Smart Classrooms: How Sensors and AI Are Shaping Educational Paradigms.

The integration of advanced technologies is revolutionizing classrooms, significantly enhancing their intelligence, interactivity, and personalization. Central to this transformation are sensor technologies, which play pivotal roles. While numerous surveys summarize research progress in classrooms, few studies focus on the integration of sensor and AI technologies in developing smart classrooms. This systematic review classifies sensors used in smart classrooms and explores their current applications from both hardware and software perspectives. It delineates how different sensors enhance educational outcomes and the crucial role AI technologies play. The review highlights how sensor technology improves the physical classroom environment, monitors physiological and behavioral data, and is widely used to boost student engagements, manage attendance, and provide personalized learning experiences. Additionally, it shows that combining sensor software algorithms with AI technology not only enhances the data processing and analysis efficiency but also expands sensor capabilities, enriching their role in smart classrooms. The article also addresses challenges such as data privacy protection, cost, and algorithm optimization associated with emerging sensor technologies, proposing future research directions to advance educational sensor technologies.

Health benefits to vulnerable populations by meeting particle-level guidelines inside schools with different ventilation conditions.

We conducted simultaneous real-time measurements for particles on the premises of four schools, two of which were naturally ventilated (NV) and two mechanically ventilated (MV) in Kanpur, India. Health to school children from reduced particle levels inside classrooms simulated to the lowest acceptable levels (ISHRAE Class C: PM10 ≤ 100 µg/m3 & PM2.5 ≤ 25 µg/m3) using air filters were examined. Lung deposition of particles was used as a proxy for health impacts and calculated using the MPPD model. The particle levels in all classrooms were above the baseline, with NV classrooms having higher particle masses than MV classrooms: 72.16% for PM1, 74.66% for PM2.5, and 85.17% for PM10. Our calculation reveals a whooping reduction in particles deposited in the lungs (1512% for PM10 and 1485% for PM2.5) in the case of the NV classrooms. Results highlight unhealthy air inside classrooms and suggest urgent interventions, such as simple filtration techniques, to achieve acceptable levels of particles inside schools.

Student's and Classmates' Prosocial Behavior predict Academic Engagement in Middle School.

Students' academic engagement is greatly informed by a classroom's social climate. However, more research is needed regarding how specific peer behavior, especially prosocial behavior, come to shape academic engagement. The present study investigated whether students' perceptions about their classmates' prosocial behavior were associated with their academic engagement (cognitive, behavioral, affective) across the school year. Indirect effects via increases in students' own prosocial behavior were examined. Participants were 905 middle school students from rural, low-income communities in the Midwestern United States (50% girls, 46% boys; Mage = 12.94 years). Students completed self-report surveys in the fall and spring of the 2022-2023 school year. Results revealed that students' perceptions of their classmates' prosocial behavior were positively associated with students' own prosocial behavior. Students' own prosocial behavior was positively associated with all three dimensions of engagement. The positive indirect effect of classmates' prosocial behavior on engagement through students' own prosocial behavior was significant. The findings highlight the importance of classmates' behavior on individuals' academic engagement and offer insights into classroom-based interventions aimed at improving collective behavior.

An ecological view of executive function in young children: Variation in and predictors of executive function skills over one school year.

For many years, researchers studied executive functions (EFs) in the laboratory with a focus on understanding an individual child's development and brain processes in a controlled environment. Building on this foundational research, there is a growing interest in EFs in the context of a child's dynamic, social world, and the contextual and compositional factors influencing EF development. This paper provides a descriptive view of EFs in 1112 K-3 children from six schools in Phoenix, AZ, USA. The study's goals were to examine (1) variation in EF scores between and within schools and classrooms, (2) predictors of variation in children's spring EF scores, and (3) individual and compositional predictors of children's spring EF scores. Our findings indicate greater variation in children's EF within schools than between, with very little or no variation arising from differences between schools. Though we observed greater variation within classrooms than between them, a notable amount of variance in children's spring EF scores appears to arise from differences between classrooms. Classroom-level variables, including a fall leave-out classroom mean (without the students' own score) and the number of children in the top or bottom grade-level quartiles in each classroom, were significant predictors of variation in spring EF scores as well as in fall to spring changes in EF. In some cases, the classroom variables were stronger predictors than individual fall scores. Findings suggest that understanding variation and cultivating growth in EF skills requires intervention, measurement, and analytic approaches that extend beyond the individual to include compositional features of the classroom environment. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Variation in children's EF scores (n = 1112 children) was greater within schools (n = 6 schools) than between, with very little or no variance arising from differences between schools. While variance was greater within classrooms than between (n = 67 classrooms), a notable amount of variance in children's spring EF scores appears to arise from differences between classrooms. Classroom-level variables (e.g., leave-out mean, number of children in the top or bottom grade-level quartiles in each classroom) were significant predictors of variation and of changes in spring EF outcomes. In some cases, the classroom variables were stronger predictors of spring EF than individual fall scores.

Profiling students via clustering in a flipped clinical skills course using learning analytics.

Flipped classrooms have become popular as a student-centered approach in medical education because they allow students to improve higher-order thinking skills and problem-solving applications during in-class activities. However, students are expected to study videos and other class materials before class begins. Learning analytics and unsupervised machine learning algorithms (clustering) can be used to examine the pre-class activities of these students to identify inadequate student preparation before the in-class stage and make appropriate interventions. Furthermore, the students' profiles, which provide their interaction strategies towards online materials, can be used to design appropriate interventions. This study investigates student profiles in a flipped classroom. The learning management system interactions of 375 medical students are collected and preprocessed. The k-means clustering algorithms examined in this study show a two-cluster structure: 'high interaction' and 'low-interaction.' These results can be used to help identify low-engaged students and give appropriate feedback.

Student Learning Behavior Recognition Incorporating Data Augmentation with Learning Feature Representation in Smart Classrooms.

A robust and scientifically grounded teaching evaluation system holds significant importance in modern education, serving as a crucial metric that reflects the quality of classroom instruction. However, current methodologies within smart classroom environments have distinct limitations. These include accommodating a substantial student population, grappling with object detection challenges due to obstructions, and encountering accuracy issues in recognition stemming from varying observation angles. To address these limitations, this paper proposes an innovative data augmentation approach designed to detect distinct student behaviors by leveraging focused behavioral attributes. The primary objective is to alleviate the pedagogical workload. The process begins with assembling a concise dataset tailored for discerning student learning behaviors, followed by the application of data augmentation techniques to significantly expand its size. Additionally, the architectural prowess of the Extended-efficient Layer Aggregation Networks (E-ELAN) is harnessed to effectively extract a diverse array of learning behavior features. Of particular note is the integration of the Channel-wise Attention Module (CBAM) focal mechanism into the feature detection network. This integration plays a pivotal role, enhancing the network's ability to detect key cues relevant to student learning behaviors and thereby heightening feature identification precision. The culmination of this methodological journey involves the classification of the extracted features through a dual-pronged conduit: the Feature Pyramid Network (FPN) and the Path Aggregation Network (PAN). Empirical evidence vividly demonstrates the potency of the proposed methodology, yielding a mean average precision (mAP) of 96.7%. This achievement surpasses comparable methodologies by a substantial margin of at least 11.9%, conclusively highlighting the method's superior recognition capabilities. This research has an important impact on the field of teaching evaluation system, which helps to reduce the burden of educators on the one hand, and makes teaching evaluation more objective and accurate on the other hand.

Exploring social-emotional learning, school climate, and social network analysis.

There is currently limited research on student peer leadership in the social-emotional literature. This paper used exploratory methods of social network analysis to understand the structure of school peer relationships, peer leadership, and school climate. Self-report measures of perceptions of peer leadership and climate were given to students during the 2016-2017 school year. Data collected from a peer leadership survey were used to calculate closeness and indegree centrality values. The results showed that student Ambassadors have higher peer nominated leadership scores compared to non-Ambassador controls and the rest of the school. Additionally, Ambassadors did not demonstrate a change in centrality scores, non-Ambassador students increased in centrality scores, and school climate was not correlated with the leadership centrality score. Results suggest that influence spreads, and that good leadership may be emulated among students, leading to a diffusion effect. This supports the need for good leaders in schools. Additionally, climate may not be associated with leadership centrality scores due to the length of the intervention. Future studies should look toward behavioral data to unravel what comprises positive and negative influences in Social-Emotional and Character Development interventions.

Ventilation and thermal conditions in secondary schools in the Netherlands: Effects of COVID-19 pandemic control and prevention measures.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of ventilation was widely stressed and new protocols of ventilation were implemented in school buildings worldwide. In the Netherlands, schools were recommended to keep the windows and doors open, and after a national lockdown more stringent measures such as reduction of occupancy were introduced. In this study, the actual effects of such measures on ventilation and thermal conditions were investigated in 31 classrooms of 11 Dutch secondary schools, by monitoring the indoor and outdoor CO2 concentration and air temperature, both before and after the lockdown. Ventilation rates were calculated using the steady-state method. Pre-lockdown, with an average occupancy of 17 students, in 42% of the classrooms the CO2 concentration exceeded the upper limit of the Dutch national guidelines (800 ppm above outdoors), while 13% had a ventilation rate per person (VRp) lower than the minimum requirement (6 l/s/p). Post-lockdown, the indoor CO2 concentration decreased significantly while for ventilation rates significant increase was only found in VRp, mainly caused by the decrease in occupancy (average 10 students). The total ventilation rate per classrooms, mainly induced by opening windows and doors, did not change significantly. Meanwhile, according to the Dutch national guidelines, thermal conditions in the classrooms were not satisfying, both pre- and post-lockdown. While opening windows and doors cannot achieve the required indoor environmental quality at all times, reducing occupancy might not be feasible for immediate implementation. Hence, more controllable and flexible ways for improving indoor air quality and thermal comfort in classrooms are needed.

Yes, Teaching and Pedagogical Practices Matter: Graduate Students' of Color Stories in Hybrid Higher Education/Student Affairs (HESA) Graduate Programs.

Faculty members must employ pedagogical practices that foster humanizing learning environments for graduate Students of Color who have been marginalized and othered in higher education. Methodologically using narrative inquiry, this paper describes graduate Students' of Color stories in higher education/student affairs hybrid graduate preparation programs to understand how faculty contribute to humanizing and critical pedagogy. The findings highlight three central pedagogical strategies faculty used in hybrid classrooms that graduate Students' of Color named as most effective: (1) taught to transgress against racism and oppression, (2) emphasized dialogic pedagogy strategies, and (3) encouraged collaboration inside and outside of the classroom. This study highlights critical pedagogies for student engagement and is a call-to-action for higher education to center humanizing praxis in hybrid learning environments and beyond.

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.

The role of live transcripts in synchronous online L2 classrooms: Learning outcomes and learner perceptions.

This study explored the role of live transcripts in online synchronous academic English classrooms by focusing on how automatically generated live transcripts influence the learning outcomes of lower-proficiency and higher-proficiency learners and on their perceptions towards live transcripts. The study adop ted a 2 × 2 factorial design, with the two factors being learner proficiency (high vs. low) and availability of live transcription (presence and absence). The participants were 129 second-year Japanese university students from four synchronous classes taught on Zoom by the same teacher under an academic English reading course. Learning outcomes in this study were evaluated according to the course syllabus through grades and participation in class activities. A questionnaire consisting of nine Likert-scale questions and a comment box was administered to explore participants' perceived usefulness of, perceived ease of use of, and perceived reliance on live transcripts. Results showed that contrary to previous studies reporting the effectiveness of captioned audiovisual materials in L2 learning, live transcripts as a special type of captions were not effective in promoting the grades of learners of either proficiency. However, it significantly improved the activity participation of lower-proficiency learners, but not that of higher-proficiency learners. Questionnaire results showed that there were no significant differences between learners of two proficiencies in their perceptions towards live transcription, which contradicts previous findings that lower-proficiency learners tend to rely more on captions. Besides enhancement of lecture comprehension, participants reported innovative uses of live transcripts such as screenshots with transcripts for notetaking purposes and transcripts downloaded for later review.

Mycobiota and the Contribution of Yeasts in Floor Dust of 50 Elementary Schools Characterized with Sequencing Internal Transcribed Spacer Region of Ribosomal DNA.

The assemblage of fungi including unicellular yeasts in schools is understudied. We conducted an environmental study to characterize fungal communities in classroom floor dust. We collected 500 samples from 50 elementary schools in Philadelphia, PA, and evaluated room dampness/mold conditions. Genomic DNA from dust was extracted for internal transcribed spacer 1 Illumina MiSeq sequencing to identify operational taxonomic units (OTUs) organized from DNA sequences. Differential abundance analyses were performed to examine significant differences in abundance among groups. We identified 724 genera from 1490 OTUs. The genus Epicoccum was not diverse but the most abundant (relative abundance = 18.9%). Fungi were less diverse but most dissimilar in composition in the most water-damaged classrooms compared to the least water-damaged, indicating differential effects of individual classroom water-damage on fungal compositions. We identified 62 yeast genera, representing 19.6% of DNA sequences. Cyberlindnera was the most abundant (6.1%), followed by Cryptococcus, Aureobasidium, Rhodotorula, and Candida. The average relative abundance of yeasts tended to increase with increasing dampness and mold score and was significantly (p-value = 0.048) higher in the most water-damaged classrooms (22.4%) than the least water-damaged classrooms (18.2%). Our study suggests the need for further research on the potential health effects associated with exposures to yeasts in schools.

Understanding teachers' experiences of ventilation in California K-12 classrooms and implications for supporting safe operation of schools in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Classrooms are often under-ventilated, posing risks for airborne disease transmission as schools have reopened amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. While technical solutions to ensure adequate air exchange are crucial, this research focuses on teachers' perceptions and practices that may also have important implications for achieving a safe classroom environment. We report on a (pre-pandemic) survey of 84 teachers across 11 California schools, exploring their perceptions of environmental quality in relation to monitored indoor environmental quality (IEQ) data from their classrooms. Teachers were not educated regarding mechanical ventilation. Errors in HVAC system installation and programming contributed to misunderstandings (because mechanical ventilation was often not performing as it should) and even occasionally made it possible for teachers to turn off the HVAC fan (to reduce noise). Teachers did not accurately perceive (in)sufficient ventilation; in fact, those in classrooms with poorer ventilation were more satisfied with IEQ, likely due to more temperature fluctuations when ventilation rates were higher combined with occupants' tendency to conflate perceptions of air quality and temperature. We conclude that classroom CO2  monitoring and teacher education are vital to ensure that teachers feel safe in the classroom and empowered to protect the health of themselves and their students.

A systematic approach to quantify the influence of indoor environmental parameters on students' perceptions, responses, and short-term academic performance.

Several studies found that classrooms' indoor environmental quality (IEQ) can positively influence in-class activities. Understanding and quantifying the combined effect of four indoor environmental parameters, namely indoor air quality and thermal, acoustic, and lighting conditions on people is essential to create an optimal IEQ. Accordingly, a systematic approach was developed to study the effect of multiple IEQ parameters simultaneously. Methods for measuring the IEQ and students' perceived IEQ, internal responses, and academic performance were derived from literature. Next, this systematic approach was tested in a pilot study during a regular academic course. The perceptions, internal responses, and short-term academic performance of participating students (n = 163) were measured. During the pilot study, the IEQ of the classrooms varied slightly. Significant associations (p < 0.05) were observed between these natural variations and students' perceptions of the thermal environment and indoor air quality. These perceptions were significantly associated with their physiological and cognitive responses (p < 0.05). Furthermore, students' perceived cognitive responses were associated with their short-term academic performance (p < 0.01). The observed associations confirm the construct validity of the systematic approach. However, its validity for investigating the influence of lighting remains to be determined.

A multi-layered strategy for COVID-19 infection prophylaxis in schools: A review of the evidence for masks, distancing, and ventilation.

Implications for the academic and interpersonal development of children and adolescents underpin a global political consensus to maintain in-classroom teaching during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In support of this aim, the WHO and UNICEF have called for schools around the globe to be made safer from the risk of COVID-19 transmission. Detailed guidance is needed on how this goal can be successfully implemented in a wide variety of educational settings in order to effectively mitigate impacts on the health of students, staff, their families, and society. This review provides a comprehensive synthesis of current scientific evidence and emerging standards in relation to the use of layered prevention strategies (involving masks, distancing, and ventilation), setting out the basis for their implementation in the school environment. In the presence of increasingly infectious SARS-Cov-2 variants, in-classroom teaching can only be safely maintained through a layered strategy combining multiple protective measures. The precise measures that are needed at any point in time depend upon a number of dynamic factors, including the specific threat-level posed by the circulating variant, the level of community infection, and the political acceptability of the resultant risk. By consistently implementing appropriate prophylaxis measures, evidence shows that the risk of infection from in-classroom teaching can be dramatically reduced. Current studies indicate that wearing high-quality masks and regular testing are amongst the most important measures in preventing infection transmission; whilst effective natural and mechanical ventilation systems have been shown to reduce infection risks in classrooms by over 80%.

Precision patient education using a "flipped classroom" approach.

OBJECTIVES: To improve patient education delivered over telemedicine by using a "flipped classroom"-inspired approach. METHODS: A "flipped classroom" is an education strategy used to engage active learning by sending students home with lecture material and reserving classroom time for collaborative learning. To adapt this approach for use in radiation oncology patient education, three pieces of written education material were created: introduction to radiation oncology, treatment planning scan, and treatment delivery. An automated system was created to deliver precisely timed emails at three time points ahead of appointments. Appointment time was then used for collaborative learning with our staff. As a primary endpoint, email engagement metrics were tracked via the automated system. Secondarily, enrolled patients were surveyed to assess level of understanding (before vs. after intervention), anxiety (before vs. after intervention), and satisfaction. Additionally, email delivery timing, clarity, relevance, and patient support were evaluated. Data analyses test the impact of active learning against our existing education approaches. RESULTS: Overall, 77.1% of the emails were opened, and of those, patients accessed 72.2% of the education material. Patients re-read the education material 4.6 times on average. Active learning increased patient understanding regarding the purpose of the treatment planning scan (p = 0.031) and increased patient understanding of what to expect during daily radiation treatments (p = 0.0078). Patients reported reduced anxiety (p = 0.031) and high scores for satisfaction, timing, clarity, relevance, and overall support. CONCLUSIONS: Patient engagement with the education material was high, and they continued to access it many times. Active learning enhances patient comprehension of complex treatment information leading to decreased anxiety. Furthermore, this technique can be incorporated into existing telemedicine with basic technology.

Classrooms with high rates of absenteeism and individual success: Exploring students' achievement, executive function, and socio-behavioral outcomes.

Research and policy dialogue surrounding absenteeism has predominately focused on the school when it comes to reducing student absences, with little focus on the classroom. Further, there has also been minimal attention paid to effects of absenteeism beyond achievement outcomes. To address both, we focused on the classroom and asked whether classrooms with typically higher rates of absenteeism were linked to students' individual achievement, executive function, and social skills. We used a nationally representative dataset of children who started in kindergarten in 2010-2011 (N = 18,170) - when absenteeism is at its highest point not seen again until adolescence. Using school and student fixed effects, our findings revealed that as the percent of absent classmates increases, individual student performance worsens consistently across achievement and executive function domains. Evidence for links between classmate absenteeism and student performance in socio-behavioral domains was less conclusive. Finally, the findings were unique to different student groups.

Assessment of indoor air quality and risk of COVID-19 infection in Spanish secondary school and university classrooms.

Despite the risk of transmission of SARS-CoV-2, Spanish educational centers were reopened after six months of lockdown. Ventilation was mostly adopted as a preventive measure to reduce the transmission risk of the virus. However, it could also affect indoor air quality (IAQ). Therefore, here we evaluate the ventilation conditions, COVID-19 risk, and IAQ in secondary school and university classrooms in Toledo (central Spain) from November 2020 to June 2021. Ventilation was examined by monitoring outdoor and indoor CO2 levels. CO2, occupancy and hygrothermal parameters, allowed estimating the relative transmission risk of SARS-CoV-2 (Alpha and Omicron BA.1), H r, under different scenarios, using the web app COVID Risk airborne . Additionally, the effect of ventilation on IAQ was evaluated by measuring indoor/outdoor (I/O) concentration ratios of O3, NO2, and suspended particulate matter (PM). University classrooms, particularly the mechanically ventilated one, presented better ventilation conditions than the secondary school classrooms, as well as better thermal comfort conditions. The estimated H r for COVID-19 ranged from intermediate (with surgical masks) to high (no masks, teacher infected). IAQ was generally good in all classrooms, particularly at the university ones, with I/O below unity, implying an outdoor origin of gaseous pollutants, while the source of PM was heterogeneous. Consequently, controlled mechanical ventilation systems are essential in educational spaces, as well as wearing well-fitting FFP2-N95 masks indoors is also highly recommended to minimize the transmission risk of COVID-19 and other airborne infectious diseases.

Occupant-centric robotic air filtration and planning for classrooms for Safer school reopening amid respiratory pandemics.

Coexisting with the current COVID-19 pandemic is a global reality that comes with unique challenges impacting daily interactions, business, and facility maintenance. A monumental challenge accompanied is continuous and effective disinfection of shared spaces, such as office/school buildings, elevators, classrooms, and cafeterias. Although ultraviolet light and chemical sprays are routines for indoor disinfection, they irritate humans, hence can only be used when the facility is unoccupied. Stationary air filtration systems, while being irritation-free and commonly available, fail to protect all occupants due to limitations in air circulation and diffusion. Hence, we present a novel collaborative robot (cobot) disinfection system equipped with a Bernoulli Air Filtration Module, with a design that minimizes disturbance to the surrounding airflow and maneuverability among occupants for maximum coverage. The influence of robotic air filtration on dosage at neighbors of a coughing source is analyzed with derivations from a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation. Based on the analysis, the novel occupant-centric online rerouting algorithm decides the path of the robot. The rerouting ensures effective air filtration that minimizes the risk of occupants under their detected layout. The proposed system was tested on a 2 × 3 seating grid (empty seats allowed) in a classroom, and the worst-case dosage for all occupants was chosen as the metric. The system reduced the worst-case dosage among all occupants by 26% and 19% compared to a stationary air filtration system with the same flow rate, and a robotic air filtration system that traverses all the seats but without occupant-centric planning of its path, respectively. Hence, we validated the effectiveness of the proposed robotic air filtration system.

The Efficacy of Virtual Positive Behavior Support in a Special School for Students with ASD.

In response to the demand for adopting a social justice system to manage students' challenging behaviors, many countries are implementing positive behavior support (PBS) programs at the school level. However, the use of PBS in Saudi Arabian schools is still a goal rather than reality. It is strongly evident that school-wide PBS can be applicable to different educational contexts. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a virtual school-wide positive behavior support program for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Saudi Arabia. Teaching and reinforcement procedures were implemented to help the students replace interfering classroom behaviors with alternative, appropriate behaviors. Observations were conducted to collect data on the students' classroom behaviors. The results of the study showed that there was an immediate and major improvement in the students' behaviors upon the introduction of the program. The results support the conclusion that school-wide positive behavior support can be successfully applied to different educational settings and suggest several implications for special and general education schools.