Original Research Paper
e-learning
R. Nejati
Abstract
Background and Objectives: In the past decades, online education as a variety of distance education has drawn the attention of administrators, instructors and students. Amid Covid-19 pandemic, online education has become an inevitable necessity. Students’ engagement in such classes may influence ...
Read More
Background and Objectives: In the past decades, online education as a variety of distance education has drawn the attention of administrators, instructors and students. Amid Covid-19 pandemic, online education has become an inevitable necessity. Students’ engagement in such classes may influence learning and achievement. Engagement refers to the efforts put forward by the students in the process of learning. Educators believe that the components of engagement are interaction between students, content of the course, classmates and instructors in order to gain desired achievement (good scores and academic satisfaction). They also hold that engagement is a prerequisite and a factor for enduring learning. There is research evidence that student engagement is a strong predictor of achievement. A profile of students’ achievement and engagement is presented. In the present study, the relationship between engagement and achievement in online classes was examined.Methods: The study was a correlational one designed to answer the research question through the Online Student Engagement Scale developed by Dixon and a researcher-made achievement test. The questionnaire includes four dimensions and 19 items on a seven-point Likert scale developed in 2015. The dimensions are: skills, emotions, engagement and performance. The researcher could not locate any record of this scale in Iranian scientific journals. Hence, he had to translate it into Persian. Back translation was done by a university professor. The questionnaire had been adapted with Google Form and delivered to 297 students of general English courses through a university LMS in 2020. The students were required to fill out the forms on a seven-point bases. Two-hundred and six students returned the questionnaire, 22 of which had to be discarded because there were traces of inattention in the forms, e.g., some of the students had chosen a certain or every other one option for all items. There were clearly discernable patterns in these 22 forms. The remaining 184 responses and their corresponding test scores were put to statistical analysis. The questionnaire was posted to the students through the LMS. The second instrument of this study was a test of reading comprehension developed by the researcher. The test was developed on the basis of theories of reading. However, to establish its content and theoretical validity it was submitted to a panel of five instructors of English. The test included 40 items. It was administered as the final exam through the university LMS.Findings: The results analyzed through one-sample t-test revealed that students’ achievement and engagement level is satisfactory. Quantile regression showed that there was a significant relationship between engagement and achievement of high achievers. However, bivariate correlation could not locate any statistically significant relationship between engagement and achievement of average students. The findings are in contrast with research findings in other countries. Different explanations may account for this contrast, e.g., online education for the participants of this study was not optional. Hence, the students might not be motivated for learning. They might lack necessary skills and instruments for this mode of education. As a consequence, they might have developed some sort of stress resulting in lack of academic satisfaction, self-esteem, and underestimation. However, students’ level of engagement perception was satisfactory. It needs to be stated that no report of a similar research was located in Iran.Conclusions: The present study aimed at finding the relationship between engagement and achievement in online English classes. The theory of engagement holds true for high achievers but not for average or low achievers. In order to assess students’ engagement, a self-report questionnaire was used. Researchers are well aware of the fact that this method of data collection is open to measurement error.
Original Research Paper
Educational Technology
M. Ranjbarfard; M. Zandvakili
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Today, the presence of computers in training classes has been expanded. Therefore, preparing appropriate software and games as well as conducting research to examine their impact on education and their comparison with the traditional teaching method (face-to-face and PowerPoint) ...
Read More
Background and Objectives: Today, the presence of computers in training classes has been expanded. Therefore, preparing appropriate software and games as well as conducting research to examine their impact on education and their comparison with the traditional teaching method (face-to-face and PowerPoint) is essential. However, a game-based and a professional software-based teaching method as compared to the traditional teaching method has not been evaluated from the perspective of the students including various aspects, such as motivation, satisfaction, interaction, pleasure and learning. This study aims at making a comparison between the evaluation of various teaching methods, including game-based , professional software-based , and traditional teaching method. The evaluation of each of these three methods has been conducted from the perspective of the students in one of the courses of the field of Financial Management, using measures such as pleasure and interaction.Methods: First, the theoretical framework and the research hypothesis were determined based on the literature on three teaching methods, including game-based and professional software-based, and traditional teaching methods. The statistical population of this study comprised of 70 individuals who were undergraduate students of the course of technical analysis at the Financial Centre of Iran as well as at the Association of Stock Exchange Brokers. The selection of this course was due to the possibility of running all the three teaching methods in the time period of conducting this research. The evaluation data for each of these teaching methods were gathered, using a separate closed questionnaire (totally 3 questionnaires) with 5-point Likert scale. The questionnaires of the traditional and software teaching methods were distributed after 3 sessions of the classes had passed and the questionnaire of the game-based teaching method was distributed after 14 days of running the game (this was one of the time periods defined in the game). The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS and Excel. The paired t-test was used to analyze the differences in the evaluation of the three teaching methods at the significance level equal to 0.005. The normality of data was tested and confirmed by using Kolmogorov-Smirnov test before running the paired t-test. Findings: In the comparison of professional software-based with the traditional teaching method at the significance level of 0.000 and t= 6.454, it can be said that professional software-based teaching was better. In the comparison of game-based with traditional teaching method at the significance level of 0.000 and t=6.097, it can be said that game-based teaching method was better. In the comparison of professional software-based with game-based teaching method, at the significance level of 0.000 and t=4.861, it can be said that game-based teaching method was better. The mean for game-based teaching method was significantly much higher than that of the other teaching methods. This means that based on their ability, the students were more satisfied with the game-based teaching method; they regarded this method more interactive; they have enjoyed this teaching method more than the others; and this teaching method has increased their motivation, and they have regarded it more effective in their learning.Conclusions: With respect to the significant difference in the evaluation of the game-based teaching method compared with other two teaching methods, it is recommended that the educational institutes, teachers and developers of computer games pay more attention to game-based teaching method and gamification with the teaching objectives. At least, based on the subject and content of the course, besides the traditional method (face-to-face and PowerPoint) which is a common method in teaching, use of a combination of various teaching methods including game-based professional software-based teaching method along with the traditional method can be beneficial and increase the level of satisfaction, learning, motivation, capability, interaction and pleasure of the students. Lack of teaching games relevant to academic courses was one of the main challenges of this research. As a result, it was impossible to study the effect of game elements (such as leaderboards, scores, medals, …) in teaching through game-based method. Due to the impossibility of running educational games related to academic courses in the time period in which the research was being conducted, the spatial scope of the research was limited to two organizations in Tehran province and it was impossible to gather data from other educational institutions and in other classrooms for the other courses.
Original Research Paper
e-learning
N. Tahmasbipour; F. Hamidi; Z. Kazemi
Abstract
Background and Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of using the electronic content of mathematics course on self-Regulatory learning and academic achievement of students studying at the 9th grade.Methods: The method used in this study was semi-experimental, using ...
Read More
Background and Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of using the electronic content of mathematics course on self-Regulatory learning and academic achievement of students studying at the 9th grade.Methods: The method used in this study was semi-experimental, using pre-test and post-test with a control group. Moreover, the statistical population of this study was comprised of the students studying at Parvin Etesami school of Aligudarz city in the academic year of 2018-2019. The sample size included 40 students who were selected by available sampling method from the third grade of junior high school. 20 people were selected as the experimental group and 20 people were selected as the control group. The experimental group was exposed to ten one-hour sessions of electronic teaching of the course of mathematics. Before conducting this study and after the end of the group teaching sessions, the Beaufort self-regulation questionnaire and the researcher-made questionnaire were administered on the students to determine the score of academic achievement in mathematics.Findings: The results showed that as compared to the students in the control group who did not receive this program, teaching the experimental group that received this program by using the electronic content had a significant impact leading to an increase in the self-regulation learning and academic achievement of the students in the experimental group in the course of mathematics (F=14/114, P<0.01)In other words, after adjusting the pre-test scores, the factor had a significant effect on the items being tested between the two groups. Therefore, it can be concluded that using electronic content is effective on the cognitive self-regulation of the students at 9th grade. The effect of using the electronic content on cognitive self-regulation was 27.6 percent.Conclusions: The students received appropriate feedback in this teaching method and benefitting from optimal approaches, they used the time they needed for the process of learning mathematics. On the other hand, paying attention to various audio, video, graphics and animation, and multimedia software potentials stimulates multiple senses at the same time, enabling students to perceive the math content in a more attractive, varied and comprehensive way as well as increasing their educational motivation in order to learn and understand mathematics more appropriately .The use of self-regulation technique in the context of multimedia tools strengthens data processing, facilitates the timely and appropriate application of these tools, enhances perceptual processes, simplifies cognitive situations, facilitates the problem-solving programs, increases self-regulation and the feeling of self-sufficiency, and enhances the amount of concentration and consciousness; or in other words, it causes a higher self-regulation in the process of learning. The conditions that are created in the path of teaching and learning and also in a long period of time are almost constant and generally stable.
Original Research Paper
Educational Technology
S. A. Faregh; Y. Saffari; M. Jafari Sisis
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Education is an integral part of human life. At present, the educational books and the one-dimensional media which they contain, such as images, diagrams, tables, and the like play an important/significant role in this domain. Gamification, as a new and potential phenomenon, ...
Read More
Background and Objectives: Education is an integral part of human life. At present, the educational books and the one-dimensional media which they contain, such as images, diagrams, tables, and the like play an important/significant role in this domain. Gamification, as a new and potential phenomenon, adds a new era into the area of educational technologies in which educational concepts are taught to the users through a gamified scenario. Today, the integration of new technologies with existing teaching and learning methods in order to improve the learning process is one of the most important issues that require a comprehensive study. Conflict, meanwhile, is an issue that arises in the individual and group life of any society, and its proper management requires proper teaching and learning. In line with using digital games as a means of gamfication, the present study aimes at examining the effect of this method on the teaching and learning of conflict management and comparing it with the existing (traditional) method.Methods: After studying the findings and the research methods of former studies, an experimental study was conducted in a quasi-pre-and-post-experimental framework on the conflict management of two digital games. For this purpose, 60 female participants were randomly selected varying from 18-to-55-year-old women's community in Tehran and Tabriz. Participants were randomly divided into three equal groups of 20 people among which two groups were experimental and one group was the control and each group was tested with a separate game. The measuring instrument in this study was the Thomas-Kilmann normative questionnaire. The testing process consisted of two standard web games called "The raise" and "The costumer service" which were used as test intervention. The control group was trained by means of traditional education (based on written documents) and the experimental group was trained by means of computer games.Findings: The analysis of covariance of results in SPSS software with the Alpha of 0.05 indicates that computer games have a significant relationship with improving the level of conflict management in individuals. On the other hand, examining the growth charts of individuals’ conflict management level that have been extracted based on the results of the pre-test and post-test questionnaire of Thomas-Kilman shows that in conflict management training, computer games are more effective than academic and traditional education.Conclusions: The findings of the analyses conducted on the results of the experiments in this study showed that the interactive nature of multimedia digital games increases the attractiveness of the educational topics.Therefore, conflict management training, as compared to traditional training, has been able to influence the level of "cooperation", "competition", "adaptability" and "avoidance" of the individuals, both through "The Raise" and "The Customer Service" games, , and it has also been more effective in teaching the conflict management styles. Exploring these issues in a heuristic manner among participants also suggests that educational materials based on traditional and text-based education have not been attractive enough to engage test-takers and have imposed a high cognitive load of comprehension on them. However, the computer games in the experimental groups could attract more attention toward learning and could provide the test-takers with better comprehension of the issues. Finally, it can be concluded that gamification has a positive effect on the process of teaching and learning conflict management.
Original Research Paper
Educational Technology
M. A. Ghashami; F. Nasiri
Abstract
Background and Objectives: The progress and development of a country depends, more than anything, on its human resources. It is a human force that, with the power of thought contemplation/thinking and the optimal use of material resources, causes the progress of a society. These cases have led policymakers ...
Read More
Background and Objectives: The progress and development of a country depends, more than anything, on its human resources. It is a human force that, with the power of thought contemplation/thinking and the optimal use of material resources, causes the progress of a society. These cases have led policymakers and thinkers to pay more attention to the concept of entrepreneurship so that the last model of development is considered to be the development arising from entrepreneurship. Therefore, the need for entrepreneurial graduates and students has increased and the goal of many prestigious universities in the world is to nurture students and consequently entrepreneurial graduates. Various factors influence the formation of entrepreneurial behavior among which self-efficacy is one of the most important factors that affect entrepreneurial behavior. Self-efficacy is one of the cognitive talents of entrepreneurship Therefore, recognizing the factors related to students' entrepreneurial behavior, such as communication skills and information literacy, can provide a good platform for the development of entrepreneurial attitude and behavior and, finally, by cultivating these talents, the existing fields of entrepreneurship can be exploited utilized and positive results consequences in higher education can be achieved. The aim of this study was to investigate examining the relationship between communication skills with students' entrepreneurial self-efficacy with the mediating role of information literacy.Methods: The research method is descriptive-correlational. The statistical population included 6701 undergraduate students of Bu Ali Sina University, 364 people using stratified random sampling method based on Krejcie and Morgan table were selected. Standard questionnaires of entrepreneurial self-efficacy, communication skills and information literacy were used to collect research data. The validity of the questionnaires was calculated using content and face validity, and its reliability was calculated through Cronbach's alpha coefficient and was estimated to be 0.95, 0.85 and 0.95, respectively. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data.Findings: Findings showed that all relationships between variables are significant and the theoretical model of the research is approved and accepted as the final model. The mediating role of information literacy was also revealed and the relationship between communication skills and information literacy and its components was positive and significant and communication skills and its components were predictors of information literacy. There is also a positive and significant relationship between communication skills and entrepreneurial self-efficacy and its components.Conclusions: There is a relationship between communication skills and students' entrepreneurial self-efficacy with the mediating role of information literacy. The present study, like any other research, was faced with limitations, such as limitation of using the questionnaire as the only data collection tool and not using other tools as well as geographical and educational restrictions. Therefore, it is suggested that the present study had better be conducted in other geographical areas and educational courses so that generalizability power of the findings can be increased. In line with the findings of the present study, it is suggested that by holding workshops and training classes, students can be introduced to appropriate communication methods and skills and be empowered in this field. It is recommended that the officials and professors, considering the important effects of communication skills and information literacy, primarily pay more attention to this important issue and follow them more in order to be a suitable model for students. The next suggestion is that the university should provide more appropriate access and optimal use of information.
Original Research Paper
e-learning
S. M. Seyedaliyan; K. Salehi
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Knowledge and skill in mathematics are considered as one of the most essential individual skills for living in modern societies. For this reason, mathematics is seen as a major discipline in education. One of the problems in the field of education today is the decrease in students' ...
Read More
Background and Objectives: Knowledge and skill in mathematics are considered as one of the most essential individual skills for living in modern societies. For this reason, mathematics is seen as a major discipline in education. One of the problems in the field of education today is the decrease in students' interest in learning, especially in subjects such as mathematics. Despite its wide range of applications, mathematics and mathematical thinking are considered as complex around the world, and teaching mathematics is often a difficult task. Many students avoid mathematics or show their true ability in mathematics less than usual, so the study of factors affecting the learning of mathematics in recent decades has attracted the attention of many experts and educators. Due to the lack of studies in our country Iran and the importance of educational materials and their effects, making a comparison between traditional teaching method and the method based on the use of technology and teaching aids was necessary to examine its impact on improving the learning of math students in high school. Therefore, the main hypothesis of this study is based on the principle that the use of teaching aids is effective in learning mathematics better.Methods: For this purpose, a study with a quantitative approach, using quasi-experimental method and pre-test-post-test design with a control group was used. The statistical population includes all high school students in Mahdi Shahr city from Semnan province .Thrity-three female students in grade 12 whose field of study was mathematics were selected and assigned randomly into two experimental and controlled groups. Data collection was done using a teacher-made achievement test with validity and reliability considerations. After validation of the intervention protocol, the training program was performed on the experimental group in 12 sessions of 2 hours per week using teaching aids.Findings: Multivariate and univariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA & ANCOVA) were used to analyze the data. The results showed that teaching mathematics with the help of teaching aids and using information technology had a significant effect on students' learning rate. The groups were almost identical before applying the independent variable, but after the experimental period, there was a significant difference between their scores which could be related to the teaching method (p<0.05). The squared value of the obtained ETA shows that 71% of the variance of the dependent variable is derived from the independent variable. Supplementary studies showed that at the level of individual courses, the difference related to the topics of conic sections and circles is significant (p < 0.01). This means that the post-test scores of conical and circular sections in the experimental group were significantly higher than the control group, which indicates the positive effect of the intervention program. Also, according to the ETA squared scores, it can be said that in the test of conical sections 29% and in the test of circle 66% of the changes are due to the effect of the teaching program with the help of teaching aids and information technology.Conclusions: Overall, the findings showed that teaching with the help of ICTs can improve the learning process and achievement in mathematics by facilitating the transfer of lessons, improving the learning process and its sustainability, enhancing learning motivation, improving the grades and problem-solving skills. This program can be used as a useful and effective intervention for improving the learning of mathematics.
Original Research Paper
Modern Educational Approaches
M. Mojadam; Z. Khoshneshin; A. Ghasemtabar; A. Najafi
Abstract
Background and Objectives: The endeavor of organizations and companies to reach large global markets has led them to use the most effective and practical methods to reach this aim. One of these methods is the new teaching methods for employees which in the present study have been examined to determine ...
Read More
Background and Objectives: The endeavor of organizations and companies to reach large global markets has led them to use the most effective and practical methods to reach this aim. One of these methods is the new teaching methods for employees which in the present study have been examined to determine the feasibility of applying new teaching methods in National Petrochemical Company of Iran, so that the company and especially its staff can benefit from these new teaching methods.Methods: This study is designed in an applied and descriptive-surveying format using a researcher-made questionnaire. It includes five components with 56 items that have separately studied readiness (17 items), the effectiveness of the teaching methods of former courses (10 items), the quality of the teaching content (8 items), the opportunity to develop new teaching methods (12 items), and the opportunity to develop new teaching methods in accordance with structural and infrastructural facilities. The reliability of the questionnaire was estimated by Cronbach's alpha coefficient and found to be 0.85، 0.87، 0.85، 0.70، 0.90 respectively. Data were analysed in SPSS software using one sample t-test. The sample of the present study consisted of 270 staff and managers of National Petrochemical Company varying from grade 9 up to B (the specific levelling of the company’s staff). The Morgan Table was used for sampling in which from a population of 270, 120 individuals were selected as a sample from which 91 individuals received the questionnaire. Findings: The results indicate the possibility of implementing new teaching methods in accordance with multiple dimensions. Among the dimensions of feasibility, except for the human dimension which is in the desired condition, other dimensions are not in the desired condition. For such dimensions, t is equal to -8.40 at the significance level of (0.000) which is lower than the assumed average (3) and is reported as undesirable. In the following five areas or dimensions of feasibility, the perspective of managers and staff were studied: 1) the amount of readiness of the managers and staff in using the new teaching methods; 2) the attitude of the managers and staff towards the quality and effectiveness of the teaching methods in the former courses; 3) the attitude of managers and staff towards the methods of presenting the teaching content and the quality of the teaching materials; 4) the opportunities for the development of new teaching methods in accordance with the attitude of the managers and the staff; 5) the opportunities for the development of the new teaching methods in accordance with the structural and infrastructural facilities in terms of the perspective of the managers and the staff. Except for the first question, for the rest of the questions, a negative value in a one sample t-test was shown which indicates there is a distance to reaching the desired situation. Moreover, the correlation among the components 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 was also calculated which were 0.34, 0.69, 0.72, 0.66 and 0.53, respectively. Friedman test was used to prioritize and identify the components that are most desirable Conclusions: The inferential results derived from the statistical findings showed that the readiness of the managers and the staff to promote the culture of using new teaching methods according to the findings is in desirable condition. So is possible that implication of the new teaching methods is predictable based on the perspective of the managers and the staff’s point of views. In other dimensions, such as knowledge, technical, organizational, structural and infrastructure, there are signs that optimized conditions to benefit from new teaching methods. Referred to generality of findings indicates the human, technical, organizational and structural dimensions, it can be claimed that the feasibility indicators are not in a desired condition in the company. Except for the attitude and acceptance of using new teaching methods that are in favorable and appropriate condition, the rest of the indicators are less than the average.
Original Research Paper
TVET
Z. Montazeri; R. Aghamoosa; A. Naami; A. Fatemi
Abstract
Background and Objectives: The concept of education in recent years has been the concern of all organization's officials. Everyone agrees on the necessity of designing and implementing productive and practical educational strategies. However, what is essential is developing an efficient, coherent ...
Read More
Background and Objectives: The concept of education in recent years has been the concern of all organization's officials. Everyone agrees on the necessity of designing and implementing productive and practical educational strategies. However, what is essential is developing an efficient, coherent and integrated model and identifying the factors that are effective in the education system so that appropriate and adequate educational programs can be designed by using the results obtained. The quality of education will have a positive function only if it is regarded as a single totality whose dimensions are equally taken into consideration. The mobility category in institutes requires a long-term strategic policy to take appropriate actions to improve research, educational, and service activities. On the other hand, such mobility category seems necessary to create a dynamic platform for coordination among different parts of an institute. This study aims to design and validate a quality improvement education and job creation model at Tehran's technical and vocational institutes.Methods: Exploratory sequential mixed method of data collection is used. The statistical population includes managers and professors of technical and vocational institutes who had the required knowledge and experience in the realm of education. The sampling method was purposive design. The data were collected through a semi-structured interview in which the sampling amount was determined based on theoretical sampling and reaching the theoretical saturation. All interviews were recorded and used for coding, correction, and obtaining feedback. A total of 13 people were interviewed. Open, axial, and selective coding were used to analyze the data. First, the categories were coded after the approval of the experts in the model which, on the whole, at this stage, 230 codes were extracted from 13 interviews, reviews of the documents , effective educational experiences, and other resources. By comparison and classification of similar codes, 90 concepts were extracted and finally separated in 33 subcategories by classification of similar concepts which were classified into six general categories of causal conditions, phenomenon-oriented , contextual conditions, intervener conditions, strategies and outcomes.Findings: Based on the results obtained, this model has causal conditions (teachers' abilities, measuring and interpreting brand performance, identifying and codifying values and brand position), contextual conditions (human resources plans, the culture of value creation in the organization, brand trust and hardware and software education equipment), intervener conditions that includes macro-environmental factors (legal obligations of the institute and international validity of technical and professional qualifications), and micro-environmental factors (customers’ level, competitors’ level, and their knowledge), strategies (stable communications and relationship marketing, transformational innovation, educational planning, and functional marketing) and outcomes (value for the society, value for the organization, and value for the customer).Conclusions: This study showed that the phenomenon of design and validation of a quality improvement model of education and job creation is affected by various factors, such as brand personality and identity. To establish a value-creating and effective educational model, first, it has to pay special attention to the sign and its conceptual image and the authenticity and credibility that it creates for the institutes. It has also been crucial to specify, define and clarify the brand's visual identity and its appropriate positioning in the target groups' perception. In addition, creating a framework of community-oriented, entrepreneurial, and ethical values in such a way that can amplify public confidencemeans pursuing the public interest by being responsive and transpareny as well as serving professionally along with competence, efficiency, impartiality, equality, and justice in dealing with customers. Moreover, how the entrepreneurial function in education works is a highly significant topic. Assessment and continuous monitoring of the performance of organizations can be a powerful management tool to help the managers to achieve their general and strategic objectives. The research model was validated, and the experts evaluated the model designed to improve the quality of education and job creation in institutes as desirable. As a result, this model can be used in technical and vocational institutes.
Original Research Paper
e-learning
S. Hamedinasab; M. Ayati; M. Rostaminejad; F. Seraji
Abstract
Background and Objectives: In recent years, social networking sites and software have become one of the most influential phenomena among new technologies. Student-teacher learning and their professional development also take place in this context, both formally and informally. In this regard, the purpose ...
Read More
Background and Objectives: In recent years, social networking sites and software have become one of the most influential phenomena among new technologies. Student-teacher learning and their professional development also take place in this context, both formally and informally. In this regard, the purpose of the present study is to design a curriculum model for the use of informal learning based on Authorized social networks to develop the student-teacher profession.Methods: The method of this research was done with a multi-method approach. To design the above model, the grounded theory method was first used. Participants in this study were all primary school teachers in Farhan Gian University of South Khorasan in 2018-2019. Based on purposive sampling with semi-structured interviews, until the theoretical saturation of the data, 15 of these students were interviewed. To analyze the data, using the dimension analysis approach and during the open, pivotal and selective coding steps, the existing model of informal learning based on student-teacher social networks was extracted for their professional development. To obtain the validity and verifiability of the data, two methods of reviewing the participants and reviewing the non-participating experts in the research were used. In the end, with the theoretical research method and based on previous findings, at first, the nine elements of Klein were the basis of the work and based on it, the desired model was designed. In the next step, the basic concepts or the same characteristics of the curriculum elements and structural concepts, which are in fact the same as identifying the relationship between these elements, were identified. Finally, the model presented by the experts was validated.Findings: Findings showed that goals in unpredictable social networks are flexible and continuous, which have the property of snowballs and should be validated. Content on social media requires features such as; be in tune with the audience, pave the way for critical thinking, action and screening. Learning activities; They create self-sufficiency and belonging, satisfy desires, motivate and lay the groundwork for individual and group education. Materials and resources; Diverse, easy to access, fluid and interactive. Learner grouping; It is non-linear, optional and based on extensive collaboration and online responsiveness. Also, on social media; Enough time to reflect on the answer, the possibility of communicating with communication nodes at any time, the possibility of wasting useful time with attractive content and achieving a large amount of information in a short time. In addition, access to information and educational resources is available everywhere, and the place of learning is the creator of opportunities and is based on ecology and interactive communication. Teaching strategies; Problem-oriented, interactive, based on inclusive buoyancy and with flexible instructor guidance. Evaluation methods; It is quality-oriented, process-oriented, self-assessing, continuous and based on instant feedback. The findings also showed that most experts confirmed the validity of the model in the criteria of validity, coherence, perceptibility, innovation, usability, acceptability and comprehensiveness.Conclusion: Due to the characteristics of social network-based curriculum elements, curriculum planners are suggested to use the coordinates of these elements to design a curriculum based on social networks in order to achieve the development of student-teacher careers. It is also suggested that Farhangian University provides the necessary infrastructure for the purposeful use of social networks for the development of student-teacher professions.
Original Research Paper
e-learning
A. Habibi Azar; J. Keyhan; B. Talebi
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Qualified and experienced teachers with high professional and educational ability are very necessary and vital for quality education. In this regard, professional development programs with lifelong and continuous training courses in various formats, including in-service training ...
Read More
Background and Objectives: Qualified and experienced teachers with high professional and educational ability are very necessary and vital for quality education. In this regard, professional development programs with lifelong and continuous training courses in various formats, including in-service training courses, are held for teachers. Despite the importance of these courses, a review of the findings of many studies suggests that in-service education courses were not so effective for many teachers. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the challenges of holding in-service training courses in education from the teachers’ perspectives.Materials and Methods: The method of the present study is qualitative with a phenomenological approach in terms of lived experiences. The participants of the present study were all teachers working in West Azerbaijan Province. The research sample was selected by using non-probability purposeful sampling method with considering the criteria such as teachers' reputation, obtaining technology-related rewards in provincial or national festivals, and teaching experience of technology training courses in the Department of Education. The sample size was determined by considering the theoretical saturation rule. In order to receive the feedback of adequacy and theoretical saturation, after each interview, the data were immediately transcribed, handwritten, and encoded. After 22 interviews (13 women and 9 men), the data reached the theoretical saturation. The data collection method was the semi-structured interview. Two techniques of voice recording and note-taking (with the emphasis laid on voice recording) were used for data collection method. To analyze the data and extract the main themes, the content analysis approach was performed based on the four-step approach of Giorgi (1970) in the platform of MAXQDA10 software.Findings: The findings showed that the challenges of holding in-service courses can be classified and presented in four themes or main challenges which are: 1) Motivation of the teachers for active and purposeful participation in the courses (including subcategories of internal challenges and external challenges); 2) the quality of and the method of holding the courses (including subcategories of lack of attention to the thematic nature of the courses, and lack of attention to the required infrastructure); 3) the Continuity (thematic and temporal) in holding the courses (including subcategories of lack of continuity of thematic hierarchy and lack of time continuity in holding the courses); and 4) adapting the content of the courses to the needs of the teachers (including lack of need-oriented courses, lack of attention to the proportion of the prerequisite knowledge of the teachers to participate in the courses and lack of specialized courses).Conclusions: Comsidering that like other government organizations, holding in-service training courses for the teachers is mandatory in the Education Organization, it is assumed that holding such courses is somehow ‘fulfilling a duty’without paying attention to the ‘effectiveness’ of the courses. Therefore, it is cocluded that the first challenge should be lack of teachers’ motivation in participating in such courses. The second challenge is that since the required infrastructures for holding such courses are not provided, thus the courses lack the required effectiveness. The third challenge is that since in-service training courses are not held continuously, both thematically and temporally, therefore, despite spending a large amount of costs, their effectiveness is not evident. According to fourth challenge, since the prerequisite of ‘participation in the course’ and ‘determining the level of the teachers’ are not observed, thus, the content of the courses is not regulated with respect to the development of the professional skills of the teacher. Therefore, it is suggested that for holding such courses, first the assessment of needs and prerequisites of the courses should be formulated, the teachers should be graded, the required prerequisites for such courses should be provided. Considering the sequence of the topics, the courses
Original Research Paper
e-learning
E. Masoumi; M. Salehi; M. Taghvaeeyazdi
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Today, given the capacity of developing economies, technological startups as start-up businesses play an important and considerable role, especially in the field of entrepreneurship. However, due to the lack of suitable platforms, both from the social perspective in terms of ...
Read More
Background and Objectives: Today, given the capacity of developing economies, technological startups as start-up businesses play an important and considerable role, especially in the field of entrepreneurship. However, due to the lack of suitable platforms, both from the social perspective in terms of education and culture as well as from the economic perspective, they have many risks and this causes a lot of startups to have trouble in their commercialization process and eventually fail. Using entrepreneurial ecosystems at the university level is one of the approaches to effective development of startups, especially technological startups, which can provide the possibility of their effective development by recognizing the needs of the target market and considering the level of individual and collective capabilities of entrepreneurs and creating a balance between them. Thereofre, the purpose of this research is to develop university entrepreneurship ecosystems based on strengthening startups through rough set theories.Methods: The methodology of this research is hybrid and to perform it, Meta-analyses, delphi and Rough Set Collection have been used. The target population in the qualitative sector comprised of similar research studies and academic experts at the entrepreneurial level. But the target population in the quantitative sector comprised of 20 managers and deputies at various academic levels in the Golestan province. Considering the requirement of using Rough theory analysis, this amount of the statistical population is acceptable.Findings: In this study, first by screening the selected studies, 9 propositions for strengthening startups and 5 components of the entrepreneurship ecosystem at the university level were determined. Due to the confirmation of the theoretical adequacy limit based on Delphi analysis, they entered the analysis phase of Rough Set Theory. The findings in this section make it clear that the most influential propositions for strengthening startups are the existence of technological needs and the formulation of appropriate strategies. For their development in terms of entrepreneurship ecosystems at the university level, two educational / research and innovative functions should be considered as a platform for the development of startups.Conclusion: The entrepreneurs operating in the form of technological startups need to obtain the reuired data for the development of their business through collecting ecological information and paying attention to social approaches so that they can meet the technological demands by selecting a codified strategy in this area. Moreover, based on Gery Vikor’s analysis it was determined that the most influentiasl role of the university as entrepreneurship ecology is strengthening the level of educational and research functions. This means that it is necessary for the university to lead the educational level and the promotion of scientific research in the direction of entrepreneurship in the form of entrepreneurial policies announced by the president’s deputy for technology and information. As a result, the university can be turned into a platform for the formation and flourishing of entrepreneurial ideas in the form of startups. In other words, the university can be effective in creating knowledge and developing capability and specialized entrepreneurial skills and cause the individuals to obtain appropriate entrepreneurial skills in the areas of enhancing their knowledge to start their own startup business. In fact, this finding reveals that in line with its defined nature and philosophy, the university should have educational and research functions that are aimed at the formation of entrepreneurial approaches especially in higher education levels and just avoid the development of theories that are impractical. The philosophy of the existence of entrepreneurial ecosystems at the university level means that for this purpose the students’ level of knowledge can be developed and improved so that as an entrepreneurer, they can play a considerable role in today’s unstable economic environment.
Original Research Paper
e-learning
M. Nowkarizi; F. Taghipanahi; M. H. Dayyani
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Users’ change approach from traditional methods to the use of social network sites, capacities for searching information and reaching ii including the educational content, have attracted the attention of numerous of studies in Human and Information Interaction. Also, ...
Read More
Background and Objectives: Users’ change approach from traditional methods to the use of social network sites, capacities for searching information and reaching ii including the educational content, have attracted the attention of numerous of studies in Human and Information Interaction. Also, availability, usability, audience attraction ability, and capacity of creating useful, customized and variable content have provided new opportunities in creating and distributing educational content on Instagram, one of the social media platforms that has the majority of the users in Iran. This study completed with mission of discovery and knowing the success components in creating and sharing educational content. The objectives of the study are analyzing successful experiences in producing and sharing information, drawing themes network of shared information, using of metadata for improving findability, and realizing factors affected in user acceptance in these pagesMethods: This research was carried out following qualitative research design with exploratory approach and thematic analysis. Thirty educational pages on Instagram have been selected based on competitive benchmarking, one of the research approaches in Information Architecture area. For research validity and reliability, the researchers used triangulation method. Data analyzed by Maxqda Pro 12.3 software. The research has done in the framework of Rosenfeld and Morville Information Architecture and in three dimensions: context, user and content. In the context dimension, the theory of use and gratification was used for examining the goals and motivations of information sharing. In the content dimension, the social tagging behavior was examined for investigating information findability behavior; also, the image characteristics have been examined the most liked posts, using theories of user engagement and optimal experience. In user dimension, the study investigated success components in content creating and successful content creators’ attributes. For this, the study analyzed user’s feedback in comments section and content creators and experts’ opinions.Findings: The results showed that various components have contributed search optimization and findability. In context dimension, it showed that users had followed the goals of informing and awareness along with achieving economic goals, personal interest, interpersonal benefits, status, social status, and social interaction. In the content dimension and findability and examining the social tagging behavior, it was found that content creators had a definite constant policy on the use of hashtag. They had assigned subject and related hashtags, also they had used exclusive hashtags for the personalization and branding. They had utilized more subject, common and exclusive hashtags to content and less emphasizing and critical hashtags. The type of tags assigned to content was depended on the context of the pages. Also, the findings showed that 76 percent of the hashtags were consistent with the main subject of the shared content. Additionally, it was showed that image characteristics on the most liked posts were the human image, outstanding artistic, scientific and literary characters and nature and the themes of family, love, and religion on these posts. 80 percent of the most liked posts were dedicated to the main theme of the pages. The components of the success of content acceptance by users included quality, awareness, credibility, value-added, specialized, motivational, entertaining, unique, relevant, realistic, up-to-date, and creative, executable, sharable, and personalized. Being committed, creativity, credibility, expertise, distinct identity, generosity and avoidance of copying, criticality, having intelligent behavior, patience and tolerate, a strong spirit of cooperation and communication, familiarity with analytical tools of information platform, and alignment with developments and updates were also components of the successful content creators.Conclusion: The results of the research showed that successful experiments in three dimensions of context, content, and user, used specific features and components that could be a good model for content creators on this network. These components were using suitable inclusion of subject and exclusive hashtags; recommendation technique; information about author identity and expertise, contact information, valued followers, followers’ number, presence on other platforms, consistent themes in profile information; aesthetic, positive affect, quality, relevance, using of image characteristics, inspiring, Informing, realistic, relevance, unique, entertaining content and some others.
Original Research Paper
Educational Technology
A. Dana; S. Ghorbani; A. Fathizadan
Abstract
education is increasing among sports researchers. Although the use of written methods is the first step in the influence of technology in physical education, with the advancement of computers and new technologies, the method of media education is fully developed and has created an interaction between ...
Read More
education is increasing among sports researchers. Although the use of written methods is the first step in the influence of technology in physical education, with the advancement of computers and new technologies, the method of media education is fully developed and has created an interaction between learning and bridging the gap between audio education and audio-visual education. Physical education is one of the most important subject matters in the field of education to educate students to be sociable and responsible. As the use of educational technology can increase the participation of students more actively and engage them in this lesson, the aim of this study is to investigate the effects mentioned and the use of technology in the learning and teaching of physical education in schools. Methods: The present study is a qualitative-observational and case study that was conducted through interviews and observation of activities. The statistical population is all students and teachers of Gorgan city in Iran. Three schools were randomly selected from among the selected schools. Eight students were randomly selected from each class. Six teachers from each school were randomly selected to be interviewed. Three methods have been used to collect data for this research: 1) interview with the teacher, 2) interview with students, 3) observation of the classes during the activity. To achieve the objectives of the research, special classifications were made. These classifications are as follows: 1) Observing the quality of physical education (entertainment, activity, progress), and 2) Observing the performance of oneself and others (self-efficacy, motivation and group dynamics). In this study, video cameras were used to record the performance of students to increase motivation and learning physical education among them. Data were collected during two periods of school observation and telephone interview with the teacher a few days after the second observation.Findings: The results showed that students value learning new skills in physical education such as combat (5 people agreed) and entertainment (5 people agreed) and consider it a key component for quality of physical education. More interestingly, the students believed that the use of videotaping for recording their performance increased the success of the lesson. Students also consider the use of technology in physical education as one of the methods for successful physical education. In this regard, teachers find the use of technology in physical education in schools more useful and believed that it affects the emotional and social developments of students. Based on the findings of the present study, it seems that students have considered activeness, being in a group, staying healthy and having fun as the main components of the quality of physical education. Teachers believe that a virtual tutor is a good way to motivate students.Conclusion: Technology should be for the awareness and improvement of the quality of physical education and learning, and the combined use of the two will lead to the growth and improvement of teacher education and student learning. This research can justify and recommend the use of technology in elementary school physical education, which is more focused on increasing the quality of physical education, so the main goal is to develop motor skills. The use of technology in education can help teachers to enhance all aspects of learning (physical, emotional, social and cognitive) in students by using this opportunity.
Original Research Paper
Learning Environment
E. Zarghami; S. M. Behrooz
Abstract
Background and Objective: Interdisciplinary scientific perspectives define learning as part of the individual’s process of shaping physiology, morphology and behavior within the boundary of organism’s biological nature, to adjust the environment, which in premodren childhood occurs through ...
Read More
Background and Objective: Interdisciplinary scientific perspectives define learning as part of the individual’s process of shaping physiology, morphology and behavior within the boundary of organism’s biological nature, to adjust the environment, which in premodren childhood occurs through play, exploration and participation in socially meaningful contexts over an extended period of immaturity. This type of learning has become subordinate to the official schooling these days.In the past, children spent most of their free time outdoors; this time was spent on activities in informal spaces, without control and in other words, unstructured. These spaces in ancestral life (before the advent of agriculture and settling down) were of ancestral nature and then the neighborhood environment, that were an important place for children to play throughout history and around the world. However, children today spend most of their free time indoors, and most of their outdoor time on scheduled and structured activities. This routine has led to physical and emotional problems such as body imbalance, type 2 diabetes, obesity and a sense of loneliness. The development of brain neural system occurs in the early years of childhood through movement and stimulation, indicating the importance of children's experiences, activities, and daily interactions for their physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development. The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent of children's natural learning opportunities in environments with varying degrees of urbanization.Methods: By means of Gibson’s affordances concept, using the affordance taxonomy of Heft-Kytta on 10–12-year-old children in metropolitan, urban, semi-urban/rural and rural communities, through questionnaires and Analysis of variance in 2018.Findings: Significant differences were observed among the communities in affordance availability, in the level of affordances actualization, in the distribution of affordances within the categories of the taxonomy, and also the location of the affordances, whether they were at home, in the yard, in immediate surroundings or elsewhere.Conclusion:Children's natural and everyday learning occurs through environmental provision. In the environments of human’s past history, children had a great deal of freedom to use existing natural elements and features, while intertwined in the daily social and work relationships of their neighborhood. However, in today's urbanized environments, both children's freedom has diminished, and those elements and natural features have become inaccessible (or, in other words, carefully removed from everyday life), and the environment of social and work interactions has distanced them from their place of residence. The results of this study testified to the severity of these three events, especially in metropolitan areas. This decrease was especially evident for exercise equipment, detachable hand objects, slippery, climbing, hanging, and height-changing features. Based on the findings and their interpretations, it is suggested that children have adequate access to messy spaces, various spatial fixed and loose elements, to have learning chances.
Original Research Paper
Learning Environment
E. Kazemi; H. sattari sarebangoli; R. Mohammadzade; A. Gharibpur
Abstract
Background and Objectives: The importance of the process of teaching the basics of the architechtural design is obvious. Accordingly, before teaching the architectural design courses, it is suggested to take the architectural design courses, so that the students become familiar with the components required ...
Read More
Background and Objectives: The importance of the process of teaching the basics of the architechtural design is obvious. Accordingly, before teaching the architectural design courses, it is suggested to take the architectural design courses, so that the students become familiar with the components required for these courses before entering the architectural design courses. Among these, the basic architectural design (2) is more related to teaching architectural concepts, so in this study, the quality of the teaching process of the course of the introduction to the architectural design (2) was examined based on educational, environmental psychology, physical and equipment or technology dimensions in two Ateliers of 5 and 6 so that the effect of different dimensions on the education process can be clarified and more efforts can be made to improve the quality of the education process.Methods: This research is a descriptive-analytic study and based on its results, it is regarded as an applied research. In which the combined research method has been used. The first part of this study consists of a questionnaire and a survey of students. Data collection was done by field method, using resources and also interviews and questionnaires, using the Likert scale. The statistical population of the study comprised of 30 students of Atelier 5 and 28 students of atelier 6 in the second semester of the academic year of 2017-2018 who had passed the course of the introduction to architectural design (2). To compare the aforementioned four dimensions in Atelier 5 and Atelier 6, one-way analysis of variance in the software program of SPSS was used. The second part of the data analysis was related to examing the students’ exercises, based on seven components (creativity, concept, Relationship, function, structure, materials, and skills) as the syllabus was selected by the Ministry of Science for the exercises of the course of the introduction to architectural design (2) in which each of the course professors has also mentioned the related concepts when describing the practice.Findings: The quality of the educational dimension in the range of 13-65 points in Atelier 5 with an average of 40 is lower than that of Atelier 6 with an average of 52. The quality of the two Ateliers of 5 and 6 in terms of the dimension of the environmental psychology, in the range of 5-26 points, has an average of 16.7 and 22.1, respectively. The quality of the training process of Atelier 5 and Atelier 6 in terms of the physical dimension in the range of 5-26 points has an average of 16.53 and 20.85, respectively. The students of Atelier 6 as compred to the students of Atelier 5 have a stronger belief in maintaining the spatial relationships of the atelier, and they believe its reason lies in the greater flexibility of the space. The quality of the training process of the two Ateliers of 5 and 6 has an average of 16.53 and 20.85 in terms of equipment in the range of 5-26 points, respectively. The second part of the analysis is related to examining the students’ exercises, which are based on the seven components (creativity, concept, relationship, function, structure, materials, and skills) as the syllabus selected by the Ministry of Science for the exercises of the course of the introduction to the architectural design (2) in which each of the professors has also mentioned the related concepts when describing the exercise. The findings indicate that in the exercises related to Atelier 5, the concepts used in terms of significance are creativity and skill, concept and function, the relationship and materials, and finally structure, respectively. Moreover, in the exercises relatd to Atelier 6, the concepts used in terms of significance are concept, creativity, and function and structure, relationship and Skill and, finally, material, respectively.Conclusion: The results show that dimension of education in general is valuated as 63.79% moderate and 36.2% good, the dimension of the environment psychology is evaluated as 13.79% poor, 3.44% moderate and 68.96% good, the body composition is evaluated as 5.17% poor, 46.55% moderate and 31% good, and finally the dimension of technology wasevaluated 63.79% weak, 20.68% average and 15.51% good. According to the professors, in both ateliers, creativity is the most important component in designing the exercises provided for the course of the introduction to architectural design (2).
