Iranian Journal of Learning and Memory

Abstract Objective: The rapid integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into education is transforming the conventional responsibilities and competency requirements of curriculum planners. This study identified and explained the emerging dimensions of the curriculum planner's role in the age of AI and developed a conceptual framework for designing intelligent learning ecosystems.

Method: A qualitative meta-synthesis was conducted on studies concerning AI and curriculum planning published from 2023 to 2025. Following searches of international and Persian-language databases and the application of eligibility criteria, 71 studies (53 international and 18 Persian-language sources) were included. Study selection followed PRISMA 2020, methodological quality was appraised using Joanna Briggs Institute checklists, and the evidence was analyzed through directed qualitative content analysis in MAXQDA 2022.

Results: Five interrelated role dimensions emerged: learning data analyst (86.8%), human-AI collaboration designer (83.0%), ethical regulator of the learning ecosystem (79.2%), adaptive curriculum designer (75.5%), and technological ecosystem architect (67.9%). Data literacy, AI ethics, and learning architecture were the highest-priority competencies. Inadequate technological infrastructure, limited digital competence, and the absence of transparent ethical and legal frameworks were the principal implementation barriers.

Conclusions: The curriculum planner is shifting from a content developer to an architect, analyst, and steward of intelligent learning ecosystems. This transition requires the redesign of curriculum-planning preparation programs, systematic development of AI literacy, and supportive policies for responsible educational uses of intelligent technologies.

Abstract In today's educational world, the importance of academic life skills and self-regulated motivation for students, especially in the senior high school, has been noted repeatedly. Thus, the purpose of this research was to investigate the effectiveness of teaching life skills and self-regulation of motivation on the academic motivation of female students of the senior high schools. This research is a quantitative applied study adopting a quasi-experimental design, with a pre-test/post-test and a control group. The statistical population included 31180 female students of the senior of high schools in Tabriz in the academic year of 2021-2022. From this population, 90 students were selected by multi-stage cluster random sampling method and were randomly divided into three groups with 30 participants. The control group received its traditional instruction while the first and second experimental groups received educational life skills and self-regulated motivation interventions respectively for eight sessions of two hours. The instruments included the academic motivation questionnaire (Vallerand et al., 1992). For data analysis, in addition to descriptive statistics, Shapiro-Wilk test, MANOVA, regression slope homogeneity test, Box's M Test, Leven test, MANCOVA, and Bonferroni post hoc test were used. The findings showed that the educational life skills and self-regulation of motivation training programs had a positive effect on the academic motivation of female students of the senior high schools. Also, motivational self-regulation training has a higher effectiveness in the academic motivation of the participants than teaching life skills. According to the results, it is concluded that the integration of educational self-regulation motivation and academic life skills training programs in the school environment can have positive effects on students. Schools and educational centers should look for ways to incorporate these skills into their curricula, so that students can develop the skills to manage their motivation and behaviors in a supportive and interactive environment. Also, it is important that teachers and trainers receive the necessary training to be able to effectively impart these skills to students.

Abstract Objective: Environmental crises, public policies, and shifts in cultural decision-making have diminished traditional opportunities for direct engagement with open spaces and nature. The reduced human-nature connection has led to significant psychological effects, particularly among children. Numerous studies highlight the pivotal role of green and natural environments in enhancing social well-being by offering diverse spaces that respond to children's needs and interests, thereby addressing the aforementioned issues.
Creating a spectrum of sensory variations fosters enriched emotional development in children and effectively regulates their emotions. Additionally, such environments enhance children's emotional capacities, including self-confidence, group interactions, dynamic communication, exposure to diverse emotions, and motivation for learning—elements closely tied to emotional intelligence. In this regard, urban design, architecture, and landscape architecture hold substantial potential for preserving and reinforcing nature experiences within contemporary built environments.
Method: This study goes beyond conventional cognitive learning frameworks by employing a biophilic approach tailored to children's developmental needs, examining its influence on emotional intelligence. The primary objective is to identify biophilic design characteristics that effectively support the enhancement of children's emotional intelligence. To achieve this, expert perspectives were systematically analyzed using Q-factor analysis, allowing for the extraction of key indicators that define the relationship between biophilic design and emotional intelligence. This methodological approach ensures that findings are grounded in interdisciplinary insights, reinforcing the role of nature-integrated spaces in fostering emotional growth.
Conclusions: these indicators summarized into four factors: personal experience, social aspects, spatial characteristics, and ecological nature and landscape.

Abstract Objective: This exploratory, hypothesis-generating study investigated alpha-band EEG activity during resting state and cognitive task performance in adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and examined its relationship with symptom severity, without a healthy control group. Method: EEG (8-12 Hz) was recorded in 28 adults with ADHD (21-31 years) during (1) eyes-closed rest and (2) a cognitive task requiring sustained attention. Absolute power and NeuroGuide z-scores were extracted. ADHD symptoms were assessed using the ASRS. Paired t-tests, Pearson correlations, and exploratory median split comparisons were performed. Results: Resting and task alpha activity were strongly correlated (r = .77, p < .01). At the group level, alpha activity unexpectedly increased from rest to task (t(27) = 2.34, p = .027). Linear correlations between ASRS total score and alpha activity at rest (r = .07) and during task (r = .20) were weak and non-significant (p > .05). In exploratory median-split comparisons (higher vs. lower symptom severity), individuals with higher severity showed significantly lower task-related alpha (t(26) = 2.12, p = .044, d = .81), but no significant difference in resting alpha (t(26) = 1.92, p = .066). Conclusions: In this hypothesis-generating study of adults with ADHD conducted without a neurotypical control group, we observed within-sample patterns of alpha modulation. The unexpected task-related alpha increase and the association between higher symptom severity and reduced task-related alpha warrant replication in larger, controlled studies with concurrent behavioral performance measures. No ADHD-specific conclusions can be drawn from this exploratory investigation.

Abstract EFL textbooks play a challenging role in underpinning or imposing certain ideological values, such as gender-related values on students. Thus, this inquiry examined Iranian high school teachers’ perceptions of the issue in mandated EFL textbooks (Vision series). This study adopted an exploratory descriptive method with a qualitative approach to collect and interpret the data. The population comprised all members of the Iranian high school EFL teachers’ channel from whom, thirty teachers were selected through a volunteer sampling method. As the study concurred with the COVID-19 pandemic, a researcher-made semi-structured interview was administered via WhatsApp and Telegram, and then, the responses were analyzed and interpreted using thematic analysis via the Nvivo 12 software. The data analysis showed that most teachers believed in the unequal representation of male and female characters in the series. Moreover, it was held that gender representation has educational effects on students' learning motivation, desire, and educational goals through the creation of gender stereotype roles. The findings revealed the permanence of male dominance in the textbooks and highlighted the must for the stakeholders to address gender inequalities as one of the most crucial sociocultural concerns of Iranian EFL educational textbooks.

Abstract Previous studies generally showed that achievement goals are linked with academic engagement. However, the association between the newly-developed model of achievement goals (i.e. the 3*2 model) and agentic engagement has received relatively little attention. Furthermore, the underlying mechanism of this relationship is unclear, more specifically, among university students. Guided by the assumptions of the control-value theory of emotions, epistemic curiosity could be a potential mediator. The current study aimed to explore the mediating role of epistemic curiosity in the relationship between achievement goals and agentic engagement among 350 university students from Ferdowsi University of Mashhad in the academic year of 2019-2020. Participants completed the measures of the Achievement Goals Questionnaire, Epistemic Curiosity Scale, and Agentic Engagement Scale. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 24.0 and AMOS software. The findings showed that epistemic curiosity significantly mediated the association between approach goals and avoidance goals with agentic engagement (P<0.001). Overall, the findings offer new evidence on the association between variables of the present study and shed light on the underlying processes. Theoretical and practical implications are also discussed.

Abstract Objective: This study aimed to examine the impact of rumination on both cognitive and sports performance, with sleep quality serving as a mediating factor.

Methods: The research was practical in purpose and employed a structural equation correlation design, conducted in a field setting. The statistical population consisted of all student athletes who participated in the table tennis tournaments in Khorasan in 2022, totaling 97 individuals. Sampling was performed using a census method, with 80 participants consenting to engage in the study. Data were collected using the rumination questionnaires developed by Nolen-Hoeksema and Morrow (1991), a sports performance scale by Charbonneau et al. (2001), a cognitive performance assessment by Folstein et al. (1975), and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (1989). For data analysis, Pearson's correlation coefficient and path analysis modeling were utilized.
Results: The findings indicated that rumination has a direct influence on both cognitive and sports performance (P=0.01). Furthermore, rumination significantly affects these performances indirectly through the mediation of sleep quality (P=0.01) among student athletes.
Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, rumination is correlated with cognitive and sports performance both directly and indirectly via sleep quality. It is recommended to engage a sports psychologist to conduct educational workshops on rumination management and to monitor and regulate the sleep patterns of student athletes.

Abstract The purpose of this research was to design a personal brand digital storytelling learning model.
The present research was conducted with a qualitative approach and research methods of content analysis and theme analysis. The research community is all the written sources, articles, books and researches related to the digital storytelling of personal brands in various scientific bases in the years 2000 to 2024 and all specialists and experts in the field of personal branding. The purposeful sampling method is of the criterion type and the criterion for determining the sample size is to reach the saturation volume. The data collection tool was a semi-structured interview and a researcher-made questionnaire. Qualitative analysis and thematic analysis were used to collect data. In this way, the theoretical foundations of storytelling were studied and analyzed, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 experts from educational, commercial, and industrial fields familiar with personal brand storytelling at Allameh Tabataba'i University, and thematic analysis was done, and finally based on The model was created based on the data of content analysis and theme analysis.
The research findings showed that the personal brand digital storytelling learning model has 4 dimensions: personal branding, personal brand storytelling, personal brand story content production, and personal brand story content evaluation, and includes 15 components and 57 indicators.
The results showed that the personal brand digital storytelling learning model for students is a multi-dimensional and multi-component process and its realization demands the comprehensive attention of higher education officials and students.

Abstract Objective: The aim of the present study was to introduce and validate a tool for measuring students' individual agency.
Method: The research was descriptive-correlational. The statistical population included 1364 student-teachers at Farhangian University, Kurdistan Province. A sample of 271 students was selected using systematic random sampling. Data was collected using the Individual Resources subscale of the Student Agency Scale (Jääskelä et al., 2017). The subscale has 28 items spread across four dimensions: participation activity, interest and motivation, self-efficacy, and competence beliefs. The questionnaire was translated into Persian, and semantic consistency with the original version was confirmed using the back-translation method. Subsequently, the face validity of tool was verified based on expert evaluations. Data analysis involved first- and second-order confirmatory factor analysis, convergent validity, Cronbach's alpha, composite reliability, and a one-sample t-test. Data analysis software included SPSS19 and Amos23.
Results: The first-order factor analysis results indicated that the questionnaire items (after removing three items) could appropriately describe the latent variables. The second-order factor analysis results also revealed that the questionnaire items could be reduced to four components: activity engagement, interest and motivation, self-efficacy, and competence beliefs (RMSEA: .047; CFI: .93). The average variance extracted was 0.55, confirming convergent validity. The overall Cronbach's alpha was 0.87, and the Cronbach's alpha coefficients for the subscales ranged from 0.64 to 0.82. The composite reliability was 0.82. Results also indicated a high level of individual agency among student-teachers at Farhangian University (p < .05).