Iranian Journal of Learning and Memory

Scientific thinking is a type of knowledge seeking involving intentional information seeking, including asking questions, testing hypotheses, making observations, recognizing patterns, and making inferences. The purpose of this research was designing a package of scientific thinking training and its ‘effect on problem-solving skill in preschool children. For this purpose, a study was designed in two steps. At first time, based on Kuhn theory and by reviewing and analysing available resources, the scientific thinking training package was designed. This teaching package includes discussions between the researchers and the child about stories with topics related to children's environment that they may not have encountered in everyday situations in the form of questions. At second step, in order to determine the effect of scientific thinking training on problem-solving, 30 children aged 5 to 6 (15 girls-15 boys) with a moderate score in Raven intelligence test was chosen from three primary schools. Subjects were trained individually in scientific thinking for 8 sessions. Data were analysed using repeated measures analysis of variance. Findings showed that teaching scientific thinking significantly improves problem solving skills (p <005) and this effect is stable over time. The results of this study show that preschool education and interaction with teacher is an opportunity to provide stimulus situations appropriate to children's abilities, and provide conditions for improving problem-solving.

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship of math anxiety with math self-efficacy and math attitude, considering the mediating role of numerical memory via the structural equation modeling. The research adopted a correlational method. The statistical population of the study comprised secondary school students from Oshnavieh city in Iran (N= 4280) in 2019. From this statistical population, 200 students were selected as the sample using the cluster random sampling method, and were administered the Plack and Parker math anxiety tests (1982), Wechsler Numerical Memory Scale (2003), Liu and Koirala Math Self-Efficacy Scale (2009) and the Fennma-Sherman Math Attitude Scale (1976). The structural equation modeling approach was used to examine the data using SPSS 26 and AMOS 26 software. The findings of the study indicated that students' math anxiety is directly influenced by numerical memory (p= 0.001), mathematical self-efficacy (p=0.01), and mathematical attitude (p=0.1). Additionally, it was observed that mathematical self-efficacy indirectly influences students' math anxiety via numerical memory (p= 0.05). Furthermore, the indirect effect of math attitude via numerical memory on students' math anxiety was not confirmed (p=0.54).   Based on these findings, it can be concluded that it is imperative to address both math self-efficacy and math attitude to reduce students' math anxiety. Consequently, it is recommended that educators create an environment that fosters a positive attitude towards mathematics lessons and enhances students' self-efficacy in mathematics.

This research aimed to examine the effectiveness of a creativity training program on the executive functions of preschool children. The research method employed a quasi-experimental design with pre-test, post-test, one-month follow-up, and a control group. The population consisted of five to six-year-old children in the preschool stage in District One of Tehran during the academic year 2021-2022. The sample size was selected based on Cohen's table with an effect size of 0.5 and a test power of 0.8, equaling 15 participants for each group. 30 children who met the entry criteria were identified and randomly replaced in two control and experimental groups. Participants completed such computer-based tests as Hungry Donkey Task, Tower of Hanoi, Continuous Performance Test, and N-Back Spatial Working Memory. During this period, the control group followed their normal daily schedule. Data was analyzed using mixed analysis of variance. The results indicated that the creativity training program significantly influenced decision-making, problem-solving, continuous attention, and spatial working memory. It is suggested that child psychologists and people dealing with preschool children use creativity training to enhance executive functions in preschool children.Keywords: Creativity training, Executive functions, Preschool children.

The present study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of cognitive rehabilitation on the executive functions (behavioral and cognitive regulation) of students with specific learning disorder. The research method was experimental with a pre-test-post-test design and a control group. The statistical population of the research was made up of all the students with specific learning disorder who referred to the learning disorders center of Ardabil in the academic year of 2021-2022, from which 40 students were selected using the available sampling method. Then, they were randomly replaced in the experimental group (20 participants) and the control group (20 participants). The experimental group was exposed to cognitive rehabilitation intervention for 11 sessions. To collect data, the behavioral rating questionnaire of Gioia et al. (2000) was used. The data were analyzed through the analysis of covariance statistical test. The findings showed that cognitive rehabilitation intervention improved executive functions (behavioral and cognitive regulation) in students with specific learning disorder of the experimental group (P<0.01). Considering the effect of cognitive rehabilitation intervention in students with special learning disorder, schools and counseling centers can use this type of treatment in working with these children to improve their executive functions (behavioral and cognitive regulation).

The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of metacognitive learning strategies in working memory among university students. This quasi-experimental research adopted a pretest-posttest control group design with follow-up. The statistical population included 268 students at Applied Sciences and Technology University in Tehran in 2022. The convenience sampling method was employed to select 30 students randomly assigned to two groups with 15 participants, i.e., the metacognitive training (experimental) and the control groups. The experimental group received 10 sessions of metacognitive strategy training based on the protocol of Wells (2011). Daneman and Carpenter's (1980) working memory test was conducted to collect data which were then analyzed using the repeated measures analysis of variance in SPSS. According to the findings, the pretest mean scores of the experimental group for storage and processing differed significantly from those of the posttest and follow-up stages (p<0.01). Furthermore, in terms of information storage and processing, there was a statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the experimental group and those of the control group (p<0.05). Thus, it can be stated that metacognitive learning strategies had a positive effect on improving the working memory of university students. University instructors can enhance students’ learning by creating conducive conditions for acquiring metacognitive strategies and fostering an engaging and appropriate educational environment.

Educational self-efficacy and its relationship with learners' different psychological traits can have a tremendous effect on the success or failure of the students. Thus, the present research sought to investigate whether academic self-efficacy has an effect on the students' stress derived from the education expectations based on such mediating factor as the difficulty of emotion regulation. The research method was descriptive-correlational based on structural equations. The statistical population consisted of all 800 junior female high-school students, 9th grade, from 16 State schools in the third district of Tehran. To decide on the sample size according to the number of observed variables, assigning a coefficient of 25 for each (7 variables in the model), and taking the possibility of incomplete questionnaires into account, 200 people were chosen by cluster sampling method. The data were gathered using three questionnaires: self-efficacy (Jinks & Morgan, 1999), difficulty in emotion regulation (Gross & John, 2003), and educational expectation (Ang & Huan, 2006). Using the structural equation modelling, the data analysis revealed that educational self-efficacy and difficulty in emotion regulation had a direct and significant effect on the stress caused by educational expectations. Also, an indirect effect of educational self-efficacy with the mediation of difficulty in emotion regulation was captured and the research model was revealed to predict 63% of the stress variable due to educational expectations. The study revealed the importance of cognitive factors in explaining the stress caused by academic expectations.