Smart and Regular Classrooms: A Comparative Study of

Teaching-Learning Process

A Synopsis Submitted to the Central University of Himachal Pradesh for

the Partial fulfilment of the Degree of
Master of Arts (Education)

Supervision of Researcher
Prof. Manoj Kumar Saxena Ajay Kumar Singh
Dean & Head Registration No: CUHP23MAEDU01
School of Education Session 2023-2025

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Department of Education, School of Education

1
Central University of Himachal Pradesh, Dharamshala
1. INTRODUCTION 3

2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE 4

3. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 8

4. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM 8

5. OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS 8

6. RESEARCH QUESTIONS 9

7. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES 9

8. RESEARCH HYPOTHESES 9

9. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 10

10.REFERENCES 11

Smart and Regular Classrooms: A Comparative Study of

Teaching-Learning Process

Introduction

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India has witnessed a change in its perception of education in the last few years with a
technological intervention in the classroom. The smart classroom is one more change in this
process. Smart classrooms are those technology-enhanced spaces that seek to help enhance
teaching-learning experiences while promoting interaction, engagement, and personalized
learning (Kumar & Sharma, 2020). This proposal intends to evaluate the effect of smart and
regular classrooms on teaching and learning at the secondary level in the Indian subcontinent.

Essentially, a smart classroom is the next generation of an educational space equipped with
modern technology to enhance interactive teaching and learning. It incorporates various
digital tools to engage students, such as interactive whiteboards, projectors, tablets, and
learning management systems. These components promote collaborative activity among
students, which can only add to the overall improvement in learning. Technology engages and
motivates students by providing participation and feedback opportunities that respond to the
very diverse needs of a smart classroom through improved teaching and learning outcomes.

This technological convergence creates a shared learning atmosphere in which students are
actively involved. As a result, student interest and retention levels are enhanced (Sahu &
Panda, 2022). There is research showing that stimulation is known to enhance academic
performance in interactive learning environments that foster a gap between theory and
practice in subjects that students find problematic (Nandan & Mishra, 2021).

A traditional classroom is a physical setting where a teacher transmits knowledge in person to

students. A traditional classroom exists throughout the world as the most common format for
imparting education to students. Traditional classrooms provide a good amount of interaction,
allowing students to ask questions and take part in activities to further learn new material.
Teachers tend to teach from a standardized curriculum and assess their students' learning by
means of a test (UoPeople, 2024).

Smart classrooms are beyond just technological advancement; they represent constructivist
learning theories, where student-centred pedagogy is valued. Constructivist learning theories
are said to remove the learner from the mode of passive observation and place the learner in a
more active role so that learners assume more responsibility for their learning activities and
importantly develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills (Sharma, 2020). In the
Indian context, researchers have shown that there is a significant relationship between student
engagement in technology-enabled classrooms and academic performance (Kumar et al.,
2019).

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Moreover, Smart classrooms offer personalized learning to fit the abilities and choices of
learners (Chawla & Sharma, 2021). These personalized learning technologies allow teachers
to align their teaching methods with each individual’s needs. Such personalization increases
student motivation and involvement, enhancing academic achievement, etc (Bansal &
Raghav, 2021).

However, despite the promise that smart classrooms hold, challenges such as lack of
professional development for teachers, lack of access to technical resources, and poor
infrastructure create considerable obstacles to their workable implementation (Gupta, 2020).
It is crucial to understand how these issues may be impacting the successful integration of
smart classrooms within India's education system.

This study will investigate the effects of smart classrooms on the teaching-learning process
by examining student participation, academic outcomes, and overall satisfaction among the
secondary school students of India concerning the learning process. It seeks to provide
empirical evidence to facilitate technology integration into school education, offering insight
into the ongoing discourse on smart classrooms in schools in India.

Review of Related Literature

A literature review is a summary of the published work in a field of study. This can be a
section of a larger paper or article, or can be the focus of an entire paper. Literature reviews
show that you have examined the breadth of knowledge and can justify your thesis or
research questions. They are also valuable tools for other researchers who need to find a
summary of that field of knowledge.

The following sections will study various aspects of smart classrooms, the relationship
between engagement and academic achievement, views of the teachers, and problems faced
in implementing technology in classroom environments.

Chen and Liu (2024) conducted a meta-analysis to examine the influence of smart classroom
on students’ learning outcome by synthesizing findings from 21 empirical studies. Their
results indicated an overall effect size of SMD = 1.10 that indicated that smart classrooms
impact the learning outcomes more positively compared to traditional classroom settings.
Their study suggested there should be more researches for effective smart classrooms
utilization at its maximum level.

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Zhang et al. (2024) in their study classified sensors applied in smart classrooms and
underlined their current applications from both hardware and software perspectives,
describing how various sensors complement the educational outcome and what crucial role
AI technologies play. Their results pointed to improvements in the physical classroom setting
through sensor technology and monitoring of physiological and behavioural information,
with a wide application in enhancing engagements of students, attendance record, and
personalization. Sensor software algorithms combined with artificial intelligence also
improve data processing capacity while increasing the capability of sensors that enriches their
role within smart classrooms. This paper further highlighted challenges including data
protection, cost, and optimization of the algorithm that were associated with new emerging
sensor technologies and outlined future research directions in the development of educational
sensor technologies.

Madhur et al. (2024) in their article found the elements which influence the efficiency of
smart classrooms in higher education. They performed a study survey with 201 participants,
including teachers and students from various academic programs. Their findings indicated
that improved engagement, individualized instruction, resource accessibility, and
collaborative learning are the features that affect how successfully smart classrooms teach
and learn in higher education.

Zhou (2024) in his examined how smart classrooms affect students' learning experiences in
the information age and examined both motivating and hindering factors from a variety of
angles. Through empirical study and a review of the literature they discovered that smart
classrooms improve student learning outcomes by helping in easier student engagement and
expanding the boundaries of disciplines.

Bhat (2023) conducted a comparative study on how technology integration affects student
learning outcomes. It provided an analysis of case studies, empirical data, and existing
research assessing the possible advantages and difficulties that accompanied integrating
technology into learning systems by assessing its impact on student engagement and student
performance. The findings of their study revealed that integrating technology into the
classroom changed teaching and learning. In an analysis of its various advantages, it was
stated that technology would be able to alter how students learn, engage with one another,
and succeed in the academic field at a fundamental level.

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Shah et al. (2023) carried out a study where effectivity and satisfaction with online learning
systems versus traditional classrooms were examined. They surveyed 500 university students
on their experiences with both forms of learning. Various quantitative data, including their
age, gender, and area of study, was validated. The participants then completed two
questionnaires about satisfaction with online learning platforms and traditional classrooms
concerning effectiveness. Their study showed that these students were very satisfied with
both forms of learning, with online learning having a higher satisfaction rate. Their study also
pointed out that factors such as accessibility to online learning environments, flexibility with
regards to schedule, and access to multimedia resources greatly contributed to student
happiness. Most importantly, their study highlighted the importance of evaluating the needs
and preferences of students when developing instructional methods and the blended learning
approaches which benefit and develop both modalities.

Orukior et al. (2023) offered insight into classroom design effect on student learning to
enlighten ways of improving Cameroonian learning environments. They peer-reviewed
published research articles using a narrative review study methodology. Their results
predicted that the constructed environment of a classroom would greatly affect the academic
performance, health, and well-being of students. Thus, applying these before building new
classrooms in Cameroon and an understanding of factors affecting comfort levels of study
among students could greatly impact students' learning outcome.

Alfoudari et al. (2023) studied teachers' perceptions of factors influencing the quality of
smart classrooms in higher education using a purposive sample of 31 academicians from the
GCC countries. Their findings revealed some themes regarding the quality attributes of
technology and the quality attributes of social interactions. Results from the investigation also
identified the management systems, the educational policies, and the administration practices
that are enacted, engineered, enabled, or enhanced with these attributes in smart classrooms.
Strategy engagement planning and cause-driven transformation are the two key contexts that
determined the quality of education for the interviewees.

Lu et al. (2022) conducted a structural equation modelling to explore the relation between the
classroom preferences of college students and learning engagement in smart classrooms.
Further, multiple regression analysis was conducted to investigate the impact of smart
classroom preferences on the learning environment. They surveyed 275 college students who
had studied in smart classrooms for at least a semester.

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In their paper, Kaur et al. (2022) added to the body of literature by offering a thorough
examination of numerous fields utilizing a common vocabulary and taxonomy. Their multi-
disciplinary research discovered some new challenges and issues that have to be solved in
order to combine interdisciplinary products in a synergistic way. Their study has also led to
the conclusion that research area of smart classroom is emerging very fast and it
complements some of the emerging technologies. They also presented technological
keywords co-occurrence network with the use of VOS viewer for deep study on the paper.

In their study, Yi et al. (2021) tried to explore the traditional classroom and the smart
classroom. They applied a data analysis method to conduct a complete statistical study about
the teaching behaviours exhibited in the 40 lessons chosen for the first Smart Classroom
Innovation Teaching Competition in Jiangsu Province. The analysis results reveal that
teacher-student interaction, group cooperation, autonomous learning, and evaluation feedback
have significant differences in the smart classroom and traditional classroom. In the area of
resource sharing and teacher teaching, data analysis has not found any significant
differences.However, these two variables were distinguished in the actual classroom by
video-based observation and analysis.

Ayyappan and Parthasarathy (2021) conducted research which focused on the adoption of IoT
among university students and its implications for their academic performance in higher
education. They surveyed 52 students from five different higher education institutions to
analyze the relationship between IoT usage and student performance. Their findings indicated
a correlation between IoT usage and academic success in a higher education setting.
Additionally, the study suggested that the IoT sector must prepare for future developments, as
it is expected to experience significant growth in the coming years.

Recalde et al. (2020) studied the educational implications of Industry 4.0 technologies by
collecting data from principals of several public schools in Catalonia. The qualitative analysis
in their study sought to put forward suggestions for enhancing smart classrooms through
educational innovation. According to the study's results, schools consider the development
and implementation of technologies that take advantage of Industry 4.0 for future classrooms
to be necessary, entirely guided by knowledge and pedagogical principles. In a smart
classroom, one should modify the parameters of furniture, lighting, acoustics, and air quality.

Di et al. (2019) investigated how learner factors interactively affected higher-order thinking
in the smart classroom environment. They randomly selected 784 students in 16 classes from

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9 primary schools in central China. The results driven by Structural Equation Modelling
(SEM) revealed that learners’ higher-order thinking was not directed by learning motivation
but strongly and directly affected by learning style and internet attitude.

Kumar and Singh (2019) discussed the smart classroom as environment that improves the
learning processes through online sources, thus enhancing joint learning experiences. Their
research concluded that besides information access, learning environments have been known
to encourage their use for critical thinking as there are problem-solving activities via
technology.

Phoong et al. (2019) in their article studied the effect of smart classrooms among
Mathematics undergraduates. They tested 72 students and applied t- test to carry out an
analysis of their data. Their result of the study indicated a marked difference in students'
academic achievement between conventional and smart classrooms. More so, it improved a
lot the students' performance.

Martin et al. (2019) undertook a comprehensive literature review in their study to find a
definition of the meaning of "Smart Education," the technology that supports it, and what it
claims. They concluded that there are certain contemporary advancements that could render
educational technology much more learner-adapted and, in this way, support learning in a
more intelligent way, even though the concept is quite ambiguous.

Cheung and Slavin (2013) conducted a meta-analysis, where it was indicated technology
application in schools leads to improved learning outcomes. In total, 74 quality studies were
included in the final analysis, 56,886 K-12 students included in the sample: 45 elementary
studies, N=31,555; and 29 secondary studies, N=25,331. The authors conclude that the
supplemental CAI produced the greatest mean effect size of +0.18 over the three
classifications of educational technology applications used in this study.

Jena (2013) conducted experimental research to investigate the effect of smart classroom
learning environment on the academic achievement of rural high achievers and low achievers
in science. The researcher selected 60 students of the Royal Convent School of Jalandhar,
Punjab. The experiment was conducted using two group randomized pre-test post-test design.

As stated by Fredricks et al. (2004), engagement has been encompassed in its behavioural,
emotional, and cognitive dimensions necessary for achieving effective learning results. Use

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of technology, particularly smart classrooms, has been known to impact a student's
engagement dramatically.

Since such trends are emerging in the present, this paper attempts to provide critical input on
understanding the effectiveness of such smart classroom technologies in a secondary school
setting while establishing a foundation for future work on the long-term impacts of such
technologies on learning.

Significance of the Study

This study will be significant as it will provide a comparative study of smart classrooms and
regular classrooms on the teaching-learning process in secondary school students, a critical
stage in student’s academic journey. By integrating technology into education, smart
classrooms have the potential to enhance student engagement, improve comprehension and
foster interactive learning environment. The findings of the study will provide valuable
insight for educators and administrators on the effectiveness of smart classrooms in
improving academic achievement and participation of the students. It will also help to
identify best practices for integrating technology into traditional teaching methods,
benefitting both teachers and students. Ultimately, this research will be vital for the
development of education by utilizing smart classrooms effectively.

Statement of the problem

“Smart and Regular Classrooms: A Comparative Study of Teaching-Learning Process.”

Operational definition of the terms used:

Smart classrooms: Smart classrooms in the proposed study means technologically enhanced
learning environment equipped with tools such as digital projectors, interactive whiteboards,
multimedia content, internet enabled devices which are designed to support and enhance
teaching- learning processes.

Regular classrooms: Regular classrooms in the proposed study means a conventional

learning environment in which a teacher instructs pupils without making additional
accommodations for those with special needs. Classes are accommodated with traditional
blackboard, chalk, books, etc.

Teaching-learning process: Teaching-learning process in the proposed study refers to the

methodical exchange of ideas between students and teachers in a classroom setting with the

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goal of promoting successful learning outcomes. Its characteristics include how the material
is organized and delivered, how students are involved, how different teaching techniques are
used, and how learning objectives are assessed, all of which eventually aid in the
development of knowledge and skills.

Research Questions

1. How do Smart classrooms effect student’s academic achievement?

2. What is the perception of students regarding Smart classrooms?

3. What are the significant differences between regular and smart classroom teaching? How
does smart classroom teaching affect student’s engagement and learning outcomes compared
to regular teaching methods?

Research Objectives

The proposed study will be based on the following objectives:

1. To Compare the effect of smart and regular classrooms teaching on academic

achievement of students.
2. To Investigate Student Satisfaction and Perceptions of Smart Classroom Learning
Environments.

Research Hypotheses

Following hypotheses are framed on the basis of objectives:

Ho1: Students taught in smart classrooms exhibit significantly different academic

achievement scores (either higher or lower) compared to those taught in regular classrooms.

Research Methodology

Research Design

This study will employ an experimental research design to evaluate the effect of smart
classrooms in comparison to regular classrooms on teaching-learning process in secondary
school.

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Population

The population for the proposed study will consist of all secondary school students who are
studying in 9th class.

Sample

The researcher will employ the lottery method to select the secondary school in district
Kangra. A sample of 50 students will be selected through simple random sampling technique.

Tool and Instrument

Lesson plan and achievement test will be developed by the researcher to teach the control and
experimental group.

Data Collection Methods

For the proposed study data will be collected through pre and post-tests, classroom
observations and feedback surveys to assess academic achievement, engagement and
interaction patterns among the students.

Data Analysis

Mean, median, t-test, and other appropriate statistical technique will be employed by the
researcher based on the nature of the data available.

Delimitations

The study will be confined to the Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh.

The study will be delimited to only one secondary school.

The study will be delimited to only 9th class students.

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