درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

The current study explored the effects of a personalized reading software program designed based on language learners’ learning style on the development of their reading comprehension. Forty Iranian K-9 students were selected through convenience sampling and were assigned into control (n=20) and experimental (n=20) groups. Both groups’ entry level of English reading proficiency was assessed by reading paper of Cambridge A2 Key exam. Reading was taught to both groups for 10 sessions using a researcher-developed software program. The experimental group used the reading software designed based on users’ cognitive profile (visual, auditory and kinesthetic) with customized instructional scenarios. The control group used a version of the same software that did not include any user-tailored teaching materials. Both groups took part in reading paper of A2 Key again at the end of the experiment. The data were analyzed using One-way Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). The results revealed a significant difference between participants’ reading comprehension at the end of the experiment in favor of the experimental group. The finding highlighted the role of learners’ diversity in the success of computer-assisted learning environments, and has certain implications for software developers and language pedagogues.

This study aimed to identify effective factors to the development of blended learning from the perspective of faculty members of PNU. For this purpose, after the study of contemporary research findings, effective factors to the development of blended learning were divided in five groups of structural, planning, information systems, nature and workplace and support factors for each of these components were determined. In order to assess the effective factors to the development of blended learning from the perspective of faculty members, a researcher-made questionnaire was designed. The questionnaire was with 40 questions using a Likert scale. Its validity was confirmed through content validity and its reliability through Cornbrash's alpha (α=91%). After determining the sample size using Morgan table by simple random sampling, questionnaires were distributed to faculty members. The research findings were analyzed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. To analyze the data, SPSS and LISREL softwares were employed. Results indicate that among the identified factors, the most important and influential factors to the development of blended learning from the perspective of administrators was related to structural factors.

Learning can only maintain its functional originality when it leads to permanent changes, and such changes are only possible if accompanied by self-explanation. The current study was conducted to investigate the effect of self-explanation and the solved examples on students’ transfer, intrinsic motivation, and cognitive load in English courses. It was an experiment in the form of a 2×2 generalized random block design. The population consisted of all 8th-grade students in Semnan, Iran, from whom 120 students were selected applying random sampling – by considering a figure for each student, writing each figure on a piece of paper, putting all inside a pack, mixing them together, and drawing one piece out each time to get 120 candidates. Teaching English was done using the “Solved Examples” method. The instruments applied  to collect the data included the Intrinsic Motivation Questionnaire by Kuvaus and Dysvik (2009), the Cognitive Load Questionnaire by Paas and van Merrienboer (1993), and the researcher-made questionnaire of near and far transfer. The statistical analysis of the data was conducted using the Two-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The findings indicated that the format of presenting content (ordinary and erroneous solved examples) and self-explanation are correlated significantly with the near and far transfer, cognitive load, and intrinsic motivation (P<0.01). Based on the obtained results, it can be argued that self-explaining and presenting solved examples are useful strategies to enhance students’ transfer, intrinsic motivation, and cognitive load in learning English, and can be included in the curriculum of schools to empower students in solving intellectual problems.