The Curriculum Model of the Virtual Universities of Religious Sciences Based on Collaborative Learning: A Case Study of the Quran and Hadith University, Al-Mustafa International University and Imam Khomeini Education and Research Institute

The main purpose of this study was to design a virtual curriculum model based on collaborative learning at the virtual religious universities. The study was a qualitative research according to the data-based theory. The research participants included experts and professors of the virtual curriculum at the Quran and Hadith University, al-Mustafa International University, and Imam Khomeini Education and Research Institute, who were selected using purposeful sampling method. Through criterion-based sampling method, 31 people of them were selected for interview. Data were analyzed through three open, axial, and selective coding stages that finally identified 145 open codes, 82 axial codes, and 7 selective codes, which showed that the existing curricula of these universities paid little attention to interaction and participation. According to the proposed model, using the collaborative learning approach, the elements of virtual curriculum, including content, learning activities, and evaluation methods, were designed in a way that that the teachers, through interactive and collaborative methods, could increase the students’ interactions with a variety of contents, with other students,  and with the teachers themselves, individually and in groups. Developing interactions among students through a collaborative approach could help establish the research community and improve the quality of students’ learning experiences.