The application of classical control technique for optimising teaching and learning process is introduced and validated using a case study in a typical higher education environment. The building blocks of the experiment consist of: (1) a real-time online surveying tool, representing the system input; (2) the classroom as the plant; (3) the methods and the dynamics of teaching–learning as the process; (4) the technique for measuring the levels of satisfaction towards meeting the learning and teaching objectives of the particular class session representing the transfer function; and (5) the results from the transfer function determining the levels of satisfaction, represent the output. A feedback loop highlighting the sources of dissatisfaction provides the lecturer and the students the necessary information for adaptive measures to achieve the desired levels of teaching and learning objectives. To set out the appropriate parameters for determining the quality of teaching–learning in the class room, quality function deployment, principles are deployed. This approach allowed us to systematically breakdown the key attributes of the teaching and learning process. We conclude that by deploying the appropriate data acquisition mechanisms at appropriate intervals, the teaching and knowledge delivery process can be adopted to achieve the desired learning objectives. Even though student performance and attrition rates are outside the scope of this study, a separate future study the results could be linked to student performance and attrition rates.
