Document Type : Original Research Paper

Authors

• Mohammadreza Dousti Zadeh ¹
• Sonya Anwar ²
• Stefan Piasecki ³

¹ The German Language and Literature Department, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

² The German Language and Literature Department, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

³ Department of Social Sciences, Faculty of Police, University of Public Administration North Rhine-Westphalia (Hochschule für öffentliche Verwaltung NRW), North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.

Abstract

Background and Objectives: With the rapid advancement of digital technologies and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on in-person education, participatory tools have emerged as an innovative approach to enhancing educational interactions in higher education. These tools promote active learning, increase student engagement, facilitate communication, and provide greater flexibility in teaching. However, their implementation presents challenges such as technical constraints, weak communication infrastructure, reduced human interactions, and difficulties in monitoring student learning progress. Despite the growing importance of participatory tools, there remains a lack of comprehensive understanding regarding their effects on teaching and learning processes, faculty experiences, and the need for curriculum revision. This study aims to explore the lived experiences of German language instructors in Iranian and German universities, analyzing the impact of participatory tools on teaching quality, identifying challenges and limitations, proposing optimal strategies, and assessing the necessity of faculty professional development and curriculum adaptation to digital environments. Additionally, this research compares the perspectives of Iranian and German instructors regarding the opportunities and constraints of these technologies.
Methods: This qualitative phenomenological study employed semi-structured interviews for Iranian instructors and open-ended questionnaires for German instructors. The research participants comprised 13 university professors (six from Germany and seven from Iran) who were selected through purposive sampling based on criteria such as a minimum of three years of teaching experience and prior engagement with participatory tools. Data were collected using snowball sampling and analyzed using thematic analysis via MAXQDA 2022. The analysis process involved 892 open codes, categorized into four main themes: (1) the use of participatory tools in teaching, (2) faculty professional development, (3) curriculum revision and adaptation, and (4) a comparative analysis of Iran and Germany. To enhance research validity, techniques such as participant validation, source triangulation, and simultaneous data analysis were employed.
Findings: The findings revealed that participatory tools offer multiple advantages, including enhanced student engagement, improved instructional quality, facilitated assessment methods, greater flexibility in teaching, time and cost efficiency, and better organization of educational content. However, several disadvantages were also identified, such as the reduction of face-to-face interactions, challenges in monitoring student engagement, the questionable reliability of online assessments, increased workload for instructors, and digital fatigue. Furthermore, five major categories of challenges in using participatory tools were identified: (1) technical and infrastructural constraints, (2) limitations in student participation and interaction, (3) psychological and human factors, (4) pedagogical and instructional challenges, and (5) managerial and organizational barriers. Key issues included unstable internet connections, inadequate faculty training in digital tools, reduced non-verbal communication, lack of institutional support for digital infrastructure, and difficulties in conducting accurate assessments in online environments.
Conclusion: The study highlights the importance of structured training programs in enhancing faculty digital competencies. Investments in technological infrastructure, professional development initiatives, curriculum flexibility, and hybrid teaching approaches (combining online and in-person methods) are essential for optimizing participatory tools in education. A comparative analysis between Iran and Germany revealed that Iranian instructors demonstrated higher proficiency in using digital tools but faced greater infrastructural challenges, whereas German instructors emphasized the necessity of institutional support and centralized technology management. Ultimately, this research highlights that international academic collaboration, particularly between Iranian and German universities, can facilitate knowledge exchange, pedagogical innovation, and the enhancement of online learning experiences. Therefore, it is recommended that educational policymakers and universities address the identified challenges by expanding infrastructure, developing advanced training programs, and supporting faculty adaptation to new technologies to ensure the effective integration of participatory tools in higher education.

Keywords

• Online Education
• Participatory Tools
• German Language Online Courses
• Challenges and Solutions
• Curriculum Development

Main Subjects

• Education technology - higher education

COPYRIGHTS 
© 2025 The Author(s).  This is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)