Teacher Education
H. Abedini Alavi; M. Nili AhmadAbadi; M. Neystani; M. Liaghatdar
Abstract
Background and Objectives: The purpose of architecture education is to prepare graduates for general proficiency in this field of study. However, many graduates of architecture who are employed at the job market observe a profound gap between what they have learned in college and what is being done in ...
Read More
Background and Objectives: The purpose of architecture education is to prepare graduates for general proficiency in this field of study. However, many graduates of architecture who are employed at the job market observe a profound gap between what they have learned in college and what is being done in professional work in architecture. This study -by examining the method of architecture education at undergraduate level and the job market situation in Iran- evaluates the relationship between the education and professional work in architecture to answer the following questions: "1. What are the problems of undergraduate architecture education in Iran that cause the inefficiency of architecture graduates in professional environment?", "2. Which features in the professional environment are necessary for a graduate of architecture?" and "3. How can we make a more effective connection between and the professional architectural environment?" Methods: The present study is an applied one and its method is field survey. In addition, the method of data analysis is analytical-descriptive. Data collection has been done through handing questionnaires and holding interviews with senior undergraduate architecture students as the statistical population who are supposed to enter the architectural job market soon, professors of architecture schools as individuals who are teaching students in this field, and professional architects as individuals who are professionally active in the field of architecture. The students and professors who were studied in this research were selected from 3 Iranian universities at the intermediate level, and professional architects were also selected from the managers of architectural companies. Being a veteran architect was the criterion for selecting professors and architects. The criteria for professors to be a veteran architect have been the experience and years of work, and the academic degree. The criteria for selecting architects have been experience and years of work, the significant number of the projects implemented, and winning awards. Findings: According to the common viewpoints of the three groups who were investigated in this research, the problems of the architecture educational environment that have created a gap between architecture education and architectural profession and the low efficiency of the architecture graduate in the professional environment have a wide range from the beginning of admission of architecture students up to after their graduation. The main problems are: 1. Method of student admission, 2. Admission of too many students, 3. Incompatibility of educational topics with the job market needs, 4. The separation of university from the society, 5. Lack of professional ethics training, 6. Lack of interactive skills training, 7. Lack of professional experience of professors, and 8. General problems of the society including economic issues. Therefore, the characteristics that are necessary for a graduate student of architecture in a professional environment are: 1. Familiarity with the topics required by the labor market, such as having a good command of various architectural software, familiarity with rules and regulations, and so on, 2. Having professional ethics, and 3. Having interactive skills. Conclusion: Based on the benefits of participatory education, it is proposed to turn architecture schools into "participatory education" environments in order to reduce the gap between education and professional work and decrease the low efficiency of architecture graduates in the professional environment. In this regard, it is possible to use the simultaneous training of students of different semesters in architecture courses and the presence of professional architects as expert individuals in some of the class sessions. In this way, students can benefit from each other's participation in design, critique of works, and improvement of skills related to the field of architecture, and the presence of professional architects in order to gradually acquire the skills required by the architectural job market. It is also possible to reduce the gap between education and professional work by establishing "NGOs" that are responsible for linking the university to architecture offices, job market and employers.
Educational Technology
E. Badiee; M.R. Nili; Y. Abedini; B. E. Zamani
Abstract
Background and Objectives: The rapid growth of science and technology and the subsequent emergence of e-learning have revolutionized education. Also in this period, becoming aware of how the brain functions during the learning process has had important effects on training and learning. Educators are ...
Read More
Background and Objectives: The rapid growth of science and technology and the subsequent emergence of e-learning have revolutionized education. Also in this period, becoming aware of how the brain functions during the learning process has had important effects on training and learning. Educators are looking for ways to the most usage of technology-based facilities and new findings in educational neuroscience to obtain the optimal learning, especially in difficult subject matters such as computer programming course, which are associated with the problem-solving process. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of electronic courseware designed based on the brain based learning principles on problem-solving performance and motivation of the students in computer programming course. Methods: This research is a quasi-experimental study, and was conducted with a pretest posttest control group design. In this study, sampling was done by cluster sampling method and thus 60 female students of the eleventh grade of computer fields of vocational schools in Isfahan were selected to participate in the study. Participants were randomly divided into 3 groups of 20 (experimental, control 1 and control 2). A literature review was conducted to identify the brain based learning strategies. Based on the lesson objectives and the strategies derived from the principles of brain based learning, an electronic courseware was designed and developed by the researcher and the expert team. The validity of this courseware was confirmed by experts. The intrinsic and extrinsic motivation subscales of Pintrich et al.'s questionnaire as well as a teacher-made computer programming problem-solving test were used as data collection tools, which were used as a pre-test and post-test, before and after the training, in all 3 groups. The same content from the computer programming course was taught in all three groups. In the experimental group, in addition to the conventional method, an electronic courseware based on brain based learning strategies was used. In the first control group, in addition to conventional method, a non-brain based electronic courseware was used. The second control group was trained only in the conventional method. Findings: The research data were analyzed using univariate covariance analysis on problem-solving performance test scores and multivariate covariance analysis on intrinsic and extrinsic motivation scores. The results of the study showed that the problem solving performance of experimental group was significantly better than the control 1 and control 2 groups (P <0.05) in computer programming course. Also, the extrinsic motivation of the experimental group was significantly higher (P <0.05) than the first control group. Based on these findings, the use of non-brain based courseware significantly (P <0.05) reduced the extrinsic motivation of control group 2 students compared to control group 1. Conclusion: The use of electronic courseware designed and developed based on brain based learning principles has a significant impact on increasing student computer problem solving performance. Also, the application of brain based learning principles in designing and developing the electronic courseware makes more external motivation in the users of this courseware than the users of typical courseware while learning.
Education technology -training course
M. Maleki; M.J. Liaghatdar; M.R. Nili
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Today, vocational education is a part of the school curriculum that is more about preparing students for life and employment in the society. This training can be the main part of the curriculum with a part of as the requirements for graduation or the fulfilment of other courses. ...
Read More
Background and Objectives: Today, vocational education is a part of the school curriculum that is more about preparing students for life and employment in the society. This training can be the main part of the curriculum with a part of as the requirements for graduation or the fulfilment of other courses. This type of training should be an integral part of all phases of education and should be provided through an organized and graded program. In this regard, the main categories of work that are specifically emphasized are: work related to individual needs, work at home, work in the classroom, school and extracurricular activities, and integrated school loss, work as a learning experience, work in society by focusing on altruistic and selfless services, and work related to professional growth, production, social utility, and the discovery of opportunities and ways of caring. In addition to business skills, in today's modern world, access to information and knowledge and gain insight and attitude in this field, is considered important, so the skill of acquiring credible knowledge and information can be a factor in the growth and development of societies. And any plan, initiative, tool and device that focus on the interaction between the instructor and the learner in order to gain competencies is an example of educational technology. The purpose of the present study was to identify the basic skills of work and technology curriculum designed for junior high school students. Methods: This research has been carried out qualitatively using phenomenological method. The research community consisted of sample Iranian instructors of work and technology curriculum. Sampling was carried out by utilizing target method and standard type sampling. Professional interviews with 13 participants to the extent of saturation were used. For data analysis, the three-step coding method (open, axial and selective) was used. Findings: The findings showed that the basic skills included in work and technology curriculum at the junior high school consists of a series of categories as follows: perceptual (11 subcategories), communication (5 subcategories), ethics (5 subcategories), technical (6 subcategories) and technological (3 subcategories). Conclusion: Today, it is clear that the teaching and learning of students in the field of work and technology is not limited to school and high school, but it is necessary that students throughout life, from formal to informal education, have a desire for lifelong learning. In the meantime, one of the important tools of lifelong learning that leads to the growth and development of students is the acquisition of information and technology literacy skills, so that information literacy for students increases their ability to recognize information needs, recognize incomplete information, ability to access and discover information, the ability to evaluate information and select information. Technological literacy also increases students' innovation in practice, as well as their ability to use, manage, evaluate, and understand technology, followed by lifelong learning. In general, whether a student is successfully completing high school or not, learning basic skills can prepare him or her for the future. Learning the basics of work and technology should be such that the student is equipped with the abilities, skills, experiences, ambitions that lead to success in life after high school. The results show that it is necessary to revise work and technology curriculum at the junior high school education, and take into account the basic skills mentioned in this study.
