نشریه فناوری های آموزشی در یادگیری
پیاپی 1 (زمستان 1393)

This study is aimed at investigating the impact of task-based learning approach on developed reading comprehension of the EFL learners. To this end، the scores of reading comprehension tests in a group of students experiencing task-oriented method were compared with those of another group taught the common reading and translation method. The participants include 26 master''s degree candidates of educational technology at the Faculty of Educational Sciences، Allameh Tabataba''i University، in the academic year 2012-2013. The researcher randomly selected the subjects from among the female master''s degree candidates of educational technology and divided them into two 13-member groups، namely experimental and control. The experimental group completed the educational text based on the task-oriented lesson plan، and the control group was taught the content with the common method. The measurement tool includes researcher-developed pre-test and post-test on English language reading comprehension at the higher education level. The tests were reliable by 0. 63 and 0. 72 respectively، which was higher than the criterion، i. e. 0. 60. The data analysis method is quantitative، including mean، standard deviation، lowest and highest numbers of the experimental and control groups. The significance test suggested a difference between means of the two groups by means of different t-statistic. Results of the data analysis indicate that the language scores in the experimental group، taught using the task-oriented method، were higher in comparison to those of the control group، taught using the common reading and translation method. Therefore، the task-based method in teaching the English language develops reading comprehension skill of the learners.

This study examines the effectiveness of an educational computer game designed based on the EFM model on motivation and learning of students. The statistical population is consisted of female students of architectural design at the industrial arts schools of Ghaemshahr City in the academic year 2013-2014. 50 subjects were selected objectively from the schools offering this field of study and randomly divided in two experimental and control groups. The research method was quasi-experimental with a pretest-posttest design and control group. After producing the Architect game, first pretests of motivation and learning were administered to both experimental and control groups. Then, common lesson content was taught to both groups, and the experimental group played the educational game in two sessions and an interview was conducted on some of its members. Finally, posttests of motivation and learning were administered to the both groups. Research instruments included Keller motivation questionnaires and the researcher-developed learning test. Results of the quantitative analysis based on ANCOVA method suggest the positive impact of the game on the student's motivation, and an interpretive analysis of the qualitative data deriving from the interviews indicates that most of the students were interested in and satisfied with playing the game in their learning environments.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of using the story based design strategy in the university textbook design in comparison with using the traditional strategy on the level of motivation for academic achievement in the course of “Educational Design”, taken by the students majoring in educational technology at Tabriz University. The methodology of this piece of research is quasi- experimental with pretest and posttest designs and control and experimental groups. The statistical population consists of 180 undergraduate students of educational technology from among all students at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Tabriz University. The sampling method was random sampling and sample size was 40. The measurement instruments included Werland Scale of Motivation for Academic Achievement. For the purpose of data collection, a pretest and posttest of the foregoing scale were administered to all sample subjects. The scales of the test of motivation for academic achievement were analyzed by means of covariance analysis. Results suggested that there is a significant difference between both groups in terms of level of motivation, and this difference benefits the experimental group, i.e., material development using story strategy has a significant effect on motivation for academic achievement in the students of educational technology in the course of “Educational Design”.

Fostering children’s creativity has always been a fundamental goal in children education. Since theoretical and empirical foundations in the area of creativity verify expandability of creativity, this study is aimed at investigating effectiveness of teaching creativity development program through group activities in increased creativity of pre-elementary school children. This study is of quasi-experimental nature with pretest, posttest and control group. The statistical population is composed of 24 pre-elementary school children who were divided into two experimental and control groups. The experimental group experienced 12 one-hour sessions of the interventions relating to theoretical foundations of creativity. Research instruments include Torrens Visual Form B. In order to analyze the data, the covariance analysis was carried out. Results suggest that creativity development program could significantly develop creativity and its components in children. The difference in the program for creativity program was not significant based on gender in overall score of creativity; in other words, the increasing impact of the program on the boys and girls in overall score of creativity was the same. Therefore, considering effectiveness of the program, it seems that such programs are required to be implemented for the purpose of increasing cognitive development and creativity on a large scale in the pre-elementary schools.

This study investigated the hypothetical model of self-regulated learning strategies in the subject of mathematics based on motivational and mediating factors of academic emotions. In order to test this model, 395 of male students from among those in the five districts of Tabriz were selected using the cluster multistep sampling method and completed the questionnaire of self-regulated learning and achievement emotions. The data were analyzed by means of the route analysis statistical method. Results suggested that there is a significant relation between task value and the strategies founded on deep and superficial learning. There relation between self-efficacy and deep and superficial learning strategies is positive and significant. There relation between task and self-efficacy and positive emotions is positive and significant and the one between task and self-efficacy and negative emotions is negative and significant. Findings indicate there is no significant relation between negative emotions and deep learning strategies, whereas there is a significant relation between negative emotions and superficial learning. In the end, the research results suggest that positive emotions are related to the learners’ tendency to deep and superficial learning strategies.

Recently, data mining methods has widely been used in e-learning. In fact, various researchers attempt, by adopting data mining method, to understand the learners more and more and accordingly foster adaptive learning. The studies have employed the learners’ characteristics, performance, learning style and cognitive style. This study identifies the level of learners’ knowledge and develops models for them for customizing the material taught. To develop the suggested model, the researchers applied improved RBF neural network and used a three-step teaching approach to strengthen this network. This approach adopts the particle group optimization algorithm in the first step, the nearest neighboring K algorithm in the second step, and fastest reduction algorithm in the third step. Further parts of the article deal with the learners’ characteristics and four appropriate characteristics were developed for the purpose of predicting the class variable to determine the level of learners’ knowledge. In order to assess the suggested model, an online course of Excel was tested. The learners of this course were divided into three experimental groups. One of the groups employed the suggested model, and the other two groups of learners benefited from presentation of the mediocre and algorithm courses available in the research literature. Test results suggest academic achievement and satisfaction of the learners paced in the group relating to the suggested model.