Comparing barriers to using learning resources among Iranian University students and instructors

AbstractThe current research aimed to study barriers of using learning resources among Iranian university students and instructors. Participants included fifty university instructors (38 males,12 females) and 300 students 156 males, 144 females) who were randomly selected from university students and instructors of Kermanshah Azad University.Two researcher-made questionnaires were used. Results showed there was a significant difference between learning resources students and instructors used and the printed resources had the highest frequency of use among the sample, and the audio-visual tools had the lowest frequency of use

Volume 5 #2 Full Issue

Volume 5 #2 Full Issu

MAXIMIZING TECHNOLOGY ACCEPTANCE MODEL (TAM) IN ASSESSING THE USE OF ICT TO PROMOTE DISTANCE EDUCATION IN PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES IN THE ASHANTI REGION, GHANA

The study investigated maximizing Technology Acceptance Model in accessing the attitude of rural farmers using ICT tools in farming to enhance productivity. Using a positivist philosophical perspective, this study adopted the survey research design to respectively 210 registered level 300 distance education students of both universities pursuing Business Administration from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and the Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development (AAMUSTED). The study employed questionnaires as a data collection tool. Findings revealed that ICTs were useful for both institutions giving them some sort of autonomy for students in their education, inducing presentation, demonstration, interaction, and collaboration. Some of the challenges the distance students faced were the limited ICT facilities and services, and technical hitches, among others. The study recommended that these universities should invest in contemporary ICT infrastructure to aid the new generation of distance students

Clinical learning environments (actual and expected): Perceptions of Iran University of Medical Sciences nursing students

Background: Educational clinical environment has an important role in nursing students' learning. Any difference between actual and expected clinical environment will decrease nursing students' interest in clinical environments and has a negative correlation with their clinical performance. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study is an attempt to compare nursing students' perception of the actual and expected status of clinical environments in medical-surgical wards. Participants of the study were 127 bachelor nursing students of Iran University of Medical Sciences in the internship period. Data gathering instruments were a demographic questionnaire (including sex, age, and grade point average), and the Clinical Learning Environment Inventory (CLEI) originally developed by Professor Chan (2001), in which its modified Farsi version (Actual and Preferred forms) consisting 42 items, 6 scales and 7 items per scale was used. Descriptive and inferential statistics (t-test, paired t-test, ANOVA) were used for data analysis through SPSS version 16. Results: The results indicated that there were significant differences between the preferred and actual form in all six scales. In other word, comparing with the actual form, the mean scores of all items in the preferred form were higher. The maximum mean difference was in innovation and the highest mean difference was in involvement scale. Conclusion: It is concluded that nursing students do not have a positive perception of their actual clinical teaching environment and this perception is significantly different from their perception of their expected environment

ENGLISH FOREIGN LANGUAGE (EFL) INSTRUCTORS’ AND TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS TOWARDS THE INTEGRATION OF INTERNET-ASSISTED LANGUAGE TEACHING (IALT) INTO EFL INSTRUCTION

Although internet-assisted language teaching (IALT) has been recognised by the rapid progress of internet, there is a lack of published studies concerning the perceptions and perspectives of English Foreign Language (EFL) teachers on the integration of the internet into language learning and teaching. This study compares the differences between EFL university instructors’ perceptions and state and private school EFL teachers’ perceptions, towards the integration of internet-assisted language teaching (IALT) into EFL instruction. 82 participants took part in the survey and responded to the questions about their perceptions towards integrating internet-assisted language learning into EFL instruction, what types of internet resources they use to enhance language learning, and what kind of barriers prevent the use of the internet in EFL classes. A mixed-method approach, quantitative and qualitative, was administered in this study. The quantitative part of the research is a questionnaire with two sections, and the qualitative part is an open-ended questionnaire. Both quantitative and qualitative results demonstrate that although both instructors and teachers showed positive attitude towards IALT, the internet activities they used in the classroom were limited, and there were some barriers against internet use in the language classroom, such as limited time, limited computer facilities and certain technical problems

A Consideration of Cooperative Learning to Enhance Pre-service Teachers’ Achievement in Tertiary English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Classrooms in Thailand

Cooperative learning has become a popular instructional practice around the world. It requires students working together in small groups to help support each other in maximising their own learning as well as that of others to accomplish a shared goal. A cooperative learning method, especially, Student Teams Achievement Divisions (STAD) developed by Slavin (1982) was implemented in the study. The study investigated the effectiveness of cooperative learning to enhance the English achievement of EFL (English as a foreign language) students in tertiary teacher education in Thailand. It also examined participants’ attitudes towards cooperative learning. The study began with a structured review of existing empirical studies to establish whether STAD could be a promising method to use in developing English proficiency in EFL and ESL (English as a second language) contexts. The review also helped identify the challenges and barriers to implementing the method and informed the primary research in terms of achievement tests, instructor training, time allowance for team study and material preparation. The review and synthesis of 28 studies revealed several beneficial suggestions regarding cooperative learning implementation in normal educational settings. However, the credibility of the overall evidence was weak, with most studies involving key methodological flaws. To examine the effectiveness of the method, a cluster randomised controlled trial (RCT) at the university level was used. The participants were 13 instructors and 614 students from 13 universities (forming 13 clusters). A total of eight universities that agreed to participate in the intervention were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups with four universities in each group. Another five universities agreed to complete the pre-test and post-test and are described in this thesis as an additional comparison group. The participating instructors were 13 Thai university instructors of English language from 13 Rajabhat Universities in Thailand. Their students were first-year pre-service teachers who were majoring in English in the Faculty of Education. The trial was carried out in one term consisting of 16 class sessions. The research instruments consisted of two parallel standardised English achievement tests, two attitude questionnaires (teacher and student) and classroom observations with ad hoc interviews. The results showed that the use of cooperative learning in tertiary EFL classrooms in Thailand is feasible. In terms of attitudes, both instructors and students were generally positive towards cooperative learning and supported its activities. Students in the treatment group did slightly better (ES = +0.09) when compared to all comparator groups. However, when considering the randomised experimental and control groups, the control group improved their post-test score (+0.26) while the experimental group declined (-0.20). Overall, cooperative learning showed no clear benefit for students’ English language achievement. The process evaluation revealed the key factors that facilitated the implementation were teacher training and support, preparation and availability of teaching resources and materials, teachers’ positive attitudes and the duration of cooperative learning instruction. Some barriers were also found, including students’ negative attitudes, inappropriate classroom settings and facilities, and instructors’ workload. Unfortunately, since the study was carried out during the COVID-19 pandemic, none of the universities were able to complete the course of 16 classes as planned. The number of classes students could meet in their normal classroom conditions was approximately 8 to 12. Different modes of lesson delivery (face-to-face, online and hybrid) were also reported. A replication of the study is needed for a more accurate assessment of the STAD method. Both the structured review and the cluster RCT suggest no strong evidence that the cooperative learning method, namely STAD, led to improved pre-service teachers’ English language achievement in Thailand. However, this does not necessarily mean the method does not work. The lack of impact might be due to the challenges faced in the delivery of the intervention during the pandemic. This was compounded by the lack of complete randomisation used in the study. It is, therefore, difficult to draw more definite conclusions about the effectiveness of STAD. It might be wise to conduct further robust evaluations involving a large number of educational institutions before any considerable investment can be made to introduce this method in higher education institutions in Thailand. In the meantime, there may be other approaches with a more promising evidence base which may enhance students’ English language achievement

Assessment of Perceived Sources, Consequences and Coping Mechanisms of Stress among Wolkite University First Year Regular Students: A Descriptive Survey Study

A number of studies have been carried out on sources of stress focusing on general prevalence rather than specific dimensions of the various sources of stress and their consequences along with coping mechanisms. Thus, the objective of this study was to assess perceived sources, consequences and stress coping mechanisms among first year regular undergraduate students’ of Wolkite University. Three hundred and twenty nine (329) first year students were selected from all colleges using multi-stage stratified sampling techniques. A structured questionnaire consisting of items on various dimensions of sources of stress, consequences and coping mechanisms were administered. The finding explicate that freshmen students in Wolkite University had experienced all the major forms of sources of stress mainly intrapersonal sources than academic, interpersonal and environmental sources respectively. The independent t-test analyses in terms of gender indicated that female freshmen studentsare more prone to all forms of such sources of stress, chiefly of intrapersonal sources of stress with (M = 3.95, SD = .26), t (287) = -16.71, p < 0.05 as compared to their male counterparts. Psychological, academic, social, physical and health related negative consequences of stresses were some commonly revealed ones. Active problem coping followed by active emotional coping approach was the most applied one to handle stress and there was significant gender differences in utilizing coping strategies in which female students employed less active problem and active emotional focused coping strategies than male students (M=2.93, SD =.55), t (287) = 13.37, p < 0.05 and (M = 2.51, SD = .48), t (287) 16.89, p < 0.05 respectively. Moreover in this study, a significant negative correlations were found between all forms of perceived sources of stress (intrapersonal, academic, interpersonal and environmental), and active problem coping style and active emotional coping style while passive problem coping style and passive emotional coping style found to be positively correlated to sources of stress. Female students have experienced all major forms of perceived sources of stress with its damaging effects and used more passive problem and emotional coping mechanisms. Hence, university officials, student’s counselors and policy makers have to make conducive learning environment in the University to curb difficulties first year students face difficulties in their academic, social, health and psychological wellbeing. Keywords: consequences of stress, coping mechanisms, freshmen students, perceived sources of stress

A Systematic Review: Incorporating Social Media Tools Into Language Learning

This study highlights a segment of a study that explores the incorporating the social media tools into language learning. These social media tools such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram...etc. have become such an intriguing social media that there is a growing need among educationalists, learners, and administrators to explore their impact and effectiveness in the field of language learning. Objective: An updated systematic review was carried out of research studies looking at the incorporating of social media into language learning. Methods: We conducted a systematic literature review on empirical research regarding the incorporating and effectiveness of social media into language learning. The studies we included met some specific criteria as well as collected from different databases. Besides that, the study used the CASP checklist and the guidelines set by PRISMA for choosing the eligible studies that related to the systematic review purpose. The data were extracted, and results were categorized into four themes then summarized using a narrative. Results: Initially, a total of 1,085 articles were identified from which 21 were included in the study. From these articles four, themes were applied as the following: the first them is the studies numbers with the publication year which showed that using social media into language learning become more popular around the years between 2014 till 2016. The second them is social media tools with language skills which showed the variety of using social media tools such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and WhatsApp among the language skills. The third them identified the most methods that used in different studies to be approved the use of social media into language learning. So, it was apparent that experimental study with the pre-test and post-test design was most used in the studies. The last them is the effectiveness of using social media in language learning which approved that using social media was effective in most studies for improving different language skills. Conclusion: Our review provides insights into the emerging utilization of social media in language learning. In particular, it identifies types of social media tools that used the most to improve the language skills as well as the effects of such use, which may differ between skill to skill. Accordingly, our results framework and propositions can serve to guide future research, and they also have practical implications for language learning and developing the design instruction. Key Words: Social media, Language learning, Systematic review, Language skill

Canadian and Iranian graduate students' conceptions of critical thinking: A comparative study

This qualitative study compares Canadian and Iranian students’ conceptions of critical thinking during their graduate studies in Canada. Critical thinking is an essential skill in higher education that enables students to have the art of making reasoned judgements from their observation and experimentation. The present narrative inquiry in the light of open-ended interviews describes the lived experiences of eight students: four Canadian and four Iranian, from different master’s programs at a public mid-sized university in British Columbia province to examine their experiences and notions of critical thinking during their studies. The study’s findings indicated that while all Canadian participants had a reasonable perception of critical thinking, some Iranian contributors required knowledge to build their critical thinking conceptualization. In addition to different cultural and educational backgrounds, content knowledge, instructors’ competence, and teaching methods played vital roles in influencing the cultivation and development of critical thinking among both groups of students. The results recommend the need to re-examine the curriculum and ways instructors can facilitate critical thinking among Canadian and Iranian students.critical thinkingCanadian studentsIranian studentsculturenarrative inquirycomparative stud

An empirical study on research materials among colleague students

The goal of the present research is to identify appropriate methods for developing a study among students who attend educational department for different universities located in city of Tehran, Iran. We study different factors influencing students on development of methods for their studies. The primary method of research is questionnaire and its reliability identified by use of Cronbach's alpha, calculated as 0.905 and its validity defined by content method. To analyze information we use deductive statistical, t-student and ANOVA tests using SPSS 19 software. Results show that management and education of school based on development of methods for study and research is not function of gender, the education of level, and their field of study and it only follows their place of service. The results also indicate that student's conditions of study about their course are proper while their condition about the pleasure study and research is not favorable