Iranian Universities

With the abrupt emergence and development of the COVID-19 pandemic, face-to-face classes have been replaced with online classes (OCs) on an unprecedented scale in Iran. To improve the quality of OCs, it is quite essential to examine to what extent students are satisfied with them. With this aim, the current mixed-methods study purported to examine university students’ learning satisfaction with OCs at Ayatollah Borujerdi University. For the quantitative part, a total of 509 university students, including males (N=34) and females (N=475) filled out a modified version of the Satisfaction with Online Classes Survey (SWOCS) developed and validated by Bolliger and Martindale (2004). For the qualitative part, a sample of 20 students, consisting of males (N=9) and females (N=11) completed a reflective written statement disclosing their perceptions of OCs. Findings evidenced that the participants are moderately satisfied with OCs. In addition, the results of Friedman test documented that all the sub-factors of SWOCS played an important role in the participants’ learning satisfaction with OCs. Complementary with the quantitative findings, the qualitative results yielded five overarching themes: “instructors are a critical factor for students’ learning satisfaction’, ‘familiarity with technology affects students’ learning satisfaction’, ‘course set-up shapes students’ learning satisfaction’, ‘interactions with others are vital’, and ‘students’ learning satisfaction is closely correlated with outcomes’ Finally, a range of implications is proposed for different stakeholders.

AbstractA paradigm shift in education has led to implementing learner-centered pedagogy (LCP) which considers learners as the central element of the learning process, and it is progressively being encouraged in higher education. Examining the implementation of learner-centered pedagogy in English language teaching (ELT) context is important. While this paradigm of teaching has long been introduced to education in general and language teaching in particular, it is claimed that scant attention has been given to its implementation in Iranian EFL context. The present study was to compare the implementation of learner-centered pedagogy in assessment procedures at different Iranian universities. Therefore, using convenience sampling technique, 378 TEFL students from both genders and different ages (mostly 20 to 35 years old) were selected. To gather data, a reliable, valid researcher made LCP questionnaire was distributed among the participants. Gathered data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA. The results of the data analysis demonstrated that there was a significant difference between the performance of state university and Islamic Azad and non-state university, while no significant difference was observed between the performance of Islamic Azad and non-state university students. The outcomes can provide insights into considering learner-centered pedagogy in teaching to improve teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) program. Moreover, they can be practical for teachers, material developers, as well as syllabus designers.