Mediated Learning Experience in Iranian EFL Settings: Focusing on Levels of Teaching and Pedagogical Conceptions
Abstract
The aim of the study was to examine the Iranian learning settings according to the 12 features of the Mediated Learning Experience proposed by Feuerstein (1990). The study also aimed at  inspecting the impact of the level being taught and teacher’s pedagogical conception on their mediation performance. To this end, the MLE questionnaire was applied to investigate Iranian EFL teachers’ mediation performance in the language learning settings. The results specified that their act of mediation needed more deliberation in some of the MLE parameters more than the others, namely mediation for challenge, goal-setting, awareness of change, reciprocity, and transcendence. As for the impact of teacher’s pedagogical conception of teaching on their mediation of learning, the results showed that there was only a moderate positive influence on their mediation practice. Nonetheless, the study concluded that the participants’ mediation performance is not affected by the level they are teaching.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Ahmadi Safa, M., & Rozati, F. (2017). The impact of scaffolding and nonscaffolding strategies on the EFL learners' listening comprehension development. The Journal of Educational Research, 110(5), 447-456.
Blagg, N. (1991). Can we teach intelligence? A comprehensive evaluation of Feuerstein's Instrumental Enrichment Program. Psychology Press.
Brophy, J. (1986). Teacher influences on student achievement. American psychologist, 41(10), 1069.
Cheng, X. (2011). Knowledge of Mediation and Its Implementation among Secondary School EFL Teachers in China. Theory & Practice in Language Studies, 1(9).
Xiongyong, C. (2012). Cognition of mediation among secondary school EFL teachers in China. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 3(14), 233-245.
Cheng, X., & Cheng, H. (2012). Review of mediation from the social constructivist perspective and its implications for secondary school EFL classrooms in China. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 2(4), 808.
Daftarifard, P., & Birjandi, P. (2017). Impact of mediation types on Iranian EFL learners’ reading comprehension strategies. Journal of Research in Applied Linguistics, 8(1), 22-45.
Davis, H., & Andrzejewski, C. (2009, December 23). Teacher Beliefs. Retrieved April
, from http://www.education.com/reference/article/teacher-beliefs/
Dewey, J. (1966). Democracy and education (1916). Jo Ann Boydston (Ed.). The Middle Works of John Dewey, 9, 1899-1924.
Duckworth, E. (2006). The having of wonderful ideas and other essays on teaching and learning. Teachers College Press.
Engeström, Y. (1999). Activity theory and individual and social transformation. In Y. Engeström, R. Miettinen, & R.-L. Punamäki (Eds.), Learning in doing: Social, cognitive, and computational perspectives. Perspectives on activity theory (p. 19–38). Cambridge University Press.
Feuerstein, T. (1990). The theory of structural cognitive modifiability. In Presseisen, BZ, Sternberg, RJ, Fisher, KW, Knight, CC & Feuerstein, R.(Eds.) Learning and thinking styles: classroom interaction. Washington, DC: National Education Association. pp 68-134.
Gallus Jr., W. A., Yarger, D. N., & Herzmann, D. E. (2000, September 9). An Interactive Severe Weather activity to motivate student learning. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 81, pp. 2205-2212.
Glasersfeld, E. Von (1995). Sensory experience, abstraction, and teaching. In J. &.
Gale, Constructivism in education (pp. 369-384). New Jersey: Lawrence
Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
Hassaskhah, J. (2011). Feuerstein’s theory of mediation and its impact of EFL teachers’ sense of efficacy. Journal of English Language Teaching and Learning, 7.
Karaduman, H., & Gultekin, M. (2007). The Effect of Constructivist Learning Principles Based Learning Materials to Students' Attitudes, Success and Retention in Social Studies. Online Submission, 6(3).
Kellough, R. D. (Ed.). (1974). Developing Priorities and a Style: Selected Readings in Education for Teachers and Parents. Ardent Media.
Kohler, M. (2015). Teachers as mediators in the foreign language classroom (Vol. 27). Multilingual Matters.
Lantolf, J. P., & Poehner, M. E. (2014). Sociocultural theory and the pedagogical imperative in L2 education: Vygotskian praxis and the research/practice divide. Routledge.
Pass, S. (2007). When constructivists Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky were pedagogical collaborators: A viewpoint from a study of their communications. Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 20(3), 277-282.
Piaget, J. (1964). Development and learning. In R. E. Rockcastle, & R. E. Rockcastle
(Ed.), Piaget Rediscovered (pp. 7-20)
Presseisen, B. Z. (1990). Some possible answers: implications for schooling and practice. In Presseisen, BZ, Sternberg, RJ, Fisher, KW, Knight, CC & Feuerstein, R. (Eds.) Learning and thinking styles: classroom interaction. Washington, DC: National Education Association.
Mellati, M., Khademi, M., & Etela, P. (2015). Challenges of mediation theory and gender differences in Iranian EFL contexts. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 5(8), 1664.
Mitchell, R., Myles, F., & Marsden, E. (1998). Second language learning theories. Routledge.
Miller, D. (2011). Miller (1983) revisited: A reflection on EO research and some suggestions for the future. Entrepreneurship theory and practice, 35(5), 873-894. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6520.2011.00457.x
Naeini, J. (2014). On the Study of DA and SLA: Feuerstein’s MLE and EFL Learners’
Reading Comprehension. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 98, 1297- 1306.
Rivera, H. & Barboza, S. (2016). The co-construction of participation through oral mediation in the EFL classroom. Profile Issues in Teachers Professional Development, 18(1), 149-163.
Seng, A. S. H., Pou, L. K. H., & Tan, O. S. (Eds.). (2003). Mediated learning experience with children: Applications across contexts. McGraw-Hill.
Skuy, M. (1996). Mediated Learning in and Out of the Classroom. IRI/Skylight Training and Publishing, Inc., 2626 South Clearbrook Drive, Arlington Heights, IL 60005.
Turuk, M. C. (2008). The relevance and implications of Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory in the second language classroom. Arecls, 5(1), 244-262.
Tynjälä, P. (1999). Towards expert knowledge? A comparison between a constructivist and a traditional learning environment in the university. International journal of educational research, 31(5), 357-442.
Tahriri, A., & Rezaee-Manesh, N. (2015). The relationship between EFL instructors’
knowledge of mediation and their classroom practice. International Journal of
Research Studies in Language Learning, 4(2), 89-104.
Wertsch, J. V., del RÃo, P. E., & Alvarez, A. E. (1995). Sociocultural studies of mind. Cambridge University Press.
Williams, M., & Burden, R. L. (1997). Psychology for language teachers: a social
constructivist approach. Cambridge: Cambridge university press.
Yarger, D., Thomas, R., Boysen, P., & Marlino, M. (1999). Developing and implementing a constructivist learning environment: Translating theory into practice. Iowa City: Iowa State University. Retrieved December 12, 1999.
Zhao, G. L. (2015, January). Study on the Mediation of English Teachers in the
Students’ Autonomous Learning. International Journal of Humanities and
Social Science, 5(1), 184-200.
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
Copyright (c) 2021 Journal of Applied Linguistics and Language Research