PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to critically evaluate the learning effectiveness and engagement of blended learning tools in a management course of negotiation skills. The study addresses the dilemma brought to light through literature regarding the learning effectiveness of roleplays as a teaching tool in negotiation training. The study compares the impact of traditional roleplays vis-à-vis roleplays fused with blended tools on learner's performance. The endeavour is to investigate the learning effectiveness of traditional tools (roleplay simulation and lecture) vs blended learning tools (flipped classroom, massive open online courses, independent study fused with roleplay simulation).Design/methodology/approachThe current study delves into a negotiation course to conduct experimental research comparing traditional and blended learning tools. The total number of students who participated in this study were 80.FindingsThe findings indicate the improved learning effectiveness of blended learning tools vis-à-vis traditional tools. Generation Z students were more engaged with the use of blended learning tools and enjoyed the experience. The study recommends blended learning tools for educators aiming to transition from traditional learning to interactive learning to create experiential classrooms.Research limitations/implicationsLimited sample size and single group experimentation are some limitations of the study. Some latent flaws in the implementation of roleplay simulations in negotiation training were revealed during the study. The study focuses solely on a negotiations course taught to management students.Practical implicationsThe study would help academic institutes to comply with the pressing need to impart experiential learning in the classroom. The research would act as a bridge between the industry expectations and academia deliverables.Social implicationsThe study would help academic institutes to comply with the pressing need to impart experiential learning through blended learning in the classroom. The research would act as a bridge between the industry expectations and academia deliverables.Originality/valueThe study addresses the dilemma in the literature, which, on the one hand, upholds the learning effectiveness of roleplays as a teaching tool, and on the other hand, suggests that roleplays have lost their applicability due to advancement in students' exposure to technology. The study in itself is unique, as it addresses the need for higher student engagement in the classroom.

The emergence of Industry 4.0 has inspired education to undergo a transformation and change its delivery lens. To adapt to the expectation of Industry 4.0, Education 4.0 has built a new interface for each stakeholder. The roles of these stakeholders have been remodelled, which in turn profoundly influences the way a new‐age learner learns. The seamless union of the vision of Industry 4.0 and Education 4.0 demands the establishment of a dais where each stakeholder will play out their assigned roles. The current study proposes a conceptual model of the holistic learning educational ecosystem. The study performs an extensive literature review of the current industry and educational set‐ups to evaluate the status quo. The analysis directs towards a new concept of Classroom 4.0, which will act as a bridge between Industry 4.0 and Education 4.0—hence devising a conceptual model of the holistic learning educational ecosystem. It will help create a borderless education environment which will be a reflection of the vision of Industry 4.0 and Education 4.0. Focusing on learning, development, self‐awareness and emotional stability, the paper suggests a way forward for the new generation. Current research will act as a bridge between global path‐breaking education research and implementation of in‐class teaching methods in higher education.

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Purpose The millennial students are disengaged in the current classrooms. Hence, there is a definite need to evaluate and compare the current learning tools. The purpose of this paper is to assess the effects of three learning tools – listening, structured doodling and note-taking – on recall ability of students in the classroom. The authors have specifically compared the effect of Andrade’s (2010) and Boggs et al.’s (2017) structured doodling condition (i.e. shading in shapes) vis-à-vis note-taking and listening. Design/methodology/approach An experimental research design was used for the study where three groups of around 40 participants each were created. The participants were Indian students (72 males and 48 females) who were undergraduates at NMIMS University, Navi Mumbai. Each group experienced all the three learning methods that are listening, note-taking and structured doodling. It was a 3×3 mixed model design. Listening, note-taking and structured doodling were compared on recall ability. This was assessed using a questionnaire extracted from Boggs et al.’s (2017) study and a self-designed evaluation sheet. Findings Across all three groups, structured doodling and note-taking had a higher impact on recall ability than the traditional method. However, the difference in the impact of note-taking and doodling on recall ability was not practically very large. The current finding assumes higher significance in the Indian education set up as Indian students are accustomed to note-taking as a learning tool yet structured doodling had a statistically analogous effect on recall ability compared to a systematically documented note-taking. Hence, a future direction could be to assess the impact of a blended learning tool that utilizes both note-taking and doodling or note-taking through doodling. Research limitations/implications First, the authors did not capture doodling habits of the students. Second, the study limits itself to a small sample size of 120 management graduates. The study can be extended to other disciplines like science and technology and also on how the higher engagement learning tools can be utilized in the normal environs of a course in a classroom. A future direction of the study can be to engage students in an activity as long as a regular lecture of about 60 min. A fusion of learning tools that effectively combines note-taking and doodling can be suggested to enhance recall ability and classroom engagement. Practical implications Higher order learning tools characteristically require technologically advanced infrastructure setups. In developing economies like India, most educational institutes may not have access to technologically advanced classrooms; hence, the implementation of higher engagement learning tools becomes a huge challenge. The endeavor in this study has been to study the impact and effectiveness of learning tools like doodling and note-taking which do not inherently call for access to advanced technology. Social implications In today’s age of globalization, emerging economies like India are seen to be taking center stage. Thus, ensuring that Indian education system is geared up to train students to compete globally and in the same vein, these students have access to higher engagement learning tools – the absolute need of the hour. Hence, the current research aims to bridge the gap between global education innovations and Indian classroom teaching method implementation. Originality/value The research has assessed the effectiveness of three different learning tools, namely – listening, note-taking and structured doodling – in Indian higher education setup. The current research is in harmony with the current literature and would function as an adaptation and augmentation of Andrade’s (2010) and Boggs et al. (2017) studies. A very scanty research body on understanding the impact of learning tools on recall ability exists in the Indian education setup. Current research will act as a bridge between global path breaking education research and implementation of in-class teaching methods in Indian higher education.