چكيده لاتين
Every year, many teachers encounter students who, despite having natural intelligence, perform poorly academically and cannot continue their education alongside their peers without special education. Specific learning disabilities have negative effects on various aspects of studentsʹ lives, including academic, social problems, and reduced self-confidence. Early identification of these disabilities and providing appropriate educational and therapeutic programs is essential. The lack of indigenous research in this area in Iran may hinder the effectiveness of global strategies. This research aims to advance knowledge in the field of multimedia learning environments and propose solutions for improving the situation of students with specific learning disabilities. The objective of this study was to design and validate a multimedia learning environment model and examine its effectiveness on neuropsychological skills, academic self-efficacy, academic engagement, academic norm-breaking, and academic performance of students with specific learning disabilities. This research is a mixed-methods study (qualitative and quantitative). The qualitative section involved designing an educational package for the multimedia learning environment model, while the quantitative section employed a quasi-experimental design with a pre-test, post-test, control group, and follow-up session. The qualitative sample included a review of all Persian and English texts from 2010 to 2021 and 1390 to 1400, related to multimedia learning environments, special needs students, and students with specific learning disabilities. The quantitative sample consisted of all children with specific learning disabilities in grades 3 and 4 during the 2021-2022 school year, with 30 students selected via convenience sampling and randomly divided into two 15-person groups (experimental and control). Participants completed the Conners Neuropsychological Skills Test (2004), Nouri et al.ʹs Academic Self-Efficacy Scale (2015), Clark et al.ʹs Academic Norm-breaking Scale (2015), and Rieweʹs Academic Engagement Scale (2013) for the pre-test. The educational package included 20 educational animations and 59 exercises for grade 3, and 15 educational animations and 64 exercises for grade 4. The content validity of the package was reviewed and approved by 10 specialists. The experimental group received 8 sessions of 45 to 60 minutes each, while the control group did not receive any training. Data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA via SPSS-24 software.
The results indicated that the mean neuropsychological skills in the post-test and follow-up phases significantly decreased compared to the pre-test phase, while academic self-efficacy increased significantly. Moreover, the multimedia learning environment package significantly improved academic engagement and academic norm-breaking (p<0.001).
Based on these findings, the educational package developed for neuropsychological skills, academic self-efficacy, academic engagement, academic norm-breaking, and academic performance was adequate and effectively improved neuropsychological skills, academic norm-breaking, academic self-efficacy, academic engagement, and academic performance of students with specific learning disabilities. The impact was sustained even two months after the intervention. Overall, the results show that multimedia learning environments have significant positive effects on cognitive skills, academic engagement, academic self-efficacy, academic norm-breaking, and academic performance of students with specific learning disabilities. Therefore, the use of these environments can significantly improve academic performance and foster social and academic skills development. These findings also highlight the importance of integrating new technologies into the educational process, particularly for students with special needs.
