Learning
Maryam Azizi; Hossein Heidari Tabrizi; Ahmadreza Lotfi
Abstract
The hidden constructs underlying teachers’ professional identity at a given point of teaching life are presumed to account for their practical qualities. The current study explored the cognitive skills of three groups of Iranian English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers with scant, moderate, ...
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The hidden constructs underlying teachers’ professional identity at a given point of teaching life are presumed to account for their practical qualities. The current study explored the cognitive skills of three groups of Iranian English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers with scant, moderate, and considerable teaching experience. To this end, a convenience sample, including 382 Iranian EFL teachers from 660 branches of five countrywide English language institutions, participated in a sequential explanatory mixed-method study. In the quantitative phase, a multivariate approach to comparison was adopted, and the three groups were compared in terms of a linear combination of nine subscales representing teachers’ pedagogical knowledge base. As shown by the results, the between-group differences in four of the nine sub-domains yielded a significant between-group gap in the overall level of teacher cognition. These differentiating knowledge areas included knowledge of learning, teaching, classroom management, and professional self. A qualitative follow-up phase was then launched in which a 95-member sample of the participants attended a retrospective interview to delve deeply into the nature of the four differentiating subdomains. The qualitative results divulged the processes and reasons underlying the four differentiating knowledge areas. The findings may have new insights into the exact nature of Iranian EFL teachers’ intellectual peculiarities at different stages of a teaching career.
Learning
Roshan Ahmadi; Shahin Ahmadi
Abstract
The aim of the research was the effect of educational digital games on creativity, motivation and academic progress in the mathematics lesson of the first elementary school students. The research method is a semi-experimental type of pre-test-post-test with control group, And the statistical population ...
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The aim of the research was the effect of educational digital games on creativity, motivation and academic progress in the mathematics lesson of the first elementary school students. The research method is a semi-experimental type of pre-test-post-test with control group, And the statistical population included all the students of the first grade of elementary school in Islam-Shahr city. The sample size consisted of 72 people (36 people in the experimental group and 36 people in the control group) who were selected by the available method. The measurement tools included the Torrance Form A creativity test, the mathematical motivation questionnaire, and tests to measure knowledge, attitude and mathematical skills. The reliability of each tool was obtained as 0.80, 0.709, 0.82, 0.94 and 0.85 respectively. The experimental variable was implemented in three steps "group game", "exploration" and "individual game" in 12 sessions for the experimental group.Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics such as Kolmogorov-Smironov, Levin and Box test and multivariate covariance analysis were used for data analysis. The results showed; Education using digital educational games has been effective on creativity (fluidity component), mathematical motivation (desire, avoidance) and academic progress (knowledge, attitude and skill) of students. And there was a significant relationship between these variables; However, no significant difference was observed between the two experimental and control groups in the components of expansion, flexibility and innovation related to the variable of creativity.
Learning
Nasrin Salehi; Shokoufeh Mousavi; Mahmoud Reza Shahsavari
Abstract
The current study aims to investigate the impact of the flipped classroom on creativity, accountability, and math anxiety among female elementary students. This quasi-experimental research employed a pretest-posttest control group design. The statistical population for this study encompassed all female ...
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The current study aims to investigate the impact of the flipped classroom on creativity, accountability, and math anxiety among female elementary students. This quasi-experimental research employed a pretest-posttest control group design. The statistical population for this study encompassed all female elementary students in Isfahan, Iran, during the first semester of the academic year 2021-2022. The convenience sampling method was utilized to select 30 students who were then divided into experimental and control groups (n = 15 per group). The experimental group received 16 online sessions using the flipped classroom approach, while the control group continued with regular educational practices at the same time. The research instruments consisted of the Home–School Accountability Questionnaire, Standard Creativity Scale, and Math Anxiety Scale. Analysis of covariance was employed for inferential analysis. The results revealed that the flipped classroom approach yielded positive effects on creativity (F = 6.15, p < 0.05, η² = 0.18), accountability (F = 6.75, p < 0.05, η² = 0.20), and math anxiety (F = 4.74, p < 0.05, η² = 0.15).
Learning
Fatemeh Yurdkhani; Akbar Mohammadi; Dawood Manavipour
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate mindfulness's effectiveness on the problem-solving styles of secondary school students of Garmsar city. The statistical population of this research was all second-year high school students of Garmsar city in the academic year 2022-2023. The sample included 341 students ...
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This study aimed to investigate mindfulness's effectiveness on the problem-solving styles of secondary school students of Garmsar city. The statistical population of this research was all second-year high school students of Garmsar city in the academic year 2022-2023. The sample included 341 students who were selected by random cluster sampling. The research tools included a standard questionnaire on mindfulness and a questionnaire on problem-solving styles. The data was analyzed by Lisrel and SPSS software. Considering that the effect of the mediator variable is considered, structural equation modeling was used for data analysis. The results showed that the five components of observation, description, action, awareness, non-judgment, and non-reaction affected the problem-solving styles of secondary school students of Garmsar city. Based on the obtained results, mindfulness can affect problem-solving techniques. Based on the obtained results, mindfulness can influence problem-solving styles. Therefore, the results of this study can have important implications in the field of education, such as the effectiveness of mindfulness on problem-solving for educational professionals.
Learning
Tahereh Khezrab; Reza Raissi; Neda Hedayat
Abstract
This study followed discussion-based techniques using mobile phone technologies in order to compare Iranian EFL teachers' perceptions with their practices in higher education. Applying Convergent Parallel Mixed-Method Design, 73 English for Specific Purposes (ESP) instructors, teaching technical English ...
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This study followed discussion-based techniques using mobile phone technologies in order to compare Iranian EFL teachers' perceptions with their practices in higher education. Applying Convergent Parallel Mixed-Method Design, 73 English for Specific Purposes (ESP) instructors, teaching technical English courses to Law students at Islamic Azad University (IAU), South Tehran, Qods and Eslamshahr branches, completed a questionnaire, assessing teachers’ perceptions versus practices on the use of mobile phone technologies in discussion-based classes. Through typical-case purposive sampling, out of 73 ESP instructors, eight instructors (four traditional and four communicative), extracted through the questionnaire, joined semi-structured interviews, and their classes were observed during the semester by two observers completing the observation scheme. Afterwards, applying the grounded-theory-instigated analytical framework of Onwuegbuzie and Teddlie (2003), the triangulated observation-interview data were thematically analyzed through open, axial, and selective codifications congruent with Mishra and Koehler’s (2008) TPACK model components, i.e., technology, pedagogy and content knowledge. The results demonstrated EFL teachers' interest in interactional mobile phone technologies and in the content constituent, i.e., the second component of the questionnaire as well as the third module of TRACK model. Additionally, the results signified EFL teachers’ use of comparative translation activities for the reading comprehension skills via collaborative/cooperative reading strategies. Finally, this research represents some pedagogical implications for administrative executives in the Iranian Ministry of Science, Research and Technology to revise Law students’ curriculum, and positively alters material providers’ and ESP instructors’ attitudes toward using mobile phone technologies in discussion-based classes.
Learning
Aniseh Jabbary Daneshvar; Seyed.Davoud. Hosseininasab; masoomeh Azmoodeh
Abstract
The present study aimed to compare the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral play therapy and narrative therapy on aggression and assertiveness of students with an educable intellectual disability. This study followed a quasi-experimental research design with a pre-test, post-test, and a control group. The ...
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The present study aimed to compare the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral play therapy and narrative therapy on aggression and assertiveness of students with an educable intellectual disability. This study followed a quasi-experimental research design with a pre-test, post-test, and a control group. The statistical population included all students with an educable intellectual disability enrolled in Tabriz elementary schools, of whom 45 male students were randomly assigned to two experimental and one control groups (15 per group) using convenience sampling. The Shahim Aggression Questionnaire for Elementary School Students (2006) and the Gmbryl and Ritchie’s Assertiveness Questionnaire (1975) were used to collect data. After the pre-test, one of the experimental groups received a play therapy program while the other group received narrative therapy. Afterward, all the groups sat for a post-test. Moreover, although the control group did not receive any therapy, they were required to participate in pre-and post-tests and complete the questionnaires. The covariance analysis revealed a significant difference in aggression and assertiveness between cognitive-behavioral play therapy, narrative therapy and the control groups (0.001). Narrative therapy was more effective at reducing aggression than cognitive-behavioral play therapy, with an effect size of 69%. Additionally, narrative therapy was more effective than play therapy at increasing assertiveness, with an effect size of 74%. Thus, narrative therapy and cognitive-behavioral play therapy can be used in conjunction to alleviate psychological problems in students with educable intellectual disabilities.
Learning
Mehdi Badali; Parvin Mirzaei; Nazanin Shafieifar; Hoda Assadi
Abstract
In early 2020, the coronavirus outbreak compelled higher education institutions worldwide to cancel campus-based teaching and conduct a variety of electronic learning which led to assessment of the quality of e-learning and its results, such as learning and self-efficacy. Thus, this study aimed to determine ...
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In early 2020, the coronavirus outbreak compelled higher education institutions worldwide to cancel campus-based teaching and conduct a variety of electronic learning which led to assessment of the quality of e-learning and its results, such as learning and self-efficacy. Thus, this study aimed to determine the effect of problem-based e-learning (PBe-L) on the learning and academic efficacy of students during the COVID-19 pandemic in ‘An Introduction of Educational Technology Course’. The research method was quasi-experimental with pre-test/ post-test design with experimental and control groups. The statistical population of this study consisted of undergraduate students in the field of educational sciences studying in the University of Tehran. 38 students were selected as the research sample using the available sampling method and were randomly divided into experimental and control groups. PBe-L was conducted for the experimental group and the control group experienced the direct learning approach. A researcher-made learning test and Morgan-Jinks Student Efficacy Scale (1999) were used. The results showed that the mean of learning and self-efficacy of the experimental group increased from 7.92 and 57.00 in the pre-test to 18.51 and 76.57 in the post-test respectively. The results of covariance showed that the mean scores of the post-test of the two groups were statistically significant (p≥0.005). The results of this study showed that the use of PBe-L during the COVID-19 pandemic can be effective in increasing the students’ learning and academic efficacy.
Learning
Fatemeh Khezri; Ali Akbar Jabbari; Ali Mohammad Fazilatfar; Fatemeh Jamshidi
Abstract
The present study aimed to investigate the effect of learning context on the acquisition of plurality agreement in English noun phrases by Iranian L3 learners of English. To this end, 64 elementary learners of English were chosen from among the students of Arabic language and literature and Persian language ...
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The present study aimed to investigate the effect of learning context on the acquisition of plurality agreement in English noun phrases by Iranian L3 learners of English. To this end, 64 elementary learners of English were chosen from among the students of Arabic language and literature and Persian language and literature of Ahvaz university and Yazd university via the Oxford Quick Placement test. The participants were assigned to four groups to be compared in terms of the comprehension and production of plurality agreement via a grammaticality judgment correction task and a picture description task. The first and the second groups had Persian as their first language (L1) and Arabic as their second language (L2) but differed from each other concerning their language of contact instruction, Persian and Arabic, respectively. The third and fourth groups had Arabic as the L1 and Persian as the L2 but differed from each other concerning their language of contact instruction, Persian and Arabic, respectively. The results showed that the groups which had Arabic as their language of contact instruction outperformed the other groups in both tasks, which suggests that they transferred plurality agreement facilitatively from Arabic, which was their language of contact instruction. Therefore, the results of this study suggest that the context of learning matters in the acquisition of L3 properties since the L3 learners associate their language of contact instruction with the L3 in their mind due to the similarities in the learning context.
Learning
Mahnaz Jooyani; Seyyed Davood Hosseininasab; Amir Panahali
Abstract
The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of metacognition and problem solving training on teaching-learning strategies awareness of gifted high school male students of 10th grade in Ardabil. This research is a quasi-experimental research, with a pre-test/ post-test design. 127 gifted high ...
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The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of metacognition and problem solving training on teaching-learning strategies awareness of gifted high school male students of 10th grade in Ardabil. This research is a quasi-experimental research, with a pre-test/ post-test design. 127 gifted high school male students of Ardabil were participated in the study as the statistical population in 2017-18 academic year. Sixty of these students were selected through simple random sampling. Before starting the training programs, three groups were tested by the Weinstein Teaching-Learning Strategies Questionnaire first developed by Weinstein and Schultz (1987). Metacognitive training program was taught for the first experimental group, and problem solving skills program was taught for the second experimental group; each training program consisted of eight two-hour sessions and the control group did not receive any kind of training. Pre-test and post-test results were analyzed using MANOVA. The results showed that both metacognitive and problem solving training enhance teaching and learning skills and that metacognitive training is more effective in terms of test strategies, attitudes, focus, and time management. Also, similar effects were achieved in terms of information processing and selection of the main idea, anxiety, motivation, self-examination, study guide in the two groups. In conclusion, metacognitive training was proven to be more effective than problem solving training.
Learning
Masumeh Taie; Reza Rostami; Massood Yazdanimoghaddam
Abstract
What is learning after all? Being the cornerstone of educational psychology, this question has not lost its appeal since there still is no consensus over it. What makes providing a careful definition of learning important is that such definitions carry important pedagogical implications which might not ...
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What is learning after all? Being the cornerstone of educational psychology, this question has not lost its appeal since there still is no consensus over it. What makes providing a careful definition of learning important is that such definitions carry important pedagogical implications which might not be equally beneficial. This theoretical paper, therefore, has tried to define learning by a novel interdisciplinary approach through connecting educational psychology to philosophy. It has started with the dilemma of a lack of consensus over the definition of definition itself and the necessity for holding a theory of definition. Consequently, Aristotle’s definition theory has been chosen. To be impartial, it has been contrasted with that adopted by Karl Popper- Aristotle’s major critic. Then, mainstream leaning definitions have been investigated. Their inadequacy has been attributed to their non-adherence to a tenable definition theory. The paper recommends a framework for learning definition studies established by adopting Aristotle’s definition theory and other points discussed. Such a framework constitutes guidelines for future studies. These guidelines give future definition studies direction and coherence and allow us to move away from idiosyncrasies reflecting personal bias and, as such, they can direct us towards developing a consensual definition.
Learning
Azam Naserpour; Abbas Ali Zarei
Abstract
The present study aimed to probe the impact of visual scaffolding using input and output-oriented tasks with different levels of involvement load on Iranian EFL learners' comprehension and production of lexical collocations. For this purpose, 180 male and female intermediate EFL learners were selected ...
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The present study aimed to probe the impact of visual scaffolding using input and output-oriented tasks with different levels of involvement load on Iranian EFL learners' comprehension and production of lexical collocations. For this purpose, 180 male and female intermediate EFL learners were selected and assigned to six experimental groups. Three input-oriented tasks of True-false (load = 1), Matching (load = 2), Multiple-choice (load = 3), and three output-oriented tasks of Short-response (load = 1), Fill-in-the-blanks (load = 2), Sentence formation (load = 3) were developed. All the experimental groups were scaffolded through visual cues. At the end of treatment period, two posttests- a 40-item multiple-choice test and 40-item Fill-in-the-blanks test- were administered to assess the participants' comprehension and production of lexical collocations. To analyze the data, two separate one-way MANOVA procedures were used. The results revealed that visual cues were effective on learners’ collocational achievement. The results also indicated that the output-oriented tasks had a significant positive effect on the comprehension and production of lexical collocations. In addition, tasks with higher involvement load indices were more effective on the comprehension and production of lexical collocations. These finding can have significant pedagogical as well as theoretical implications.
