نوع مقاله : مقاله پژوهشی

نویسندگان

• محدثه اسناوندی ¹
• رحیم مرادی ²
• محسن باقری ³

¹ کارشناسی ارشد علوم تربیتی، دانشگاه اراک، اراک، ایران

² دانشیار تکنولوژی آموزشی دانشگاه اراک

³ 2 Associate Professor, Department of Educational Sciences, Arak University, Arak, Iran

چکیده

پیشینه و اهداف: در اکوسیستم‌های یادگیری دیجیتال، مدیریت بهینه منابع ذهنی یا اقتصاد شناختی دانش‌آموزان، به ضرورتی بنیادین در طراحی آموزشی تبدیل شده است. پژوهش حاضر با هدف واکاوی و مقایسه اثربخشی دو پارادایم نوین آموزشی، یعنی راهبرد کلاس معکوس و پداگوژی کپسولی (یادگیری خرد)، بر مدیریت بار شناختی دانش‌آموزان پایه دوم ابتدایی در درس علوم تجربی انجام شد.
روش‌ها‌: این مطالعه از نوع نیمه‌آزمایشی با طرح پیش‌آزمون-پس‌آزمون و گروه کنترل بود. جامعه آماری شامل تمامی دانش‌آموزان دختر پایه دوم ابتدایی شهر اراک در سال تحصیلی ۱۴۰۳-۱۴۰۲ تشکیل داد که از میان آن‌ها، ۱۰۵ دانش‌آموز به روش نمونه‌گیری در دسترس انتخاب و به‌طور تصادفی در دو گروه آزمایش (کلاس معکوس و پداگوژی کپسولی) و یک گروه کنترل (هر گروه ۳۵ نفر) جایدهی شدند. ابزار پژوهش، پرسشنامه استاندارد بار شناختی پاس (۱۹۹۴) بود. تحلیل داده‌ها با استفاده از تحلیل کوواریانس (ANCOVA) در نرم‌افزار SPSS صورت گرفت.
یافته‌ها: نتایج نشان داد که هر دو راهبرد نوین به‌طور معناداری باعث کاهش بار شناختی در مقایسه با آموزش سنتی شدند. (p<0.01) یافته‌های تفصیلی حاکی از آن بود که پداگوژی کپسولی به دلیل قطعه‌بندی محتوا، در کاهش بار شناختی بیرونی نسبت به کلاس معکوس برتری معناداری دارد. همچنین، راهبرد کلاس معکوس در تعدیل بار شناختی درونی در تکالیف پیچیده اثربخش بود، اما ثبات و پایداری کاهش بار ذهنی در گروه پداگوژی کپسولی در طول زمان بیشتر گزارش شد.
نتیجه‌گیری: یافته‌ها مؤید آن است که پداگوژی کپسولی با تحقق عینی مفهوم اقتصاد شناختی، کارایی ذهنی دانش‌آموزان را در درس علوم بهبود می‌بخشد. این راهبرد با کاهش فشار بر حافظه فعال، بستری برای یادگیری عمیق‌تر فراهم می‌کند. بر این اساس، توصیه می‌شود طراحان آموزشی و معلمان با گذار از الگوهای حجیم، از پداگوژی کپسولی برای بهینه‌سازی ظرفیت‌های شناختی دانش‌آموزان در مقطع ابتدایی بهره گیرند.
 

چکیده تصویری

کلیدواژه‌ها

• پارادایم‌های نوین آموزشی
• اکوسیستم یادگیری دیجیتال
• کلاس معکوس
• پداگوژی کپسولی
• بهینه سازی بارشناختی

عنوان مقاله [English]

Representing Cognitive Economy in Modern Educational Paradigms: A Comparative Study of Flipped Classroom Strategy and Capsule Pedagogy in Primary Education

نویسندگان [English]

• Mohadese Asnavandi ¹
• Rahim Moradi ²
• mohsen bagheri ³

¹ M.A. in Educational Sciences, Arak University, Arak, Iran

² Associate Professor of Educational Technology, University of Arak

³ 2 Associate Professor, Department of Educational Sciences, Arak University, Arak, Iran

چکیده [English]

Background and Objectives: In contemporary educational paradigms, managing learners' mental resources, conceptualized as "Cognitive Economy", has become a central concern for instructional designers. As educational systems move from memory-oriented approaches toward transformative models, optimizing students' limited working memory capacity emerged as a fundamental necessity. This imperative is reflected in Iran's Fundamental Reform Document of Education (FRDE), which emphasizes a shift from "teaching facts" to "meaningful understanding" and the intelligent use of modern technologies (Strategy 5-5). Despite such emphases, a gap persists between current instructional practices and the cognitive needs of "Generation Alpha," a generation exposed to massive digital information and vulnerable to cognitive overload (Noroozi et al., 2022). Traditional teaching methods, especially one-way transmission of information, have proven inadequate for ensuring deep learning and learner development, and the growing volume of content, limited class time, and declining motivation have intensified cognitive load (Fialho et al., 2024). In response, two emerging strategies in digital learning ecosystems have gained prominence: the "Flipped Classroom Strategy" and "Capsule Pedagogy" (Micro-learning). The flipped classroom restructures the time and place of learning by shifting initial content exposure outside the classroom (Hui et al., 2023), whereas Capsule Pedagogy distributes content into small, focused units that directly target extraneous cognitive load (Kohnke et al., 2024). Although each strategy has been studied independently, few studies have directly compared their effects on cognitive load—particularly among primary school students in Iran and in the Science curriculum. Accordingly, this study aimed to compare the effectiveness of the Flipped Classroom Strategy and Capsule Pedagogy on managing the cognitive load of second-grade primary school students in the Science curriculum.
Methods: Participants. This study employed a quasi-experimental pre-test post-test control group design. The statistical population consisted of all female second-grade primary school students in Arak city during the 2023–2024 academic year. Employing a convenience sampling method, the researchers selected Mohandes Abrishami board-governed school from which 105 students across three classes were randomly assigned to three groups (two experimental groups and one control group, 35 students each). Inclusion criteria included an informed consent of parents and students and the absence of diagnosed learning disabilities or attention deficits. The exclusion criterion was the willingness to withdraw at any stage of the study.
Instrument. The Paas and Van Merriënboer (1994) Standard Cognitive Load Scale was used to measure cognitive load. This instrument is a 9-point subjective scale designed to measure perceived mental effort during complex learning tasks. Its reliability was reported by the developers with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.90 (Paas & Van Merriënboer, 1994). The validity and reliability of this scale have also been confirmed in domestic studies (Sarmad, Bazargan, & Hejazi, 2008; Ghadiri et al., 2024). Given the developmental characteristics of second-grade students and the abstract nature of 9-point scales, a process of "developmental adaptation and visualization" was performed: the numerical scale was converted into a visual "cognitive thermometer" with a color continuum (light green to dark red), graphic symbols (emojis), and simplified child-friendly language. A pilot study on 15 students confirmed the face and content validity, and the Cronbach's alpha for the visualized version was 0.84.
Materials and Procedure. The intervention program was designed based on the theoretical framework of the flipped classroom and micro-learning, and on the principles of the second-grade Science textbook. Each experimental group received 8 sessions of 45 minutes (two sessions per week). In the flipped classroom group, the pre-class content included a 7-10-minute video or a 5–7 minute audio file with images or a brochure covering 2–4 related concepts, followed by interactive in-class activities. In the micro-learning group, content was presented in short, gamified, and interactive capsules (each 3–5 minutes, with only 1 main concept and at most 2 sub-concepts), delivered via mobile phones. The control group received the same content in 8 sessions through the school's conventional method. To control teacher effects, all sessions in all three groups were conducted by the first researcher, a certified teacher, using pre-determined lesson plans, identical content sequence, and equal teacher-student interaction time. A checklist was completed after each session to verify adherence to the protocol.
Data Analysis. Data were analyzed using univariate analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and the LSD post-hoc test in SPSS version 26. Normality was assessed with the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, homogeneity of variances with Levene's test, and homogeneity of regression slopes was confirmed.
Findings: The results indicated that both innovative strategies significantly reduced cognitive load compared to traditional instruction (p < 0.01). Detailed findings revealed that "Capsule Pedagogy" was significantly superior to the flipped classroom in reducing "extraneous cognitive load" due to its content chunking nature. While the flipped classroom strategy was effective in moderating "intrinsic cognitive load" during complex tasks, the stability and sustainability of reduced mental load over time were reported to be higher in the Capsule Pedagogy group. Table 1 presents the descriptive statistics of cognitive load in the pre-test and post-test of the three groups.
 
Table 1. Descriptive statistics of cognitive load in the pre-test and post-test of the three study groups (n = 35).
Group    Pre-test Mean    Pre-test SD    Post-test Mean    Post-test SD    Adjusted Mean
Flipped Classroom    25.94    3.72    22.48    3.95    22.36
Micro-learning    25.77    4.01    21.51    4.35    21.56
Control    25.74    4.08    24.62    4.44    24.66
Note. SD = Standard Deviation. The adjusted means are reported after controlling for the pre-test.
As shown in Table 1, the adjusted mean of the micro-learning group (21.56) was significantly lower than that of the flipped classroom group (22.36) and the control group (24.66). The ANCOVA results showed a significant difference among the three groups in cognitive load (F(2, 101) = 41.99, p < 0.01, η² = 0.45). The LSD post-hoc test revealed that both experimental groups had significantly lower adjusted means than the control group (p < 0.01), and the micro-learning group had a significantly lower adjusted mean than the flipped classroom group (p < 0.05).
Conclusion: The findings suggest that Capsule Pedagogy improves students' mental efficiency in science lessons by operationalizing the concept of "Cognitive Economy." By reducing excessive working memory load, this strategy provides a platform for deeper learning. Accordingly, it is recommended that instructional designers and teachers transition from over-extended instructional models to Capsule Pedagogy to optimize the cognitive capacities of primary school students.
 

کلیدواژه‌ها [English]

• Modern educational paradigms
• digital learning ecosystem
• flipped classroom
• capsule pedagogy
• cognitive load optimization