مرجان معصومی فرد

Purpose: Since the prevalence of Covid-19 increased the use of e-learning and its dual importance in teaching methods, this study aimed to compare the effect of two teaching methods of brainstorming and group discussion by e-learning on learning level and interest in teamwork in social studies course. Methodology: This was an applied study in terms of purpose and semi-experimental with pre-test and post-test design in terms of implementation method. The study population was the third-grade elementary school students in district 20 of Tehran in the academic year of 2020-2021. The sample size was 60 students in two classes with 30 ones who were selected by available sampling method. One of the classes was considered as a teaching group with brainstorming method in a random way and the other class was considered as a teaching group with group discussion method. The teacher-made test of learning level in the social studies course and the teamwork interest questionnaire (Evans & Jarvis, 1986) were used to collect the data. Findings: The results of paired t-test showed that both methods of teaching brainstorming and group discussion by e-learning enhanced the level of learning and interest in teamwork in social studies course (P <0.001). The results of univariate analysis of covariance showed that the group discussion teaching method in comparison with the brainstorming teaching method enhanced the learning level and interest in teamwork in the social studies course (P <0.001). Conclusion: The results showed the effectiveness of both methods and the greater impact of group discussion teaching method compared to the brainstorming teaching method in both variables of learning level and interest in teamwork. Therefore, the use of group discussion teaching method should be prioritized to improve academic performance in social studies course.

Introduction: The purpose of this study is to identify MOOC ethical features of Courses & Online MOOC courses in higher education. Methods: This study was designed as embedded mixed model research to provide a better understanding of the research problem. Throughout this research, both the heuristic inquiry method and the questionnaire method were applied to obtain and analyze the data. At the primary stage, ethical features of Courses & Online MOOC courses were identified. The content analysis method was used for qualitative data, and for quantitative data, both weighted mean and Friedman test were used. The statistical population in the qualitative section of the study includes the electronic resources related to the research subject and, in the quantitative section, 60 distance education experts in the field of planning in virtual learning environments and virtual universities so that 36 of these experts were voluntarily selected as the study sample. Results: Content analysis results showed 4 dimensions and 16 criteria. The evaluation results of the experts also showed that interacting with the global network, the ease of online interactions with learners and other organizations, and the possibility of receiving electronic assignments or workbooks during the course, are regarded as the most important ethical characteristics of Courses online MOOC courses; security and privacy of individuals ought to be considered in their interactions, observance of the principles related to confidentiality with regards to the files or marks, with other participants through emails, chats, forums, etc.Conclusions: In these courses, the features of online courses and openness for enrollment are emphasized and predominant. Therefore, there is no need to get involved in new ethical features. Since the maximum current size of online classes is 60 students, various factors of these indicators such as learner agents, instructive organization, content, and teaching and learning environment ought to be accurately studied. Given that the capacity of learners may reach the limit of hundreds and thousands, the kind of considered ethics should be beyond the procedure implemented for online classes.

This study aimed to examine the effect of educational software on 3rd-grade elementary-school students’ mathematical problem-solving skill. This was a quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest, controlled study. The statistical population comprised all 3rd-grade elementary-school male students in District 4 of Karaj (Iran) in the academic year 2018-2019. A sample was selected via convenience sampling, and the participants were randomly assigned to two experimental and control groups (20 each). On pretest, two tests of “numerical analysis” and “attention and concentration” (Wechsler test) and a researcher-made problem-solving skill test were administered. Then, the experimental group received eight 40-minute sessions of software training, while the control group received the class’s routine education. Finally, both groups took the posttest. The data were analyzed via univariate analysis of covariance and independent samples t-test. After the experimental intervention, the two groups demonstrated a significant difference (p < 0.001) at three levels of “problem-solving speed”, “attention and concentration”, and “numerical analysis”. The two groups also showed a significant difference at the level of “problem-solving strategy identification” (p < 0.05). Accordingly, the role of educational media, and especially educational software, can be highlighted in promoting students’ learning and mathematical problem-solving skill.