Original Research Paper
Educational Technology
A. M. Mousavi Harris; R. Ebrahimpour
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Methods of pedagogy, for a long time, have been a social practice based on direct experiences from the past, and many of teaching methods have been traditionally formed. These methods were not supported by a scientific theory-based system and failed to keep up with the rapidly ...
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Background and Objectives: Methods of pedagogy, for a long time, have been a social practice based on direct experiences from the past, and many of teaching methods have been traditionally formed. These methods were not supported by a scientific theory-based system and failed to keep up with the rapidly changing social needs. Neuroeducation is an experimental science and an interdisciplinary field that applies the latest theoretical advances in the human brain and psychology to education. By studying the theories in neuroeducation, it enables us to improve optimal presentation of contents for a course, teaching strategy and teaching methods of new subjects, and simultaneously improve students' computational thinking ability. One way that these theories can be tested is to study how decision-making is formed in the human brain. Goal-based decisions and behaviors depend on both sensory evidence mechanisms that collect perceptual information from the outside and mechanisms that select appropriate behaviors based on that sensory information which is decision-making mechanisms. Behaviorism is one of the basic foundations of theories of learning and behavior. One way to study behavior in detail is to use computational models based on brain biology that have been developed by neuroscientists in recent years. In this paper we try to explore the relationship between neuroeducation and pedagogy by studying theoretical achievements in computational neuroscience, cognitive neuroscience and psychology.Methods: To investigate this issue, a neural-computational model of brain-based for decision making was used. This model consists of two recurrent dynamic neurons that can explore how perceptual decisions are formed in complex behavioral spaces and show the key parameters of decision-making process. In this study, we designed three different experiments in the model that included the accuracy-speed trade-off when responding, the effect of attention on decision making, and the impact of the confidence of decision, and then analyzed how the parameters and model's behavior change then we map the parameters to the classroom and changes in student’s brain. Finally, we used linear regression model to study the relationships and correlations between the parameters of the model’s behavior.Findings: The results showed that using this decision-making computational model opened a way to study the speed-accuracy trade-off of students while answering exam questions and then, by using the model, an optimal trade-off could be found to answer the questions. Also, the analysis of model parameters showed that the level of students' attention in the classroom could be measured by the model and it had an important effect on decision making and answering the questions. Finally, the model could show the effect of students’ confidence on their performance and based on the fitted data of the model to students' behavioral data, we could make optimal suggestions from the perspective of educational psychology.Conclusion: In this study, we show that by using decision-making neural-computational models, students' behavior in the classroom can be modeled. Educational science experts and psychologists in the field of pedagogy can use the findings to provide the best and most optimal teaching methods for teaching easily and the flourishing of students' creativity.
Original Research Paper
E-Lerning
F. Sharzehee; N. Khatib Zanjani; M. Masoomifard; M.R. Sarmadi; N. Pourasghar
Abstract
Background and Objectives: The new changes and approaches created by Covid 19 and the rapid movement into the digital world in education have led to the development of technological skills and self-directed learning for students. This has led to the use of new learning models using technologies such ...
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Background and Objectives: The new changes and approaches created by Covid 19 and the rapid movement into the digital world in education have led to the development of technological skills and self-directed learning for students. This has led to the use of new learning models using technologies such as MOOCs (massive open online courses). Optimal utilization of MOOC facilities requires review of the latest research conducted inside and outside the country. Given the dispersion of these studies, their integration and aggregation in a comprehensive framework and the study of research priorities of each group seems necessary. A review of the research literature indicates that the number of meta-analyses conducted in the field of MOOC is limited and the studies were mostly conducted several years ago. Therefore, considering the speed of growth of this technology, especially in recent years, this research tries to collect and present useful information from new studies in this field in Iran and the world for the development of researchers' perspectives. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to outline the image of MOOC field research at the local and global scale.Methods: This research is applied in terms of purpose, descriptive in terms of data collection method and qualitative/quantitative in terms of nature of the data. The method of data collection is to examine documentary studies by electronic search of articles available on the Internet and extracting their files. The research method was meta-analysis in accordance with the Rathe and Schell model and the statistical population of the research is all local and foreign doctoral dissertations and scientific research articles in the field of MOOC, which were indexed in Irandoc, Gigalib, Magiran, SID, Springer and Science Direct site, and also, the articles to which access was provided through the Google Scholar search engine. The statistical sample included 6 doctoral dissertations and 42 foreign papers in English and 5 doctoral dissertations and 18 local papers, a total of 69 local and foreign studies that were selected via purposive sampling. The input criteria of the studies were related to the subject of MOOC, electronic publication, publication in the last five years and publication in databases and authoritative journals, which among them, the studies that were carried out from a technical point of view in the field of MOOC or have been not scientifically valid or access to their full text was not possible, were excluded from the statistical sample. The selected studies were entered into Max QDA software for content analysis and were divided into two groups of internal and external categories, and then were categorized based on the year of publication to remove duplicate articles and to compare and review articles more closely. After that, the content of each article was carefully reviewed and the important contents of each article such as title, keywords, type of MOOC were discussed. The educational level of MOOC content in these researches was coded using descriptive statistics and comparison of data in two categories of local and foreign research were conducted. Findings: The findings of this study indicate that in general, the literature of MOOC in Iran and the world is mainly concerned with the following themes: the effectiveness of MOOC, Developing an educational design model for MOOCs, Challenges and solutions in MOOCs, Factors influencing the focus and analysis of research. In addition, in Iranian studies, in comparison with the international ones, the issues of interaction in MOOCs, hybrid MOOCs and student MOOCs have been very limited and insignificant.Conclusion: The lack of technical preparation and internet infrastructure and the lack of technological literacy among the students and the lack of attention to the necessity of interaction can be the possible reasons underlying lack of sufficient attention to hybrid and student MOOCs, but with the restrictions of Corona virus and forced shift of education to virtual space, they have relatively improved and their necessity has been highlighted. Therefore, with regard to the findings of the current research, regarding the importance of interaction, hybrid MOOCs and student MOOCs in foreign research, in order to make more use of the possibilities of MOOCs, it is necessary to pay attention to these topics in Iran as well.
Original Research Paper
Preparation and compilation of electronic content
M. S. Mosavi Shafigh,; Z. Khoshneshin; Y. Mahdavi Nasab; M. Mojadam
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Concept mapping as a collaborative tool for enhanced learning has been explained in many studies. The present study described effectiveness of teacher- and student-based concept mapping on students’ motivation and learning. Teaching on the basis of concept mapping is ...
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Background and Objectives: Concept mapping as a collaborative tool for enhanced learning has been explained in many studies. The present study described effectiveness of teacher- and student-based concept mapping on students’ motivation and learning. Teaching on the basis of concept mapping is known as an active method, to improve learning ability and motives.Methods: The research was designed based on quasi-experimental method of analysis. Sample of research included 60 students selected randomly from two high schools and the pretest and posttest were administered. Hermann’s standard questionnaire was used to estimate the motivation achievement and a researcher-made questionnaire was used to measure learners’ motivation and learning. The reliability of the questionnaires was estimated by Cronbach's alpha as 0.82 and 0.85. Covariance analysis was used to analyze the data compartments of the pre- post-test scores in experimental groups after the intervention.Findings: It was revealed that there was a significant difference (sig 0.05) in pre- and post-test scores of students’ different levels of learning and motivation. It was also found that experimental teaching method, using concept mapping, to improve students’ cognition skills and their motivation could increase the opportunity of discussion among peers and understanding the content. Concept mapping in different ways of implementation as teacher- or student-based activities could promote the students’ learning level and motivation.Conclusion: Implementation of teacher- and student- made concept mapping enabled students to learn better and improved their motivation and led to the improvement of their learning skills.
Original Research Paper
Educational technology- primary school
S. Sozangar; S. Shahhosseini
Abstract
Background and Objectives: School students are often exposed to health risks due to insufficient knowledge of personal hygiene and its methods. Problems caused by non-observance of personal hygiene appear serious in public health and play an important role in the spread of infectious diseases and the ...
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Background and Objectives: School students are often exposed to health risks due to insufficient knowledge of personal hygiene and its methods. Problems caused by non-observance of personal hygiene appear serious in public health and play an important role in the spread of infectious diseases and the severance of social ties. The importance of studying and using comic strip media with health topics in education is that it provides an opportunity for the students to reflect on the effectiveness of medications, the pressures on patients and their families, and even on their inner experiences. Therefore, considering the importance of personal health education in sensitive childhood and school years, the present study was conducted to investigate the effect of education by comic strip personal health media on social skills of fourth-grade elementary students.Methods: The present study is of applied type and based on quasi-experimental data collection criteria. The statistical population of the study was all fourth-grade students in Dezful in the academic year 2020-2021. The size of the statistical population was 1825 students. A total of 30 students were included in the sample and were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups (15 in the experimental group and 15 in the control group). The tools used in this study were researcher-made comic strip media as well as the Garshasm and Priority’s (1990) Social Skills Questionnaire, which was completed in two stages: pre-test and post-test. The training program was performed in 8 sessions of 45 minutes for three weeks for the experimental group and the control group received no intervention. At the end of the intervention period, both groups were re-evaluated. In order to check the data, SPSS software (Version 22) and covariance method were analyzed. It should be noted that the assumptions of the test were tested by Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Levine tests.Findings: The findings obtained after repeated analysis of data showed that there was a significant difference between the participants in the experimental group and the control group in terms of the rate of acquisition of social skills. The social skills of students who learned personal hygiene using comic strip media were higher than that of those students in the control group. Therefore, the use of intervention method (training by personal health comic strip media) was effective on the social skills variable (P≤0.05).Conclusion: Using comic strip as an attractive visual medium to teach personal health content can strengthen the social skills of fourth-grade elementary students by actively interpreting incomplete frames of comic strip, and being actively engaged with the stories. And health narratives will interact, and as a result, their knowledge and literacy in how to create and promote desirable and healthy social skills in real-life situations will improve. Comic strip media seems to be a suitable tool and a good option for educating learners due to its objectivity and suitability to the stage of children's development; Therefore, it is suggested that the use of this new media be on the agenda of education in order to familiarize and deepen students' learning experiences in the field of social skills training.
Original Research Paper
Education technology - Lifelong learning
F. Fathi Hafshejani; H. Zeinalipour; A.A. Shikhi Fini; K. Fathi Vajargah; E. Jafari
Abstract
Background and Objectives: With an awareness of the era that entails the day-to-day changes, the organizations must constantly keep up with technology and technological changes and implement them to survive and achieve the best possible results. One of these changes is making decision about the implementation ...
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Background and Objectives: With an awareness of the era that entails the day-to-day changes, the organizations must constantly keep up with technology and technological changes and implement them to survive and achieve the best possible results. One of these changes is making decision about the implementation of massive open online courses (MOOCs) in digital learning area at the workplaces, which is regarded as a complicated issue. Awareness of and informing about the effectiveness of educational services of this type of technology, as one of the manifestations of virtual education, is not inconclusive in choosing this path due to the key role of MOOCs as a potential educational strategy in organizations and companies in developed and developing countries. The purpose of this research was thus to identify the technological pedagogical functions of MOOCs to employees in the workplace.Methods: This basic research was conducted using a qualitative research synthesis technique. The corpus included documents (books, research and review articles, dissertations and Internet resources) retrieved by searching the authentic Persian (Islamic World Citation Database (ISC), Magiran, Noor Database (Noormags), CIVILICA Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies, Barakat Knowledge Network System, Iran Scientific Information Database (GANJ) and Iranian Research Institute for Information Science and Technology (IranDoc) and Latin web databases (ProQuest, Springer, Scopus, Science Direct, and also Google Scholar search engine) retrieved from 183 sources using a criterion sampling method (From corporate MOOCs 2014 to 2022). A total of 45 samples were selected. Theoretical saturation of themes was reached by the 32th sample. In order to collect data, the library research method was used. The collected data were then analyzed using a thematic analysis technique that is used in qualitative research studies. Finally, to validate the proposed model, a total of six experts in different fields, such as curriculum and educational planning, educational technology, and electronic learning were selected using a purposive sampling method. The researcher-made questionnaire for content validation of conceptual model was then sent for them. The final model was approved after modifications.Findings: Based on the findings of this research, three main components were obtained. The first group was the educational process with six sub-components (Educational targeting of courses, Contents of training courses, Various professional learning methods, Professional educational activities, Educational resources of the courses, and performance evaluation); the second group was the supporting part with five sub-components (training coverage of staff, Educational support, Educational expenses, Educational stimuli, and capabilities of the educational method); and the third group was the operational part with three sub-components (Educational areas, Complementary skills training, and Creating professional soft skills).Conclusion: This study showed the probable consequences of educational functions of MOOC in the workplace. The beneficiaries, including organizations, companies, and employees, can reliably employ these functions in their education system by paying more attention to them because it can be said that most organizations in Iran seem to be still unaware of its potential educational benefits. In a world where with the rapid development of technology, being online is considered a necessity both personally and professionally in Iranian organizations, and the today's workforce is expected to be highly skilled and to continuously improve their skills based on the today's global standards, they can acquire these new skills through life-long learning, i.e. MOOCs, in an advanced digital environment.Methods: This basic research was conducted using a qualitative research synthesis technique. The statistical population includes documents (books, research and review articles, dissertations and Internet resources) retrieved by searching the authentic Persian (Islamic World Citation Database (ISC), Magiran, Noor Database (Noormags), CIVILICA Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies, Barakat Knowledge Network System, Iran Scientific Information Database (GANJ) and Iranian Research Institute for Information Science and Technology (IranDoc) and Latin web databases (ProQuest, Springer, Scopus, Science Direct, and also Google Scholar search engine) retrieved from 183 sources using a criterion sampling method (From corporate MOOCs 2014 to 2022). A total of 45 samples were selected. Theoretical saturation of themes was reached by the 32th sample. In order to collect data, the library research method was used. The collected data were then analyzed using a thematic analysis technique that is used in qualitative research studies. Finally, to validate the proposed model, a total of six experts in different fields, such as curriculum and educational planning, educational technology, and electronic learning were selected using a purposive sampling method. The researcher-made questionnaire for content validation of conceptual model was then sent to them. The final model was approved after modifications.Findings: Based on the findings of this research, three main components were obtained. The first group was the educational process with six sub-components (Educational targeting of courses, Contents of training courses, Various professional learning methods, Professional educational activities, Educational resources of the courses, and performance evaluation); the second group was the supporting part with five sub-components (training coverage of staff, Educational support, Educational expenses, Educational stimuli, and capabilities of the educational method); and the third group was the operational part with three sub-components (Educational areas, Complementary skills training, and Creating professional soft skills). Conclusion: This study shows the probable consequences of educational functions of MOOC in the workplace. The beneficiaries, including organizations, companies, and employees, can reliably employ these functions in their education system by paying more attention to them because we can dare say most organizations in Iran are still unaware of its potential educational benefits. In a world where with the rapid development of technology, being online is considered a necessity both personally and professionally in Iranian organizations, and the today's workforce is expected to be highly skilled and to continuously improve their skills based on the today's global standards, they can acquire these new skills through life-long learning, i.e. MOOCs, in an advanced digital environment.
Original Research Paper
Educational Technology
M. Khakzand; F. Fakourian
Abstract
Background and Objectives: In the process of architectural education, visual perception is an important tool to reach creative ideas, and its defects are one of the main reasons for learning disability. It has led to extensive research in the field of educational technology regarding the type and method ...
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Background and Objectives: In the process of architectural education, visual perception is an important tool to reach creative ideas, and its defects are one of the main reasons for learning disability. It has led to extensive research in the field of educational technology regarding the type and method of visual perception intervention to improve the quality of education. For this purpose, the main goal of the research is to develop a tool to identify the level of students' visual perception, which plays a very important role in identifying their abilities and perceptual levels. There are various tests available to check visual perception at different ages, including four tests ((TVPS - 4), (DTVP - A/DTVP-2), (OT - APST), (Frostig Test)) that have been used for young and healthy people.Methods: In the current research, the above tests are extended to create a new test demanding to distinguish visual capabilities and defects in architecture students. In the first step, the opinions of architecture and psychology experts are used via a questionnaire and considering final improvements, opinions are presented on subtests reform. The presented visual perception test consists of nine sub-tests derived from three initial branches named spatial, visual, and mental skills. To determine the standard of students and calculate the reliability and validity of the test, 90 people from the second year of Bachelor of Architecture at Islamic Azad University, Bandar Abbas are selected by judgmental sampling method, and the test is conducted on them as a group.Findings: The findings include the norm scores for test separately derived from 9 sub-tests by gender and semester through the calculation of Cronbach's alpha, which is 0.631. Validity determination is applied through the criterion of the grades of the introductory course 3, expression 3, and architecture design 1, and their average is calculated as the correlation coefficients between the scores obtained from the test. Finally, it is found that in this test, the growth of visual perception in women is more than that of men.Conclusion: The findings are in line with the results obtained by other cooperative researchers. This means that the perception test has acceptable validity. Calculating the correlation depends on homogeneous terms the grades of expression 2, introductions 3, and design 1 and their average, which has high homogeneity. Finally, methods have been presented that can have an effective interference on the results of the visual perception test. In addition to the development of the visual perception test, the results can bring suggestions in the future planning of practical architecture lessons and introduce areas for further research. The results of the present research can be useful for measuring the visual perception of undergraduate architecture students and play an effective role in the curriculum planning of architecture as well as interdisciplinary fields. It should be noted that in the field of academic planning, semesters and theoretical and practical courses, more extensive research can be planned and implemented to generalize the results. This article also summarizes the successful experiences and challenges of improving pedagogical methods.
Original Research Paper
Electronic learning- virtual
S. Khojasteh
Abstract
Background and 1Objectives: The need for virtual education has been always felt due to its advantages compared to traditional education, and during the outbreak of Covid-19 and the absence of students in universities, the necessity of this type of education increased. The aim of the current research ...
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Background and 1Objectives: The need for virtual education has been always felt due to its advantages compared to traditional education, and during the outbreak of Covid-19 and the absence of students in universities, the necessity of this type of education increased. The aim of the current research was to investigate the effectiveness of virtual education on procrastination and concentration and attention of students of Payame Noor University in Kerman during the Covid-19 pandemic.Methods: The current research method was semi-experimental using control and experimental groups. The statistical population was about 4000 students of different fields of Payame Noor University in Kerman. The sample size included 40 students who were diagnosed procrastinator through the pre-test and had a certain lack of attention and concentration. The sample was selected using convenience sampling procedures and the subjects were randomly assigned to two control and experimental groups. Also, these two groups were homogenized as much as possible in terms of academic term and age. The data collection tools in this research were two standard attention deficit disorder questionnaires by Swanson and Nolan Pelham (1980) and the academic procrastination scale by Solomon and Rothblum (1984). In the current study, the calculated Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the academic procrastination scale is estimated to be 0.86, which showed that it was at an acceptable level. Pre-test and post-test were conducted for each group before and after training. Virtual training in the form of a research method class was held in a virtual educational environment by Adobe Connect software using PowerPoint online in 12 sessions(2-hour) for the experimental group. Descriptive and inferential statistics in the form of tables and figures, as well as covariance analysis, Levine's test, and Shapiro-Wilks test were used to analyze the data. The subjects of the experimental group received the research method course in 12 sessions(2-hour) virtually, while the students of the control group were trained in the traditional way.Findings: The findings of the research showed that virtual education was effective on academic procrastination and the concentration and attention of Payame Noor University students. It means that virtual education could reduce procrastination and increase attention and concentration among the students.Conclusion: Due to the high flexibility of virtual education, students can learn according to their conditions and based on mental preparation, which prevents distraction and reduces interfering factors in concentration. It is also suggested that educational programs such as workshops are designed in order to improve the awareness and ability to use virtual education as an effective educational tool and also to improve the quality of hardware. Therefore, in addition to creating a culture in this field, there is a need to try to increase the level of knowledge and improve the quality of the required facilities and equipment. Therefore, it is suggested that due to the wide and complex topics of university courses and in order to reduce procrastination and increase the attention of students, the virtual education method be considered along with face-to-face education in the universities all across the country, especially after the end of the Covid-19 disease.
Original Research Paper
Technology-based learning environments
M. Hosseini; S.B. Hosseini; F. Mozaffar
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Reflective learning has been studied in various studies. Reflecting while learning architecture alongside practice helps the student to evaluate and refine the design idea, and this round-trip process is mostly repeated. The application of reflective learning in the field of ...
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Background and Objectives: Reflective learning has been studied in various studies. Reflecting while learning architecture alongside practice helps the student to evaluate and refine the design idea, and this round-trip process is mostly repeated. The application of reflective learning in the field of architecture while practicing needs to be examined to understand to which extent teachers are committed to this teaching method in studios. The investigation and recognition of assessment features along with reflection in architectural studios was the subject of this research.Methods: In order to know the status of assessment in architecture schools, the behavior of teachers in this field and their preferences during assessment were studied through a semi-open questionnaire and the importance of reflective assessment indicators including rational assessment with micro-score was examined. In this study, the presence of students and round trip evaluation based on the design process were also asked from a sample of fifteen participants from the teaching community. For each question, Likert scale answers from 1 (very low) to 5 (very high) were collected and analyzed. Then, their preferences about choosing between twenty-three indicators in assessing each work were examined.Findings: The study of reflective assessment indicators in the sample population of this study showed that 66% of teachers were committed to reflective assessment in practice and the others did not use it. The results showed that reflective assessment in architecture was equally applicable in all types of universities in the country. The study of the effect of gender factor revealed that females’ assessment was more committed to reflective assessment criteria than that of men. Examination of the age factor in refereeing demonstrated that older referees distanced themselves from microscopic and reciprocal refereeing and showed more tendency to single-stage and intuitive refereeing. The use of reflective assessment showed that for jurors who adhered to the reflective assessment, "efficiency and performance of the plan" were more important than anything else, and “innovation” was placed next, while other jurors called it "innovation". "Design aesthetics", "graphic presentation" and "form quality and composition in architectural design" were more important.Conclusion: Assessment with reflection has been introduced as a new method in current research. By presenting a logical, step-by-step, interactive and back-and-forth form of teaching, this method has changed the assessing process from the end of the semester to the entire semester and made it as a tool for learning. The effect of this method, whose indicators were approved by the experts in this research, showed that changing the teaching method can improve learning the basic concepts among architecture students. The efficiency of this method is when the teachers change the current education process in a purposeful way which prioritizes the efficiency and performance of students' plans. This assessment method has changed from intuitive, single-step, product-oriented and independent of interaction with students towards the indicators presented in this research. The findings of the research show that this goal has been achieved in more than half of the architecture studios, but considering its positive results in improving students' learning and there is a need for more detailed planning and coherent management for this purpose.
Original Research Paper
Educational Technology Psychology
O. Seifouri; J. Jarareh; F. Hamidi
Abstract
Background and Objectives: School closures and home quarantines due to the spread of infectious diseases such as Covid-19 have affected the physical and mental health of adolescents. Adolescence is a period of growth in which intimate relationships are very important. In today's societies, the role of ...
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Background and Objectives: School closures and home quarantines due to the spread of infectious diseases such as Covid-19 have affected the physical and mental health of adolescents. Adolescence is a period of growth in which intimate relationships are very important. In today's societies, the role of family and school in the development of students' personality is a decisive and fundamental one because with the complexity of social and cultural issues and the advancement of technology, the effectiveness of this role in the development of personality has decreased to some extent. Corona virus and teenagers living at home have also fueled this issue. One of the issues of education that has a decisive role in the performance and morale of people is the principle of responsibility. Research shows that accountability can be promoted using effective intervention methods. One of the appropriate interventions in this field is group psycho-educational interventions, which is neither mere education nor mere counseling; in this research, psychoeducational group interventions were implemented through one of the cognitive and behavioral therapy methods called Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).Methods: This research was semi-experimental due to the existence of the experimental group and the control group of the pre-test-post-test design. The statistical population in this research included all first secondary level male students who studied in the public schools of Arak in the academic year of 2021-2022. The group (in-person test, virtual test and control) were randomly placed. The data required for this research were collected by the responsibility scale of the California Psychological Inventory (CPI) (1978). The data were analyzed using SPSS 24 software and multivariate covariance analysis.Findings: The results showed that face-to-face group psychoeducational interventions based on acceptance and commitment were effective on teenagers' responsibility after the Covid-19 pandemic (P<0.05). Virtual group psychoeducational interventions based on acceptance and commitment were also effective on teenagers' responsibility after the Covid-19 pandemic (P<0.05) and there was a significant difference between face-to-face and virtual group psychoeducational interventions in terms of the effectiveness based on acceptance and commitment on the responsibility of teenagers after the Covid-19 pandemic.Conclusion: The findings of this research indicated the effectiveness of face-to-face and virtual group psychoeducational interventions based on acceptance and commitment theory on increasing responsibility in teenagers in the post-corona era (P<0.01). Therefore, it is suggested that school counselors and therapists in working with students get help from the approach based on acceptance and commitment as a suitable group psychological educational approach to increase their level of psychological adaptation and responsibility.
Original Research Paper
Game-based Education
S.F. Noorani; M. Serkani; Z. Karimi
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Game Theory is a branch of applied mathematics that can mathematically model the real-world scenarios for situations such as competition and cooperation and predict their payoffs. The main point in Game Theory is that the interests of the competition or cooperation of both ...
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Background and Objectives: Game Theory is a branch of applied mathematics that can mathematically model the real-world scenarios for situations such as competition and cooperation and predict their payoffs. The main point in Game Theory is that the interests of the competition or cooperation of both sides depend on each other's decisions. The teaching and learning environments are considered as an undeniable atmosphere of interactions among the learners, faculty members, and instructors. Using Game Theory to interactions modeling, we are able to analyze the situation to achieve the greater educational achievement. In this paper, for the first time, we used Educational Game Theory to mention the use of Game Theory in the education context. The aim of the present study was to highlight the types of applications of Game Theory in addressing various aspects of teaching and learning in the articles that were conducted from 1987 to 2022.Methods: This research is applied in terms of purpose and systematically provides a comprehensive review of research on the use of game theory in education and learning. In the first stage, by searching the electronic scientific and research sources and preliminary study of abstract, introduction, and conclusion of articles, we discovered that 42 articles were related to the purpose of our research. In the next stage, each of the studied articles was examined and analyzed in detail from four aspects: What is the application of game theory in the field of education and learning? Is there a mechanism design in the study? Who interacts in the field of education (learners, teachers, staff, and parents), and basically who are the players in the proposed model? Finally, we investigated how the articles evaluate and proved their proposed model. Using a questionnaire, the applications of game theory in the field of education were prioritized. The best-worst (BWM) multi-criteria decision-making method was used for prioritization.Findings: In the present study, we divided the use of game theory in the field of education and learning into six categories. The first category was research that analyzed participatory behavior in different situations. The second category was research that used game theory to create an environment for further learning; the third category was articles that used game theory to model conditions that would affect the quality of education and create an environment for further learning. The fourth category was research that modeled learner assessment conditions. The fifth category modeled and analyzed the educational behavior of teachers with each other and their teaching methods. The sixth category was articles that considered the collaborative learning environment and use game theory to recommend educational resources to group members. From the perspective of relationship modeling, 60% of the articles modeled the interaction among the learners, 29% modeled the interaction between the instructors and learners and 7% of the articles modeled the interaction of the instructors. One article modeled parental interaction in deciding whether to hire a tutor and one article modeled the employee-learner relationship on cheating. The analysis of the findings showed that applications such as "learner assessment", "enhancement of learning" and "content suggestion" were assigned the highest priorities, respectively. Applications such as "teachers' educational behavior analysis", "investigation of environmental factors affecting education" and "participatory behavior analysis" were in lower priorities.Conclusion: We studied and organized studies which have applied Game Theory in the education area. The areas of learner assessment by the instructor or peer, grouping for collaboration learning, using the user model, and implicit modeling were some of the topics that needed further research in Educational Game Theory. Also, in learner/learner and learner/teacher interactions, new incentives design methods need to encourage players to learning improvement. The results of this study provide a perspective for researchers in the area of education and learning regarding the use of Game Theory in modeling the teaching and learning environment and creating conditions for increasing educational outcomes.
Original Research Paper
Emerging educational technologies
E.A. Salimi; M. Rezaei Ghahroudi
Abstract
Background and Objectives: The idea that the world is facing global emerging trends, technologies, and innovations lead the world to experience an uncertain, complex, and unstable future. Therefore, of the many diverse, controversial, and attractive challenges humankind deal with today, the most intense ...
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Background and Objectives: The idea that the world is facing global emerging trends, technologies, and innovations lead the world to experience an uncertain, complex, and unstable future. Therefore, of the many diverse, controversial, and attractive challenges humankind deal with today, the most intense and critical is understanding the effect of the new technology revolution in various fields, especially in education. Recently, the Covid-19 pandemic and its subsequent quarantines have created a significant technological leap in the modern life landscape, leading to drastic and unexpected changes in education. As Covid-19 is a force to make the transition from face-to-face to online education, this study seeks to investigate whether distributed ledger technologies can help successfully tackle this new and major challenge. In this light, the researchers of the present study aimed to examine the impacts and implications of these technologies on the education system to see if they would improve the quality of education in the future.Methods: The current study was conducted adopting a qualitative approach to provide in-depth insights and experiences of the participants. The target population of the present research included sixty-three males and females from five groups of people including higher education policymakers, teacher training instructors, information and communication technology specialists, educational technology experts, and future researchers of the educational system recruited through purposive sampling. The required data were collected through different types of interviews and narrative analysis which was conducted through WhatsApp network. The interview was selected since it was practically more convenient than other qualitative research instruments. This instrument, due to its nature, could provide a trustworthy contextualized and deep understanding of the research issue. Narrative analysis was used as the second fruitful instrument due to the centrality and impressive role digital environments play in human life. Since time and space constraints have reduced face-to-face interactions, such a flexible and attractive instrument could provide an interactive and collaborative environment for participants to tell their stories either synchronically or Asynchronically. The process of data collection continued until saturation was reached, based on which 25 interviews were conducted and 38 members participated in narrative inquiry. To analyze the data and for the themes to be extracted, thematic analysis including initial coding, focused coding, and axial coding was conducted.Findings: The results of the data analysis led to the following themes extracted: curriculum diversity, assessing students' academic performance, quality management of learning achievements, recording management of learning outcomes, academic certificate administration, and lifelong learning. Each of the themes represents one of the blockchain implications in future education. The analysis of the interviews and narrative inquiry indicated that Blockchain, due to its specific features such as security, trust, transparency, immutability, privacy, integrity, authentication, robustness, accountability, and decentralization, plays a critical role in transforming future education.Conclusion: The results of the present study can inform policymakers, educators, managers, leaders, practitioners, and all stakeholders of the education system, especially higher education, of the global emerging trends, technologies, innovations, and developments and their effects on future education. Now that the day-to-day penetration of technological advancements coincides with the Corona virus epidemic around the world, it is necessary to apply technologies and take all necessary changes to recreate the education system in order to take a step towards improving the quality of education. It is hoped that the present study will be a reliable source for further future researches on education.
Original Research Paper
E-Lerning
A. Taghizadeh
Abstract
Background and Objectives: With the increasing use of information technologies in the field of education, it is now possible to create flexible learning environments without temporal and spatial barriers on the Internet. These environments enable learners to access various learning materials, share their ...
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Background and Objectives: With the increasing use of information technologies in the field of education, it is now possible to create flexible learning environments without temporal and spatial barriers on the Internet. These environments enable learners to access various learning materials, share their findings, and discuss with other online participants. Despite the dramatic increase in web-based courses and learners enrolling in these courses, there are many indications that the mentioned courses have failed to meet the needs of learners and learners remember unpleasant experiences from such contexts. One of the relatively new methods in teaching is flipped classroom. The underlying idea of the flipped classroom is that instructional materials are presented outside the classroom, and on the other hand, the classroom time is used for interaction and conceptual transformation. Also, the community of inquiry (CoI) framework created by Garrison et . (2001) has been extensively applied and explored. It is probably the most frequently used model based on technology for a constructivist learning design. According to Garrison et al, learners can learn collaboratively and as a group in an inquiry community when there is a shared cognitive, social, and teaching presence. learning experiences are formed through the interaction of cognitive presence, social presence, and teaching presence. Garrison et al. claim that the common nature of cognitive, social, and teaching presence leads to the creation of an inquiry community, in which a cooperative learning experience is created for learners. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the effect of using the flipped classroom on the learners’ perceived teaching, social and cognitive presence in online courses. Methods: This study was quasi-experimental in terms of research method, using pre-test and post-test design with experimental and control groups. The population of the research included all the students of Tehran in the academic year of 1400-1401, using Convenience sampling. A total of 58 people were selected and randomly assigned to the experimental group (30 students) and control group (28 students). Research instruments included CoI survey instrument developed by Arbaugh et al. (2008) along with rubric for online discussions analysis (Social presence: indicators by Rourke et . (1999), teaching presence: indicators by Anderson et al. (2001), and cognitive presence: indicators by Park (2009)). To analyze the data, descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation), and inferential statistics, i.e., the multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA), and the chi-squared test were used.Findings: The results of MANCOVA showed that the experimental group had better progress for all types of presence (teaching, social & cognitive) in posttest compared to the control group(p<0.05). Also calculated chi-square test showed that frequency of produced semantic units for all types of presence (teaching, social & cognitive) in the experimental group were significantly higher than those in the control group (p>0.05).Conclusion: The results of this research proved the potential of flipped classroom pedagogy in learner’s progress in the three key factors of the community of inquiry framework, i.e. cognitive, social and teaching presence. Also the findings of research can lead to the improvement of offered education in web-based courses and are useful for those who are involved designing and implementing web-based education.
Original Research Paper
Electronic learning- virtual
N. Bardia; R. Moradi; B. Yasbolaghi Sharahi
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Today, education in schools requires the use of methods that make learning enjoyable and effective for students. On the other hand, applying the suggestions and paying attention to the results of this research can change the attitudes of teachers, planners, and educational ...
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Background and Objectives: Today, education in schools requires the use of methods that make learning enjoyable and effective for students. On the other hand, applying the suggestions and paying attention to the results of this research can change the attitudes of teachers, planners, and educational policy makers towards using more innovative approaches in education. The present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the effect of learning mathematics using the VAK(Visual Auditory Kinesthetic) method on the attitudes and academic performance of primary school students in virtual education during the Corona period.Methods: The research method was quasi-experimental with a pre-test-post-test design with a control group. The statistical population included all fifth-grade female students in Arak in the academic year of 1401-1400, out of which 30 students were randomly selected and assigned to experimental (15) and control (15) groups. The experimental group learned 12 online sessions of mathematical concepts with the help of the VAK strategy in the Shad Network e-learning program. Both groups were evaluated at the beginning and end of the training period through Aiken's (1978) attitudes towards mathematics questionnaire and the researcher-made math test. Descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (analysis of covariance to test hypotheses) were used for data analysis.Findings: The results of the research showed that there was a significant difference between the experimental and control groups in terms of the attitudes and academic performance (P<0.05) and the walk method led to an increase in the students' performance and attitudes towards mathematics.Conclusion: According to the findings of the research, it can be concluded that the walk strategy would increase the students' mathematical attitudes and performance due to using of visual, auditory, functional content and paying attention to learning styles.
Original Research Paper
Technology-based learning environments
F. Khalvandi; SR. Emadi; MA. Omrani
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Managing the e-learning environment means emphasizing on the design and implementation of those strategies that, on one hand, help to fulfill the mission and goals of the education system, and on the other hand, lead to effective learning. This term refers to a new set of knowledge ...
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Background and Objectives: Managing the e-learning environment means emphasizing on the design and implementation of those strategies that, on one hand, help to fulfill the mission and goals of the education system, and on the other hand, lead to effective learning. This term refers to a new set of knowledge and skills in the field of optimal use of the electronic learning environment advantages and capabilities with a futuristic approach. It aims to prepare the mentality and skill power of learners for the changes and developments that occur as the result of the entry of information and communication technology into the field of education. Since the design and creation of practical and useful models for managing electronic learning environment in education system can play an important role in the realization of educational goals, the current research was conducted with the aim of designing a conceptual model for managing electronic learning environment in schools.Methods: This study was practical by purpose and conducted with a mixed-method approach by means of sequential exploratory design. In a way that by using the qualitative method, firstly the pattern or the research conceptual framework was obtained, and then the desired model was validated by quantitative method. In the qualitative part, the statistical population included university professors of Tehran in the field of educational technology and educational administration. Based on targeted snowball method of sampling and theoretical saturation, 17 people were selected. The data collection tool in the quantitative phase was a semi-structured interview. Participating experts assessed the face and content validity of the quantitative tool and its reliability was calculated by the Holsti’s coefficient as 0.92. In the quantitative part, by census method of sampling, all 114 outstanding teachers, experts and educational technologists of Shahindej Department of Education were selected and finally 103 completed the questionnaires. A researcher-made questionnaire with a 5-point Likert scale was developed including 56 items based on the indicators identified in the qualitative stage. To measure the validity of the questionnaire, in addition to the face and content validity done by experts, the Average Variance Extracted Index (AVE) was used which its value calculated as to be above 0.6. The reliability of the instrument was measured by the two criteria of Cronbach's alpha and composite reliability, which in both criteria, the values were higher than 0.8. Findings: In the qualitative phase, by using the thematic analysis and open, axial and selective coding method of Strauss and Corbin, 4 dimensions, 15 components and 56 indicators were identified and then primary conceptual model of electronic learning environment management was proposed. The four dimensions of model along with their components were “Teaching-learning process" with the components of active learning, teacher's role, learning styles, learning motivation, evaluation methods, "Teaching content" with the components of content suitability, content production, content quality, content presentation, "Curriculum design" with the components of constructivist approach, problem-oriented learning, socialization of learners and "Levels of interactions" with the components of teacher-learner, learner-learner, teacher-parents. Validating the proposed model by using the structural equation modeling method with the help of software (Smart PLS) showed that the proposed model had the required validity.Conclusion: Based on the findings, it can be stated that the management of the electronic learning environment is a holistic approach aiming to identify and design strategies that create active learning among the learners. Creating an integrated and effective management system in the e-learning environment can help to make the e-learning system more efficient and makes its activities transparent. The use of appropriate mechanisms in the management of the electronic learning environment, by specifying the current and desirable state of the electronic education system, helps to reveal the opportunities and challenges that this system faces and to provide a basis for the correction and improvement of the existing trends and the promotion and excellence of the future states of the electronic education system.
Original Research Paper
Technology-based learning environments
M. Arghiani; M. Saffar; M. Mahvash
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Today, learning various sciences has become one of the basic needs of humans, and there are many obstacles that reduce the speed of learning; among these obstacles, we can mention stress. Stress is a kind of response to emotional or physical changes created in the environment ...
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Background and Objectives: Today, learning various sciences has become one of the basic needs of humans, and there are many obstacles that reduce the speed of learning; among these obstacles, we can mention stress. Stress is a kind of response to emotional or physical changes created in the environment and living conditions of students, which can appear in different ways according to their age, life situation, and personality. If the learning space is designed properly, it can eliminate a lot of stress in students. Reducing stress in students can lead to discovering their hidden talents, increasing self-confidence and making the most of their potential, which will increase learning. Also, various studies have been conducted in western and other countries about the effect of architecture on reducing the stress of users, a limited number of which have been conducted on the effect of the architecture of the educational space on reducing stress with different research methods and approaches, each of which has research problems and flaws in two areas. They are thematic and methodological knowledge. The research showed that various studies have been conducted in the three fields of environmental psychology, psychology and architecture of educational spaces, but no sufficient and accurate studies were found about the interrelationship of these three topics. With quantitative and qualitative approaches, this research aims to deal with the subject in the two scientific fields of psychology (stress, stress theories) and architecture (psychology of the environment of educational spaces, architecture of educational spaces, health and architecture, etc.). The purpose of the present research is to identify the physical factors that are effective in reducing the stress of students in the educational spaces of the school, which is a factor for the scientific progress and improvement of the country and is associated with increasing the productivity of schools. This research aims to evaluate the effect of physical and non-physical dimensions of stress reduction on stress reduction in combined research (description of the survey type and logical reasoning).Methods: With the help of the Delphi method, the experts in the field of architecture were asked to categorize the practical physical factors of stress reduction. Then, the test analysis was done with the help of hierarchical analysis (AHP).Findings: After the complete hierarchical analysis, at first, the main criteria were ranked according to the goal, and then the sub-criteria were ranked in details, and the percentage of importance of each was determined. Among the main criteria, the combination of nature and environment gained the most weight, with a weight of 0.534, so it was the most important among the main criteria. The criteria for modeling nature and the spatial characteristics of the environment were also in the following ranks. A pairwise comparison of the sub-criteria of the integration of nature and the environment and their order of importance was discussed, and it could be seen that the sub-criteria of light with a weight of 0.541 took the first place, and the sub-criteria of plants and natural landscapes and ecosystems were in the following ranks.Conclusion: In designing a conservatory with the approach of reducing stress through biophilic architecture, light is the most critical design factor, and then the plants inside and outside the environment, natural landscapes, and ecosystems should be observed in the design.
