Original Research Paper
Educational Technology
M. abolghasemi; H. Mohamadi
Abstract
Background and Objectives: One of the problems of elementary school teachers is the lack of time, especially in mathematics. Lack of time to educate students has caused academic failure and weakened the basic math of elementary students. For this reason, it is necessary to use teaching methods so that ...
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Background and Objectives: One of the problems of elementary school teachers is the lack of time, especially in mathematics. Lack of time to educate students has caused academic failure and weakened the basic math of elementary students. For this reason, it is necessary to use teaching methods so that teachers can overcome this lack of time in the weekly curriculum. One of these methods, which has been emphasized in research, especially in mathematics, is the flipped instruction. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of flipped (or reverse) learning on elementary school students' attitude and performance in mathematics in Najafabad in Iran.Methods: This study is a quasi-experimental research with pre-test and posttest experimental and control groups, in order to investigate the changes before and after applying the intervetnion in the experimental group and compare it with the control group. The population of this study included all fourth grade male students in Najafabad in the academic year 2019-2018. The sampling method was multistaged clustering. It should be noted that in order to reduce the economic and cultural differences of students in these schools, a sample was selected from the central part of the city. Among the schools in this area, 2 boys' schools were randomly selected, and then two grade 4 classes were randomly assigned to the control group and experimental group respectively. The Aiken Attitude Questionnaire (1971) was used to measure students' attitudes toward mathematics. The validity of this questionnaire was assessed by content validity and its reliability was estimated by Cronbach's alpha. Math academic performance was also measured by a teacher-made math test. Its validity was checked and confirmed by teachers. Data were analyzed by one-way analysis of covariance. The implementation was such that the teacher had to prepare educational materials for the students and ask the students to do the math book activities, work in the classroom and the book exercises at home after watching the clips and using the educational software, and then share and fix the problems in class sessions with the teacher. Educational software, along with educational clips and videos, were provided to students at regular intervals, and they were asked to watch the instructional video at home at an optional number of times, and then to practice the topics using the software, and then solve those activities, class work and exercises. In the classroom, the teacher reviewed the book activities, did classroom work, and exercises, gave students descriptive feedback individually, and wrote down their problems and issues to be explained in class. After the explanation, students were asked to ask questions if they had any or did not understand a part of the lesson correctly. The student questioning process continued until the students stated that they had learned everything, and the teacher was confident in students’ learning by observing their performance in solving exercises and problems. This process included a total of two 45-minute math sessions.Findings: The results showed that the filliped learning method is effective and influences the academic performance of mathematics.Conclusion: According to the obtained results, it can be suggested that the filliped instruction can be used to teach mathematics in primary schools.
Original Research Paper
Modern Educational Approaches
F. Salemian; H. Abbasi kasani; M.H. Amirtaimori
Abstract
Education is the most essential human need. Without education, no society can survive; but effective and useful education cannot be done by trial and error, it requires a plan. A review of previous research shows that little attention is paid to the issue of external cognitive load and higher-level learning, ...
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Education is the most essential human need. Without education, no society can survive; but effective and useful education cannot be done by trial and error, it requires a plan. A review of previous research shows that little attention is paid to the issue of external cognitive load and higher-level learning, especially problem solving in the educational design in the country. Therefore, the present study was conducted with regard to the importance and impact of educational design patterns, especially Gagne's design pattern in the field of educational activities and its purpose was to investigate the effect of applying the Gagne's pattern on the external cognitive load and problem solving ability.Methods: With respect to purpose, this was an applied study and with respect to methodology, this was considered as a quasi-experimental study (of the type of pretest-posttest with experimental and control groups). The population of the study consisted of male high school students in West Islamabad. To conduct the research, a high school from West Islamabad was randomly selected, using multistage cluster sampling method. From among the classes of this high school, two were selected as the experimental group and the control group. Then, based on their midterm scores, 15 students from each class were randomly divided into the two control and experimental groups. The experimental group was exposed to the independent variable and the control group was trained by the conventional method. Data were collected using a scale of Pass, Van Merrienboer and Adam. Another instrument was the researcher-made problem solving skill test whose validity was determined by experts and its reliability was 0.84 using retest method. Finally, the collected data were analyzed by using independent t-test and analysis of covariance.Findings: For both groups in this study, homogeneity problem solving pre-test and post-test were performed first. After the experiment (Gagne's educational design pattern) was applied with the experimental group, the results showed the relative superiority of the experimental group in a way that the average score obtained for this group in their problem solving skill (that is, 16.533) was higher than that of the control group (that is, 13.000). Also, there was a significant difference between the average of external cognitive load in the experimental group (6.600) and the control group (3.333). The results of the study showed that in terms of the external cognitive load, there is a statistically significant difference between the two control and experimental groups (t: 6.767, p: 0.01). In addition, the findings of the study revealed that Gargano’s educational design pattern had a significant effect on the reduction of the external cognitive load in the experimental group as compared to that of the control group. The findings also showed a significant increase in the problem solving skills in the experimental group as compared to those of the control group (p: 0.05, df: 1, F: 46.234).Conclusion: Based on research findings, it can be concluded that the application of Gagne's pattern in the educational system can have a positive effect on achieving high levels of learning, and it is recommended that teachers and administrators of the educational system pay attention to this point. According to their authority on how to use different teaching methods, teachers can use the results of this research, and use this design method in preparing their lesson plans and applying it to their teaching.
Original Research Paper
TVET
H.R. Arasteh; M. J. Haji qasemi; A. Nave Ibrahim; H. Abbasian
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Teacher recruitment and selection is of great importance. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to provide a local model for the admission of technical and vocational teachers in Iran. Considering the fact that this research seeks to design a local model for accepting ...
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Background and Objectives: Teacher recruitment and selection is of great importance. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to provide a local model for the admission of technical and vocational teachers in Iran. Considering the fact that this research seeks to design a local model for accepting technical and vocational teachers in Iran, and the results of the research can be used immediately in the target community and improve its situation, the study in terms of its goal is an applied research. The model designed in this study, supervising teacher training, meets the domestic need for policy and is in line with the theoretical and practical conditions and considerations of teacher education admission in Iran. The Ministry of Education can use this model to plan for the admission of committed teachers to have the expertise required by the vocational schools and ultimately improve the technical and skill level of the educational system. Methods: To identify the indicators, a comparative study of leading countries was used by George Brady method (comparative study method with four stages: description, interpretation, proximity and comparative). To evaluate and compile the initial and conceptual model of the research from the community of experts and university professors in the technical and vocational field using the Delphi technique (cheap, versatile, objective, non-threatening and easy to identify and understand with great flexibility, the possibility of using broadly, no need for interviewer training, anonymity, open discussion, identification and underlying understanding of the subject, gaining consensus in opposing groups, content validity and program design with relative support of participants, lack of influence of ideas and personality, unbiased views along with honesty in expressing ideas and options) and a purposeful sampling method of 10 people in two stages. The method of data collection in the qualitative part for the Delphi method was that a semi-structured questionnaire including a survey on the dimensions and components of the proposed model with 46 items (indicators) was sent to the sample (experts and academic experts). Findings: This research is among the qualitative studies with Delphi technique. By calculating the coefficient of agreement, the Delphi stages converged in the second stage. The result of performing the two Delphi steps was that the dimensions of the proposed pattern (initial, middle and final); components of the proposed model (physical, mental and social skills; having the required level of knowledge and expertise; passing pre-service training courses; passing internship courses; gaining points in the final exam and interview and interest, commitment and motivation in teachers); and 40 indicators were determined and specified. Six indicators were removed from the index due to overlap. Conclusion: Indigenous model of admission of technical and vocational teachers was proposed in three dimensions (primary, intermediate and final admission); six axes (physical, mental and social skills; having the required level of science and knowledge; passing pre-service training courses; passing internship courses; gaining points in the final exam and interview; interest, commitment and motivation in teachers) and 40 suggestion indicators.
Original Research Paper
E-Lerning
K. Latifzadeh; S. H. Amiri; A. Bosaghzadeh; M. Rahimi; R. Ebrahimpour
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Today, it is common to use multimedia in foreign language teaching. There are some principles for designing multimedia that would reduce task cognitive load. These principles are based on the cognitive load theory. The methods of cognitive load measurement are divided into ...
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Background and Objectives: Today, it is common to use multimedia in foreign language teaching. There are some principles for designing multimedia that would reduce task cognitive load. These principles are based on the cognitive load theory. The methods of cognitive load measurement are divided into two categories, namely the subjective and objective measurements. NASA-TLX is an example of the subjective measurements; methods such as electroencephalography and eye-tracking are among the objective measurements. Due to the advantages of objective measurements, using these methods is common in cognitive studies. Eye-tracking technology can record different eye-movements of humans such as pupil dilation, saccades, fixations, blinks and microsaccades with a high sampling rate. These measurements are being widely used in cognitive and mental workload studies. In this paper, the cognitive load in multimedia language learning has been evaluated, using eye-tracking data analysis. Methods: Two multimedia versions for teaching English were produced with the same narration and the length of 342s. In one version, the principles in designing multimedia were applied whereas in the other version, they were violated so that more cognitive load in comparison to the former version could be imposed. Ten subjects whose English listening comprehension was assessed with a simulation of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) participated in the experiment and were randomly divided into two equal groups of five. The two groups were homogeneous with respect to their listening proficiency. One group watched the multimedia without principles while the other group watched the multimedia with principles. Then, each individual answered 12 multiple choice questions about the concepts presented in the multimedia as a performance test. During watching the multimedia and taking the performance test, the participants’ eye movement data were recorded. Then, each person filled out the NASA-TLX Questionnaire. Based on the results of the performance test and the NASA-TLX, the difficulty level of the multimedia without principles as compared to its version with principles was evaluated. The collected data were divided into blocks of 30 seconds. Findings: Based on the NASA-TLX, the group who watched multimedia without principles experienced more cognitive load in comparison to the group who watched multimedia with principles, which approved our assumption about the higher load of the multimedia without principles. However, no significant difference was found in the results of the performance test between the two groups. According to statistical analyses, the pupil diameter, saccade length, saccade velocity, blink latency, and microsaccade amplitude in the multimedia blocks of both groups were significantly different. Nevertheless, no significant difference was found between the two groups in terms of the fixation time, the fixation rate, and the microsaccade rate. Conclusion: Based on the findings of this study, pupil dilation, saccade length, saccade velocity, blink latency, and microsaccade amplitude have a significant relationship with the amount of the load imposed by the instructional multimedia which corresponds to the literature review of the study. Based on the results of this study, along with the subjective methods, eye movement data can also be considered as an appropriate tool for assessing the cognitive load imposed by multimedia learning and qualifying the multimedia instructional content. A significant difference was also found between the two groups in the study in terms of their blinking rate. More investigation and different experiments are needed for examining other eye movement criteria that have been investigated in this study, including fixation time, fixation rate, and microsaccade rate so that a more definitive conclusion would be reached regarding a significant relationship between these parameters and the mental load imposed by the multimedia English teaching.
Original Research Paper
E-Lerning
F. Hassani Jafari; A. Abbasi
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Information and communication technology has created significant developments in all aspects of individual and collective life, so that in education it has brought birth and growth of e-learning, virtual and smart school One of the principles of e-learning processes is an independent ...
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Background and Objectives: Information and communication technology has created significant developments in all aspects of individual and collective life, so that in education it has brought birth and growth of e-learning, virtual and smart school One of the principles of e-learning processes is an independent learning that requires an independent learning training. The aim of this research was to provide students with opportunities to perform more productive interactions and develop their learning skills and to learn independently. The study compares self-regulatory skills and motivation of students in regular and electronic schools in the academic year 2017-2018. The research is applied considering its goal. Materials: The present study consisted of all 12-grade male students of natural sciences in district 4 of Qom City, consisting 1,600 students who were selected based on random sampling method. The number of students was determined based on Morgan Table and 165 people were selected in e-schools and 142 in normal schools. The research instruments are two self-regulatory skills questionnaires which are organized in two parts: motivational beliefs and self-regulated learning strategies. Cognitive strategies consisted of repetition review, expansion strategy, organization strategy and comprehension strategy. Metacognitive strategies included planning, control, monitoring and regulation strategies; and other part, motivational beliefs included self-efficacy, goal orientation, internal evaluation and test anxiety. Hermes motivation questionnaire that differentiates people who need high progress and those who have low progression needs was also used. The results of the study were analyzed by analysis of variance and t-tests. Findings: Considering the first hypothesis, the value of t was equal to 0.289 and the significance level was 0.003, and thus it is concluded that the mean of the academic achievement motivation scores in e-school is higher than normal school. With respect to the second hypothesis, considering that the value of t was 0.161 and the significance level was 0.002, it can be concluded that the average scores of using the cognitive strategies of smart school are higher than normal schools. Considering the third hypothesis, since the value of t is equal to 1.247 and the significance level of 0.000 was reported, it is shown that the average scores of using the metacognitive strategies of e-school are higher than the normal school. Conclusion: using electronic learning tools in schools leads to improved self - regulation skills and motivation in students. E-schools provide good opportunities for self-motivated and active learning and engagement the learning process. The results of this research is in line with the results of other studies that the use of e-learning in schools has a significant effect on metacognitive skills (planning, monitoring, control and comprehension) and cognitive strategies (repetition, review, development and comprehension) in students and plays a great role in academic motivation and academic success. Electronic schools with the acquisition of modern tools of learning technology in deepening and understanding learning resulted in improving the process of information processing, the possibility of repeating and reviewing the learning content, the development of perceptual processes and solving it from various strategies and management of time and control, and planning of learning and learning activities in students.
Original Research Paper
E-Lerning
Gh. M. Rahimidoost; F. Moosavi; A. Masnavi
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Today Internet has a substantial effect on all aspects of human life and has influenced every individual and social aspects. According to studies, more than 82 percent of Iran's population use Internet by the year 2019. Internet as an attractive and pervasive medium has a deep ...
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Background and Objectives: Today Internet has a substantial effect on all aspects of human life and has influenced every individual and social aspects. According to studies, more than 82 percent of Iran's population use Internet by the year 2019. Internet as an attractive and pervasive medium has a deep effect on economic, financial, administrative sectors as well as social, cultural, and scientific communications; and somehow has changed people’s lifestyle. This effect has been such that today a concept called digital citizenship is mentioned instead of the traditional concept of citizenship. Since instruction and learning are an important area of human life, reducing the increasing costs of instruction and improving students’ learning and teachers’ teaching have become a main challenge of educational systems, and officials and mangers therefore seek to solve such a problem. Generally, technologies as a new solution open promising windows for educational system administrators. From the advent and development of the Internet as a powerful and interactive tool, it has been at the center of attention of the administrators. The unique nature of the Internet and the fundamental differences with previous media have also attracted the attention of many teachers and professors. Internet provides numerous tools and facilities and could be a desired environment for overcoming challenges. These tools and facilities could be applied in different phases and parts of teaching. Some are appropriate for presenting materials, some for gaining and directing students’ attention, some for doing various practices, and some for doing cooperative and group projects. Therefore, researchers recently have studied how to use Internet tools for various purposes of teaching and learning. Investigating teachers' abilities and capabilities for using Internet tools in teaching and learning has become a main question for researchers. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the skills of math teachers of secondary schools in Ahvaz to integrate Internet tools in their teaching. Methods: The research method was descriptive survey in which a researcher-made questionnaire was designed. Developed questionnaire consisted of 41 Likert type questions which were divided into 5 categories. 10 questions were related to presenting the material, 9 questions to gaining attention and motivating learners, 13 questions related to designing and developing practices, 4 questions related to providing optimal feedback to learners and finally 5 questions related to facilitating cooperative learning. Reliability of the questionnaire was assessed by alpha coefficient and found to be 0.872. Then expert views were used for assessing the validity of the questionnaire. Statistical population was Ahvaz math teachers and based on the size of the population, all 67 teachers (37 males and 30 females) were selected from high-school teachers. Then the required data was gathered by the questionnaire. Findings: The results this study indicate that the teachers' skills in using the Internet tools are almost poor. In other words, teachers' skills for presenting the materials (1.62), for gaining attention and motivating learners (1.55), developing practices (1.79), providing optimal feedback to learners (1.72), and for facilitating cooperative learning environment (1.23) were all lower than the assumed mean of the study. Conclusion: Theskills of teachers in integrating Internet tools into teaching including presenting the materials, gaining attention and motivating, developing practices, providing optimal feedback to learners, and for facilitating cooperative learning environment are all poor and need to be improved.
Original Research Paper
E-Lerning
Kh. Aliabadi; H. Abbasi
Abstract
Neo multimedia model and the researcher-made multimedia model on student teachers’ learning in smart board training. To produce multimedia electronic content, various models have been proposed, such as the software development life cycle model and the design and production model of Neo and Neo ...
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Neo multimedia model and the researcher-made multimedia model on student teachers’ learning in smart board training. To produce multimedia electronic content, various models have been proposed, such as the software development life cycle model and the design and production model of Neo and Neo educational multimedia with a constructivist approach. Methods: The statistical population was 310 students of Farhangian University, Alzahra Campus of Zanjan. Using purposive sampling, 110 students were selected as the sample. Randomly, 55 people were placed in the form of 2 classes in the experimental group of the Neo-Neo model; and 55 people were placed in the form of 2 classes in the experimental group of the designed multimedia model. The research type is applied and a quasi-experimental method with a post-test design has been used. The research instrument was a researcher-made test. The validity was confirmed by the technology experts. To determine the reliability, split-half method was used and a reliability coefficient of 82% was obtained. The training was conducted in two experimental groups of 4 sessions of 90 minutes, and then a post-test was performed. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics (Independent samples t-test) were used to test the hypothesis. Kolmogorov Smirnov test was used to determine the normal distribution of the data, Also, SPSS 22 software was used to analyze the results. Findings: Dispersion and central indices were used to evaluate descriptive statistics. The average and standard deviation of student teachers’ learning who have been trained using electronic content with Neo and Neo multimedia production model was 8.05±2.26 and the average and standard deviation of student teachers’ learning trained according to the researcher-made multimedia production model was 11.14±1.91. Based on the results of Kolmogorov Smirnov test, the variance was equal and the normality of the data distribution was confirmed. The reliability coefficient was 0.95 and the significance level of the mean comparison test (0.000) was lower than the default value (0.05); so the null hypothesis (equality of the average learning rate of student-teachers who have been trained using electronic content based on the Neo and Neo multimedia production model with student-teachers trained based on the researcher-made multimedia production model) was rejected and the opposite assumption (inequality of the average learning rate of student-teachers who have been trained using electronic content based on the Neo and Neo multimedia production model with student-teachers trained based on the researcher-made multimedia production model) was accepted. Also, the value of t = 7.73 was obtained. Conclusion: The results showed that there is a significant difference between the amount of learning of teacher-students trained with Neo and Neo multimedia production model and teacher-students who has been trained with the multimedia production model. The amount of teacher-students’ learning who have been trained by produced electronic content on the basis of researcher-made multimedia model has increased.Therefore, the researcher-made model can reduce the existing shortcomings and limitations. It is suggested to use researcher-made multimedia model in teaching unfamiliar content, direct tutorials and training to novice audiences.
Original Research Paper
Educational Technology
Sh. Bakhshaliizade; K. Fathi Vajargah; M. Arefi; A.R. Kiamanesh
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Third Mellenium World is a world that is faced with rapid scientific, cultural, and technological change. Increasing access to education services at higher education levels has resulted in admission of students with personal differences to higher education institutes. The change ...
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Background and Objectives: Third Mellenium World is a world that is faced with rapid scientific, cultural, and technological change. Increasing access to education services at higher education levels has resulted in admission of students with personal differences to higher education institutes. The change in the higher education context is associated with a change in the roles and responsibilities of faculty members. Therefore, in order to fulfill their duties and take their responsibilities, it is necessary for faculty members to deploy their understanding, knowledge, and skills in different areas and improve them in accordance with the changes that occur in the society and deploy the teaching-learning approaches to take these differences into consideration. This study is aimed at identifying the qualifications required for becoming a faculty member at higher education institutes on the basis of their roles and responsibilities. Materials: This study is a Basic Qualitative research with a pragmatic and epistemological, interpretive / constructivist approach. First, the documents related to the teaching qualifications in higher education were collected. Then, in order to understand the views and experiences of the Iranian universities’ faculty members, semi-structured in-depth interviews with 14 faculty members were conducted. The documents were described in a qualitative Metasynthesis approach in terms of concepts and themes in a deductive manner within the research context and on the basis of a theoretical framework, and, then, they were analyzed along with the concepts and themes identified in the interviews in an interpretive (deductive and inductive) manner and in the last stage, the concepts and themes were inductively integrated and interpreted and line-by-line coding in MAXQDA 10 was used to analyze the documents and interviews. Findings: In this study, 349 semantic units (open codes), 32 categories and 9 themes (competencies) were extracted which are as follows: Competencies related to: futurology (futurism, risk-taking, entreprenuership), professional ethics ( no abuse of powere, observing students’ boundary, attending with readiness, assuming responsibility for educating the community and observing professionalism), personal competencies (personal identity, ethics and personal behavior, being up-to-date, problem-solving ability and thinking skills), interpersonal-social competencies (cultural identity, effective communication skills, role modeling, patnership and cooperation), organizational competencies (organizational identity, familiarity with objectives and missions of the organization, familiarity with roles including offering services competencies, research competenceies, education competencies, management competencies (self-management, leadership, occupational management, resource management, teaching-learning management, preparation and learning environment management, research management, education-research guidance, planning and organization), practical competencies ( the ability to connect science and practice, effectiveness), writing competencies (knowledge of language and academic writing), and competencies related to acceptability in the communities of practice (scientific community approval. Conclusion: Analysis of the findings showed differences between competencies identified among faculty members in Iran and outside Iran. 10 out of 14 interviewees pointed out abuse of others’ scientific abilities and abuse of power by some faculty members in their own professional condition which probably indicates the need to emphasize this principle in the Iranian higher education society whereas foreign documents mostly emphasized technology. Not mentioning this issue in the interviews by most professors may indicate that some faculty members in Iran are not still amiliar with this concept. The competencies identified in this research can be used to make informed decisions and to determine the required content for the development programs of the candidates intending to cooperate with the higher education institutes as faculty member.
Original Research Paper
E-Lerning
M. Farazkish; Gh. Montazer
Abstract
Background and Objectives: The current generation of academic learners is considered "digital natives" because of their ease of use and familiarity with networking technologies; However, there are ambiguities about the readiness of students to study in an e-learning environment. In particular, Iranian ...
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Background and Objectives: The current generation of academic learners is considered "digital natives" because of their ease of use and familiarity with networking technologies; However, there are ambiguities about the readiness of students to study in an e-learning environment. In particular, Iranian students' lack of motivation for e-learning, despite much infrastructure investment over the past two decades, has been a major challenge that has recently attracted the attention of higher education planners to e-learning readiness, especially from a perceptual perspective. This study investigated the perceptual readiness level of Iranian students for e-learning. Therefore, the current state of perceptual readiness of Iranian students to participate in the e-learning environment beyond the presumption of "existence" or "lack" of this preparation is such that their actual readiness is determined in a number of important universities. Methods: This research is philosophically placed in the positivism paradigm and the logic of deductive reasoning is used. Its macro-targeting is applied, and the survey research strategy is used to collect first-hand data using a questionnaire tool. The survey data were collected between April 2018 and February 2019. In addition, two complementary approaches have been used to formulate and weigh the indicators and criteria for assessing students' e-learning readiness: first, the use of indicators and criteria developed in previous research, and second, and the use of subject matter experts in the country. The use of data from other researches makes it possible to compare the results with the findings of other researchers, and the use of expert opinion causes the localization of indicators and criteria with the requirements and context of higher education in the country. The students' perceptual readiness was measured by the following four scales: Attitude, Perceived usefulness, Willingness and Perceived self-efficacy; Then, the weight of each scale and measure will be calculated. Finally, based on the rating results, the students' perceptual readiness at the number of comprehensive universities and specialized universities will be estimated. Findings: The average perceptual readiness of students for e-learning in 15 selected Iranian universities is 4.9 out of 10, which indicates the situation at the "average" level. Also, the findings show that about 35% of the students' readiness measures are below the "good" level, and the average of all readiness measures is at the "medium" level. Also, considering students' relative perceptual readiness for e-learning, especially in "perceived self-efficacy" and "attitudes" scales, the deans of universities should focus on the two main activities of "enhancing students' self-efficacy through e-learning" and "providing an appropriate e-learning environment”. Conclusion: Considering the decrease in the number of e-learning Iranian students, the results of this study show that one of the important reasons for the failure of e-learning systems in Iranian universities can be students' lack of perceptual readiness. At the same time, considering the lower than average level of students' readiness in the "willingness" and "perceived usefulness" scales, there is a need to focus on awareness and education of students in this regard. Besides, relying on students 'relative readiness to understand self-efficacy and attitude indicators, universities should put two main activities on their agenda: 1) further strengthening students' self-efficacy through e-learning, and 2) providing a suitable environment. For e-learning for students.
Original Research Paper
E-Lerning
A. Poortavakoli; M. Alinejad; B. Daneshmand
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Despite the enormous potential of Electronic Learning (e-learning), learners sometimes decide to drop out of school and are reluctant to pursue educating; therefore, it is so important to find variables to accept it. Among these variables, satisfaction is a key factor Which ...
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Background and Objectives: Despite the enormous potential of Electronic Learning (e-learning), learners sometimes decide to drop out of school and are reluctant to pursue educating; therefore, it is so important to find variables to accept it. Among these variables, satisfaction is a key factor Which is one of the important indicators in the quality of education. Experts consider several effective factors for satisfied e-learning including the quality of e-content. The role of content in the e-learning curriculum is much more prominent and influential than the role of content in the conventional education curriculum. Because in e-learning, content also plays a role in other elements of the curriculum, including; Teaching role, teaching-learning activities, time, place, evaluation and feedback. Therefore, in compiling electronic content, which is a process content, special attention should be paid to the basics of education sciences.; This issue is raised, can e-content be developed based on the factors those affect e-learning satisfaction? What are these factors? And how can a good e-content design model be created to satisfy e-learning? The general purpose of this study was to design a pattern for developing electronic content based on the factors affecting satisfaction in E- learning. The Sub- objectives of the study were as follows: 1) Identifying the factors affecting e-learner satisfaction with e-learning according to the research proposal 2) Determining the characteristics of e-content based on learner satisfaction from the perspective of experts 3) Determining the role of e-content characteristics on learner satisfaction Electronic. Methods: This was conducted with a hybrid and exploratory. Method in three stages. In the first stage, meta-analysis research method was used to identify the factors affecting satisfaction and in the next stage, a Descriptive - Survey method was used to analyze the experts’ opinions. The statistical population of this study consists of two groups: a) the research studies related to the factors affecting satisfaction in E-learning which have been published in the internal and external credible journals; b) the experts working in the field of E-learning all over the country. The statistical samples of this study consisted of ،three groups: A) In the meta-analysis section, the research that was most relevant to the research topic purposefully selected and evaluated (29 foreign studies and 19 domestic studies, a total of 48 studies). B) In the Qualitative section (interview), 30 e-learning professionals were identified nationwide through targeted sampling. In the quantitative section (questionnaire), 117 specialists were identified. In this study, the following three tools were used to collect data: 1- Checklist (in the meta-analysis section), 2- Interview without construction (in the qualitative section),3- researcher-made questionnaire (in the quantitative section).In order to perform data analysis, 48 studies were first studied in the first phase in the meta-analysis section And 209 satisfaction-related factors were identified, some of which were duplicate, that is, exactly one word was used and a number of words were different but synonymous and with the same meaning and purpose. In the analysis section, the researcher placed the same and synonymous factors in one class, which eventually formed 41 classes, and the frequency and percentage of their frequency were calculated. Then, in the second stage, after conducting the interviews and writing them, the researcher examined and analyzed the code for each of the interviews. In this way, the written content of the interviews was read and each significant unit that represented an electronic content feature (analysis unit) was written in the column below the category. After studying all the content of the interviews and identifying the units of analysis, it was the time to re-read and categorize them, and the columns of the categories were obtained and after studying and categorizing the categories, the main components were identified. In the third step, the data from the questionnaire were analyzed at the levels of descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings: The results of study in the meta-analysis stage are indicative of the fact that factors such as content, interaction, technology, teacher, service quality, design, ease of perceived use, personalization, perceived usefulness, learner, perceived value and self-efficacy are among the most important factors affecting satisfaction in E-learning. Regarding the interview, from the viewpoint of the experts developing electronic content, the principles of content development, learner, consequential implications, attention to the approaches related to learning and the role of teacher have the most significant impact on learner’s satisfaction in E-learning, respectively. Conclusion: All of the components are to measure the structure of electronic content characteristics in such a way that the component related to attention to the approaches of learning and the role of teacher with path coefficient (0.99) and attention to the consequential implications with path coefficient (0.89) principles of content design with path coefficient (0.85) attention to the features of the learner with path coefficient (0.82) were confirmed by the experts and are the ones developing the model. The model states that "attention should be paid to learning-related approaches in the polygonal rule, that is, this component is the basis of content development." The two components of "learner" and "teacher role" should be placed on both sides of the pattern, which is the characteristic of the two main elements of the electronic content processes. Implicit "and on the" reminder "side leads to" adherence to the principles of content design. " In total, paying attention to these five components will lead to the development of effective electronic content.
Original Research Paper
Learning Environment
H. Azemati; B. Saleh Sedghpour; M. S. Taher Tolou Del; Z. Sadoughi
Abstract
Background and Objectives: The ultimate goal of education is the learner’s growth. Therefore, the main concern of the architects in this field is the educational environment design in accordance with the high goals of educational system. In this study, relying on the opinions of Islamic thinkers ...
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Background and Objectives: The ultimate goal of education is the learner’s growth. Therefore, the main concern of the architects in this field is the educational environment design in accordance with the high goals of educational system. In this study, relying on the opinions of Islamic thinkers in Quranic sciences field, the teachings derived from the Holy Quran and basic components underlying the perfection has extracted. These components have proposed, as the main contents of design criteria and improving the quality of schools and educational places, in three areas of meaning, function and body to help the architects benefit from an efficient design. Materials and Methods: This study has considered as an effective fundamental research, using quantitative-qualitative methodology. The methodology, in beginning, is survey. Then, the validity of the researcher-made questionnaires and the reliability of the variables have been calculated and confirmed through Cronbach's alpha test with a coefficient of 0.764. In addition, Q factor analysis (extracting expert opinions) and R factor analysis (extracting users' interests) were also performed using spss19 software. The specialist’s statistical population includes 25 professors specialized in the fields of Islamic education, educational sciences and architecture. Next, 40 female trade school junior were selected, from Tehran trade schools, as a non-random environmental users sample. Finally, the illustrated questionnaires obtained from the views of the professors were prepared and analyzed. Findings: After 990 minutes of interviews with specialized professors of Shahid Rajaee University, Tehran University, Science and Technology University and Imam Khomeini international University of Qazvin, two-stage coding and extraction of effective categories were done to prepare a researcher-made questionnaire with 40 items. According to the results of the factor analysis, the following three factors have detected; 1- Physical characteristics of educational buildings as a factor of human spiritual excellence, 2- Introversion as an effective factor in human self-knowledge and self-construction, 3- Extroversion as a factor in regulating environmental conditions and natural areas of human perfection from the view of the specialists. Then, the users’ illustrated questionnaires in 9 different educational fields with 3 quality grades, have distributed among users. Conclusion:: The students’ identified needs, regarding the meaning and spiritual growth, "creating peace and security, a sense of satisfaction, increasing thinking power, fostering creativity and increasing responsibility." In the function field, the following issues are supposed to have taken into account: "individualized places, observance of hierarchy, flexibility, social interactions, multifunctional spaces and the cultivation of sensory powers". In the body field, "observance of diversity, attention to details, scalability, beauty and connection with nature" should have given priority in designing the school and campus. Therefore, based on these identified variables, the obtained correlation model of the factors making students' spiritual excellence in school design is specified through: 1- body design with considering growth factor characteristics, 2- human self-knowledge and self-construction, 3- nature and environment. Therefore, considering the important role of the body and especially the characteristics of the school environment in the growth of students' talents, the optimal design of educational environments is clearly effective to make a suitable ground for their spiritual growth.
Original Research Paper
Learning Environment
M. Arghiani
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Creating a sense of community provides desirable conditions for students' moral, social and physical development. Understanding this sense of community has received growing attention of researchers in various fields. Sociology stresses the sense of people’s belonging ...
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Background and Objectives: Creating a sense of community provides desirable conditions for students' moral, social and physical development. Understanding this sense of community has received growing attention of researchers in various fields. Sociology stresses the sense of people’s belonging to a place, mainly by exploring social and emotional ties between people in a place, which deals with the mental perception and feelings that people have about a given place. From the perspective of anthropologists, it deals with subjects such as individual perception of place, the meaning of place, as well as aesthetic and emotional issues. In this context, belonging chiefly refers to the emotional connections between people and place. This issue is defined by anthropologists as the sense of belonging to a place or a symbolic relationship with a place, which is forged by attaching a symbolic meaning to a specific place. It further provides collective and individual perception and relationship with the environment. Landscape architects also see the sense of community as a concept closely associated with the sense of belonging to a place, contending that it is primarily cognitive and emotional. That is, this concept is explained for individuals through various common events, beliefs, experiences and cultural habits. In this regard, the present study was conducted with the aim of identifying factors affecting students' sense of community. With respect to its goal, this research is classified as an applied research. Methods: In this research, attempts have been made to use the survey method to answer the research hypotheses and measure the studied indices. To do so, by studying the existing sources, 16 components affecting the sense of community were extracted. By designing, distributing and collecting the questionnaire, the views of the research community were examined. Accordingly, 40 questionnaires were distributed among a group of university professors and the effect and priority of the obtained psychological, physical and behavioral components were evaluated. After removing incomplete questionnaires, 19 questionnaires were included in the final analysis. We used hierarchical analysis process for this purpose. Findings: The factors of security and knowing individuals and places among psychological components, the factor of spatial quality component among physical components, and the factor of collective activity among behavioral components were identified as the most important components affecting the sense of community in educational settings. Conclusion: To promote the sense of community in educational settings, the following issues should be taken into account. 1) The importance of the place of activity: encouraging students to engage in various educational activities, such as sharing ideas with others, participating in class discussions, connecting with the teacher and providing an environment for gathering (amphitheater in a convenient place with ease of access). 2) The importance of security in a place: an external danger or threat or common threats can damage a sense of community in the environment or the solidarity of individuals. To overcome the problems and issues that may arise from danger, social norms are required, especially when they provide security for individuals in the group. 3) The recognition of individuals and places: when students know each other, it fosters a social feature that leads to an improved sense of community. 4) Spatial quality: desirable and pleasant places that are visually stimulating enhance aware and environmental knowledge of people. The richer the place, the more people are encouraged to stay together.
Original Research Paper
TVET
M. Asghari; T. Hashemi
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Technical and vocational training play an important role in the formation of human capital with Preparation of skilled workers in the market work needs of the world. These trainings in the developing countries are not only responsible for training the workforce but also help ...
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Background and Objectives: Technical and vocational training play an important role in the formation of human capital with Preparation of skilled workers in the market work needs of the world. These trainings in the developing countries are not only responsible for training the workforce but also help solve the problem of unemployment by preparing the ground for self-employment. These trainings also have the advantage of short-term or medium-term efficiency, which is the reason that countries are paying more attention to technical and vocational training. Considering the role of expansion of technical, professional and vocational branches in production boom, job creation, and reduction of unemployment, it is very important to study the factors influencing this field. The aim of the study was investigating the injuries of spread technical and vocational branches in the education system of the Tabriz city, In order to identify the existing damages, future decisions should be made scientifically and expertly. Methods: The research was done using a mixed method. The teachers of vocational schools in Tabriz (n=1028) was selected as the population of quantitative research and Students of this branches were selected as the research community (n=14464). Twenty of the experts were interviewed in the qualitative section. The sample of students based on the Cochran's formula (373) who were selected using a targeted sampling method. Quantitative data were analyzed by descriptive statistics and inferential statistics by using SPSS software. The research instrument was a researcher made questionnaire with 17 questions which was confirmedits validity by faculty members positively and its reliability was calculated with Cronbach's alpha (0/82). Findings: After reviewing the interviews of the expert group, the six main components were considered as the location of all branches damages, which include1-Curriculum (Teaching Methods, Educational, Evaluation System, Textbooks)2-Management (Attraction In the job market, motivation interest relative to Education in this branches, force evaluation, communication with industry, existence of effective upstream documents, decentralization) 3-cultural field (media, group of friends and family perspective) 4- Equipment and resources ( Existence of workshop facilities, safety) 5- financial budget (attention to the needs of the audiences and the amount of equipment upgrades) 6-teacher training (relationship between training and real life, Proportion of training and adequacy of tests( Conclusion: In the equipment field, According to Pearson correlation coefficient (0/683%), from the audience's point of view fundamental damage, related to the lack of safety equipment. In terms of curriculum and content, Response To needs of the audiences, was Undesirable (23/7%).in the field of education Improvement of human resources, lack of connection between trainings and real life (3/1%) and in the cultural dimension, inappropriate attitude of groups of friends and parents (21/1%) were recognized as damage. In terms of financial resources. In terms of facilities, finances and equipment, the amount of budget allocated to meet the needs of technical workshops has been very low (25%). the results of Pearson correlation coefficient in the student population showed that about (90%) of the damages of these branches depend on the management methods., Therefore, it is necessary to train and improve the directors of vocational schools and to design appropriate mechanisms in their selection according to their expertise and efficiency in this field.
Original Research Paper
Learning Environment
M. Zandieh; P. Hessai; A. Zandieh
Abstract
Background and Objectives: With globalization and being in the direction of various intellectual currents, architectural design as an influential factor has changed in the process. The architecture of schools needs to be changed due to the changes in the educational system and the growing needs of students ...
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Background and Objectives: With globalization and being in the direction of various intellectual currents, architectural design as an influential factor has changed in the process. The architecture of schools needs to be changed due to the changes in the educational system and the growing needs of students due to communication and the unification of intellectual currents in the world. The pervasiveness of information and communication technology has affected the educational system and the educational environment must constantly adapt to the developments and changes of today's world. Only then can it train capable and competent individuals to meet the needs of the world ahead and the future. Educational policy is constantly being programmed in response to new research on how to prepare students for a rapidly changing world. Flexibility is recognized as a result of globalization in architecture. The need for change is important in school architecture due to the diversity of users and the variety of their needs and wants. Flexible spaces have more acceptance capabilities from the general public due to their type of use. In this study, the evolution of ideas among individuals in the discussion of globalization is determined to identify the need for changes in the education system, analyze how the education system changes and the need for flexible schools, express the flexible characteristics of schools and their capabilities, and practically change the country's schools by improving educational approaches and the design of school architecture. Methods: This research uses an analytical-applied method, assuming that flexibility can update educational approaches and, conversely, tries to find the relationship between architecture and educational approaches with flexibility. To do this, it uses library studies of books and articles. Findings: In this regard, the criterion of open plan system, flexible learning spaces, flexible furniture, adaptablity through moving walls, and flexible public spaces are practical solutions that can cause updates in educational approaches to school. Conclusion: Architecture as a guide in design can plan the design process from fertilization to birth. Therefore, the attitude towards architecture should be present at the same time going back and forth in whole and in part. School architecture is one of the effective educational parameters in modern education and just as thinkers in the study of educational issues always consider various factors such as family, teacher, educational management, etc. as effective factors in the process of learning; the architecture or physical space of the school also plays a role as a living and dynamic factor in the quality of students' educational activities. In a world of such rapid change and in a day when knowledge is a powerful tool for development and even social survival, flexibility is the common denominator between architecture and educational approaches. Architecture can use to flexibly improve the educational approaches needed in the new world. Flexibility as a solution is effective in education in two ways: updating the educational approach with the help of architecture, innovation in architectural design by new educational approaches. The learning environment influences students' creativity. The more creative the design, the more fertile the student's mind becomes, and the greater the need to raise educational levels, and this process is infinitely reproducible.
Original Research Paper
Learning Environment
F. Ebrahimzadeh; Fatemeh Mehdizadeh Saradj; S. Norouzian Maleki; S. Piri
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Changes in lifestyle have led to the gradual disconnection of children from nature and open spaces and schools are one of the most important spaces for re-establishing this connection; because it is the second place where children spend a lot of time after home and most ...
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Background and Objectives: Changes in lifestyle have led to the gradual disconnection of children from nature and open spaces and schools are one of the most important spaces for re-establishing this connection; because it is the second place where children spend a lot of time after home and most of the children's daily physical activities are done during the day. The present study was aimed at explaining the characteristics of school outdoor spaces to improve the children’s relaxation and learning. Hence, after analyzing the information obtained from previous studies, the list of effective criteria to increase children’s sense of attachment to the open spaces of schools was proposed. The study of the research background and the compilation of theoretical foundations were done in two parts: At first, by combining different research studies on the subject of place attachment, the dimensions of place attachment and the factors affecting it., the researchers have tried to deal with the relationship between these factors both with each other and with the issue of architecture in order to determine the effective factors in creating place attachment in the field of architecture., Afterwards, the background of research in the field of children and outdoor space was examined and the effective variables in creating place attachment were identified. Then, these initial criteria were checked on the basis of the perspective of the experts in architecture. Methods: To achieve the research purpose and find the relationship between the effective factors in place attachment with the extracted variables, the qualitative-quantitative system, the method of content analysis and Delphi technique were used.Therefore, in order to achieve a more comprehensive result and a combination of the quantitative and qualitative content, after searching for sources and collecting information, the content analysis method was used so that the raw data and the existing components can be categorized on an orderly basis. Then, to confirm the framework and the variables extracted by a group of experts in the field of architecture, a questionnaire based on Likert scale was used. The data obtained from the questionnaire were analyzed by factor analysis using the SPSS software. The reliability of the questionnaire was confirmed by Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. The adequacy of the sample size was also assessed using the KMO statistic and Bartlett’s significance level. Findings: The results showed that from the perspective of the experts, the independent variables can be classified into five groups of influential factors on the basis of the answers of the respondents. According to the definitions of attachment factors in the research background and the findings of the statistical test, the obtained variables were named. Hence, the variables such as the environmental mobility, space flexibility and cozy corners under (interactive factors), familiar environment, the study period, the child’s gender and culture-economic class (individual factors), dimensions of the open space, physical comfort of the environment, spatial diversity and spatial perception (physical factors), child participation, natural elements of the environment, safety and sense of security (socio-group factors) and playfulness, stimulation of the environment and its color and texture subset (activity factors) were classified. Conclusion: Based on the research findings, the most important criteria for increasing the child's sense of attachment to the open space of schools were classified into five main factors (interactive, individual, physical, socio-group and activity) and 17 variables.Moreover, strategies along with the above indicators in relation to school design have been proposed so that besides creating an environment that meets the demands of students, opportunities for children to participate can also be provided and, thus, the possibility.
