Participatory learning

Photovoice is a participatory action research method which aims to enable students to create compelling visual representations and identify the local social issues.  This paper attempted to investigate the impact of photovoice as an innovative method on the levels of reflection manifested in EFL learners' narratives. To this end, a convenience sample of 48 Iranian intermediate EFL learners including 17 males and 31 females, learning English in two institutes located in Isfahan, Iran, were chosen. Before research implementation, the participants were provided with comprehensive photovoice guidance and workshop. The learners had to present their photos and narratives during a semester which took about two months. The collected data include 237 photographs and 48 essays which were learners' critical reflection on the photos. Then, the levels of reflection in their narratives were measured by Kember (2008) and Ryan and Ryan's (2012) frameworks. According to the results, poverty and air pollution were the most prominent social concerns captured by the participants. Furthermore, photovoice incredibly fostered Iranian EFL learners' reflection, and they all had positive attitudes toward participatory learning. This study could have pedagogical implications for the learners and practitioners in the field of SLA. They can employ innovative methods such as photovoice as a participatory learning tool to improve critical reflection.

Purpose: Learning is an important factor in life on which the survival and success of organizations depends. The purpose of this survey study is to investigate the causal relationships between the effective factors of participatory learning in primary schools in Bandar Abbas, Iran. The research is applied in terms of purpose.  Methodology: The participants of the study consisted of 35 experts who were selected by purposive sampling. A researcher-made pairwise comparison questionnaire consisting of 5 influential factors of student, teacher, school principal, school atmosphere, and curriculum was used to collect data. The collected data were analyzed by DEMATEL technique.  Findings: The results of the analysis based on ranking showed teacher factor at the top of ranking following with the student factor in the second rank; the third rank belonged to the school atmosphere factor, the curriculum factor was ranked fourth; the principal factor fifth. The results also showed that the teacher factor (R+J=23.91; R-J=0.35) had the most interaction (impact / influence) and then respectively, the student (R+J=23.87; R-J=-0.35), the school atmosphere (R+J=23.85; R-J=1.00), the curriculum (R+J=22.88; R-J=-0.71), and, the principal factors (R+J=22.53; R-J=-0.30) considered the most interacting of all. The school atmosphere (R=12.42) was the most influential factor on the other factors, then the teacher (R=12.13) was the next influential factor, which according to the R-J value of these two influential factors are pure. The most influential factors were the curriculum, the student and the principal, respectively.  Conclusion: According to the results, the content of textbooks should be written and compiled with a special focus on this method of teaching and learning. Also, new determining scales of the correct performance of participatory learning should be developed and used.