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University of North Georgia (̨Íåswag) Mike Cottrell College of Business faculty members Dr. Mohan Menon, Dr. Mitra Devkota, and Dr. Waros Ngamsiriudom won the Best in Track for Education award from the Society of Marketing Advances (SMA) for their exploratory investigation on TikTok usage in student engagement and learning.

"The purpose of this research is to improve the teaching and learning quality in our classes," Devkota, associate professor of business statistics, said.

Their research found TikTok to be an effective tool for online learning, and it can improve communication desire and technology skills as a way toward education development, according to Aida Nabilah Azman, whose 2021 paper on the subject was often referenced.

Ngamsiriudom, associate professor of marketing, said the platform inherently has two functions: passive/consumer learning, which refers to watchers on the app, and active/creation. Menon, Devkota, and, Ngamsiriudom aimed to examine the comparative efficacy of the passive and active functions.

The trio presented their paper "Using TikTok to Improve Students’ Learning Outcomes in Marketing Classes Through Active Engagement: An Exploratory Study" at the SMA Conference, which was held Nov. 2-5 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

 Menon, department head of marketing and management, shared that winning was "a validation that we're doing significant work.”

With the initial exploration complete, the trio plans to further explore student performance and share its broader application with colleagues.

"Everyone in the teaching profession can use the findings from this research to improve their teaching," Devkota said.