Document Type : Original Article (Quantified)

Authors

1 Doctoral student in the field of education management, Department of Educational Sciences, Rooden Branch, Islamic Azad University, Rooden, Iran

2 Assistant Professor, Department of Educational Sciences, Roudhen Branch, Islamic Azad University, Roudhen, Iran

Abstract

Abstract
The purpose of this research is to design the curriculum model of virtual schools in the second period of high school in Khaf city. The current research is applicable in terms of its purpose; and survey in terms of the research implementation method; and it is specifically based on structural equation modeling. The statistical population was made up of all the teachers working in the second period of high schools of Khaf city (Razavi Khorasan), numbering 260 people, of which 152 people were selected as a sample based on the Morgan-Kresji table; the sampling method is simple random due to having the names of the respondents available. The collection tool in this research is a researcher-made questionnaire. SPSS software was used to analyze data; and PLS software was used to design the final research model. The results showed that school curriculum design includes 6 components of curriculum goals, curriculum content, curriculum evaluation, curriculum learning-teaching flows, curriculum strategies, degree of curriculum fitness; and the results of model fit statistics show that the values obtained for each of the indicators suggest a very good fit of the model.
Extended abstract
Introduction
The main concern in today's education is not access to more information. In fact, one of the challenges of the students is to give meaning to the amount of content they are faced with and to absorb all the information in a targeted manner. Due to the explosion of information and the accompanying developments in communication, we need new approaches (Movahed Nasr & Jalili, 2018). In the classroom, teachers try to participate and interact with students and create an interactive environment with activities such as question and answer, encouraging students to think, feedback information to students, research and individual and group projects, creating an environment for discussion and exchange of opinions, seminars, and so forth. In the e-learning environment, there is also a need to create an interactive environment between students and teachers, and this will not be achieved unless social network services are used in the e-learning management system of schools. These services will effectively increase the interaction between students, teachers and administrators of schools across the country (Ahn et al, 2011; Ali et al, 2012).
Therefore, the researcher is trying to answer the main question: what is the design of the curriculum model of virtual schools in the second period of high school in Khaf city?
Theoretical Framework
Virtual education is an education sector that has allocated the most growth in the education industry today. Meanwhile, with the increasing use of new communication technologies, the importance of attention and discussion regarding the quality of educational services also increases. Although virtual education has created tremendous changes in the field of education, the nature of virtual education is such that it leads to the creation of new issues in the field of educational service quality (Samadi & Ashori, 2019).
Rezapor & Moharramzadeh (2021) investigated the formulation of the model of the effectiveness of the virtual educational program of physical education in schools (case study: the epidemic of Covid-19). The results showed that considering managerial requirements (planning, creativity, motivation, monitoring, feedback, evaluation), attitudinal requirements (society's attitude, families' attitude, students' attitude), support requirements (teachers' support, schools' support, family support, support of education and training, support of experts and heads of groups) and the requirements of the virtual teaching process (virtual training, virtual teaching tools, sports activities and proper nutrition at home, virtual sports competitions, virtual classroom management, principles of virtual teaching, plan sports) it is possible to develop an effective model for the virtual training program of the physical education lesson of schools in critical conditions such as the epidemic of covid 19. The findings of this research can be used as a model for the effective development of the virtual training program of the physical education lesson of schools.
Alipor et al, (2021) investigated the design of the components affecting the quality of electronic learning environments. Using content analysis, 29 subcategories were identified, and the components of the e-learning environment that were extracted in 7 dimensions using content analysis are: learner, teacher, curriculum approaches, teaching-learning process, content of education. physics of electronic learning environment and evaluation. Dependability was used to check the validity and reliability of the coding, which includes four criteria of believability (the degree of belief in the research findings), ability of certitude (the ability to identify where the data of a certain study came from), verifiability (the findings are actually and really data-based) and transferability (the results of a qualitative study can be transferred to another different environment).
Research methodology
This research is applicable in terms of purpose, and descriptive-survey type in terms of research implementation method. The statistical population was considered to be all male and female teachers of the second period of high schools in Khaf city. Therefore, first by referring to the Department of Education in Khaf city, it was determined that 260 male and female teachers were working in second period of high schools, of which 143 were male and 117 were female; due to having the names of the respondents available, the sampling method is simple random. According to Cochran's formula, a questionnaire prepared from the qualitative part of the research was distributed among 260 people in order to design the curriculum model of virtual schools in the second period of high schools of Khawf city. The data collection method is a combination of field and library methods. The data related to the theoretical foundations and literature review of this research were gathered through the study of documentary and library sources including articles, Persian and English related books. The questionnaire acquired from the qualitative part is used to gather the data related the research variable.
 
Research findings
SPSS software was used to check the research hypothesis, and then PLS software was used to design the final research model. The findings related to the design of the curriculum model of virtual schools in the second period of high school in Khaf city showed that the components of the flexibility of goals, the use of exploratory learning methods, need-orientation, diverse roles of the teacher, creating an interactive environment, content diversity of Curriculum, improvement of learning opportunity, and use of information technology all had a factor load above 0.50 and a significance level above 1.96, through which items exactly measured the variables predicted in the virtual school curriculum model design questionnaire in the second period of high school, so they had a high level of validity and the value of R2 (coefficient of determination) was equal to 0.999, the value of Q2 (predictive power of the model) was equal to 0.728 and the value of GOF (goodness of fit) was equal to 0.893. The design of the curriculum model of virtual schools in the second period of high school seemed appropriate and desirable.
Conclusion
The current research was conducted with the aim of designing the curriculum of virtual schools in the second period of high school in Khaf city. This finding is consistent with the research findings of Samadi & Ashouri (2018), Remroudi (2018), Nam et al (2020), Kathleen Huth et al (2020), and Detina and Kadiri (2018). In fact, it should be said that in the curriculum, the goals of the main pillar of teaching are the orientation of teaching and the presentation of appropriate content, and in a way, dividing the chart and the process of learning-teaching flows. In the virtual space, the design of the curriculum model of virtual schools is more diverse because multimedia content prevails in these schools. In these schools, the use of multimedia content such as PowerPoint, video, audio file provides the best basis for learning development. However, the goals of the school curriculum should be attractive for the learner, on the basis of attractiveness in the design of the curriculum model, more emphasis is put on diversity and flexibility; the variety of curriculum content can provide content with entertainment and attractive content. According to the results of the research, it is suggested that the goals of the curriculum be developed based on the updated learning resources and the students' needs; for example, the sources that have the most attractiveness, success and application in the field of students' learning should be paid attention. Considering the flexibility of the education environment in virtual schools, it is suggested that before formulating the goals, a general monitoring of the needs and interests of the students of the second period of high school should be done in each subject, so that the goals of the curriculum be determined according to the needs, interests, and abilities of the learner. The content of the courses in the curriculum should be designed and compiled in a combined manner, focusing on skill-oriented courses and appropriate to the native culture of the target region. It is suggested to use video files, audio files and PowerPoint as the basis of evaluation in the lessons that have a practical mode in the curriculum goals.

Keywords

Main Subjects

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