landscape) across the Stephen F. Austin State University (SFASU) campus was performed within a senior level spatial science course in order to create a method for mitigation of desire paths and for campus beautification. Each desire path on campus was identified with the length of each path measured in the field and categorized by the condition of the path in order to assess and determine a necessary solution for each path identified. In addition, Pictometry® high spatial resolution digital imagery was used to determine if the categorization of the conditions of the desire paths, as well as the length of each desire path, could be identified and quantified without the need to measure each individual desire path in the field. Students, within an interactive hands-on classroom environment, compared in-field desire path measurements with Pictometry® on-screen measurements to determine the effectiveness of remotely sensed Pictometry® imagery to identify and quantify desire path location and length respectfully.

Factors influencing students' beliefs about the future in the context of tablet-based interactive classrooms

With the distribution of easy-to-use tablet computers, tablet-based interactive classrooms have become popular environments for innovative learning activities in recent years. However, little research has investigated the relationship between technologically enhanced learning environments and students' beliefs about the future and self-efficacy for learning. In this study, young students' perceptions of tablet-based interactive classrooms, beliefs about the future, and self-efficacy for learning in rural areas of Korea were examined after the students engaged in tablet-based interactive classrooms. To develop the theoretical framework, we created a structural research model of ease of use, usefulness, satisfaction, deepened experiences through tablet use, beliefs about the future, and self-efficacy in tablet-based interactive classrooms based on a partial least squares (PLS) method. The results indicate that (1) students in tablet-based interactive classrooms perceive frequent experiences with tablet-based instructions as easy and useful and (2) student satisfaction is significantly influenced by their perceptions of deeper learning experiences through tablet use, which are significantly influenced by their future expectations and self-efficacy for learning. This study provides relevant implications for educators who design learning activities for students in rural schools in tablet-based interactive classroom environments.

A Review of Research on Classroom Management in Turkey

This study aimed to review and critique classroom management research in Turkey, and present the emerging themes and findings of the selected studies on classroom management undertaken through 2002 to 2014. This paper reports on a content analysis of 46 classroom management research papers published in selected national and international journals and 8 peer-reviewed master/Phd thesis. Selection and then content analysis of the selected 54 studies in total were done in considering pre-determined criteria. Firstly, the findings indicated that teachers’ ability to create this interactive classroom environment was influenced by some variables such as teacher beliefs and teachers’ expectations of the students. Second, it demonstrated the complex nature of classroom management as it was investigated through a rich set of variables in the study. Third, it provided implications for teachers and teacher trainers on classroom management. Finally this study outlines the critical areas of research on classroom management and identifies areas of further research.

A case study of learner and instructor perceptions of flipped course design and interactive learning environment

Student learning preferences have changed dramatically over the past decade aligned with the fast-paced changes in technology, however, university courses, instructors and classroom spaces have lagged behind technology advances. Emerging, innovative alternatives to traditional learning in higher education classes are online or distance education, flipped course design or learning model and hybrid or blended courses. The focus of this study was to determine students’ and teacher perceptions of flipped course design and learning in a technologically advanced, interactive learning space. Quantitative and qualitative data revealed positive, reflective responses to student and teacher experiences with the flipped learning model (flipped content, pace of information delivery, in-class homework) and interactive classroom environment (learning environment, innovative technology, transparent problem-solving). The interactive technology in the class environment allowed students to experience multiple methods and opportunities for mastering content and skills. This environment also encouraged risk-taking in both teaching and learning.