Modern Educational Approaches
N. Safaei; E. Zarei; A. Samavi
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Today, creativity and fostering creative people is a very important issue in the education of any society. Creative people are actively able to direct their interests and desires. Creativity is a process whose application in adulthood is conditional on its upbringing in childhood. ...
Read More
Background and Objectives: Today, creativity and fostering creative people is a very important issue in the education of any society. Creative people are actively able to direct their interests and desires. Creativity is a process whose application in adulthood is conditional on its upbringing in childhood. Accordingly, training creative, innovative and constructive people should start from the first years of their life. What is important in creating something new or new design and in the creative process in general is thinking, because creativity is a kind of intellectual activity. One of the prominent features of human and the basic axis of their life is the power of thought. During their life, human has never been free from thinking, and with the power of correct thinking, they have made decisions and have been able to solve problems and issues and achieve growth and excellence; Therefore, all human success and progress depend on fertile, dynamic and effective thought. Therefore, the present study has tried to investigate different theories related to creative thinking skills as one of the research variables, identify and extract its theoretical, philosophical, social and psychological foundations from different sources and based on it identify different components of creativity that is appropriate for elementary school children and design a creative thinking curriculum model based on the main elements of the curriculum (objectives, content, teaching methods, and evaluation). In addition, in order to validate the designed model, it was provided to curriculum specialists, education psychologists, and educational staff (educators), so that ultimately the designed model would be provided to specialists and educational staff with suggestions and solutions. Methods: This research is applied in terms of purpose. In terms of tools, it is an evaluation and its method is descriptive. The statistical population of the study includes curriculum specialists and education psychologists in public universities of Bandar Abbas, Shiraz and educational psychologists and educators working in primary schools in Bandar Abbas. The sample size was selected using stratified sampling method and a total of 208 people were selected. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire based on the creative thinking skills curriculum. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics (Chi-square) were used to analyze the data. Findings: Statistically, there is a difference between the views of the three groups, namely the curriculum group, educational psychologists and educators in the element of objectives, content, teaching methods and curriculum evaluation in relation to the curriculum model based on creative thinking skills for elementary students. Conclusion: The results of the study generally show that based on the designed curriculum model, creative thinking skills based on the three main components of knowledge, attitude and skills for primary school children, revising the usual student education programs and paying more attention to the creative factor is necessary in educational programs. It is suggested that curriculum planners and educators in the elementary school try to exploit the goals mentioned in this model and include them in their current and future plans. Also, the authors of the elementary school textbooks should pay attention to the use and arrangement of the content based on the suggested topics mentioned in the model and use the suggested teaching and evaluation. It is suggested that according to the model designed in the form of four main elements of the curriculum, which include: objectives, content, teaching method and evaluation method, in further research other elements of the curriculum such as teacher role, organizing space and learning environment, time, tools and learning tools, etc. be consdiered.
Educational Robotics
R. Mansouri Gargar; A. Hoseini Khah; M. Alemi; Z. Niknam
Abstract
Background and Objective:As widespread changes have occurred in the community, the use of technology has also expanded. To effectively prepare for and cope with evolving of this century we need to design and develop special curricula. Educational robotics is an advanced technology that requires special ...
Read More
Background and Objective:As widespread changes have occurred in the community, the use of technology has also expanded. To effectively prepare for and cope with evolving of this century we need to design and develop special curricula. Educational robotics is an advanced technology that requires special attention. In the past few decades, robotics has attracted the attention of researchers and teachers as a valuable tool in developing cognitive / social skills of students and in supporting the learning of subjects in science, mathematics, language, and technology. There are several important reasons why young students should be exposed to robotics. As our world becomes more and more technologically advanced, students need to early experience so that to feel comfortable with and be aware of technology. In addition, the inclusion of robotics in the school curriculum will help prepare students to enter the job market with technological literacy. Robotics is an attractive approach to technology training due to its interdisciplinary nature, which requires expertise in a wide range of fields from mathematics to aesthetics. This can attract the interest and engagement of students who have not been successful in traditional subject matters. The purpose of this paper is to explain the philosophical orientation and educational robotics foundations at the primary school level so that policymakers, engineers and curriculum developers can formulate curriculum models for implementation. Methods: In this research, educational robotics was analyzed and synthesized using the synthesis research method. Valid documents and research from the last four decades have been selected and categorized using a criterion-based purposive sampling technique. Findings: Synthesis findings indicate that robotics in schools work in two ways as an independent subject and as an educational enabler serving other topics. Logical justification of it is based on constructivist, including epistemological (personal and multidisciplinary), psychological (attention to motivation, creativity and etc.) and sociological foundations (interaction, predictability and etc.). Conclusion: In order to design a curriculum, a planner must first pay attention to the nature of the subject or knowledge and then proceed to develop a plan based on the orientations of the curriculum. Because the subject is robotics training in elementary school, the planner must pay attention to its nature first. The findings of this synthesis showed that robotics can serve in schools at all levels as an independent subject or as an educational enabler in the service of other subjects. Therefore, it is necessary to differentiate between the concepts of robotic training and training robotics. In robotics training, the subject is robot training; but in educational robotics, the robot is considered as a method, tool or technique that is used to teach other subjects.