Finding the Link Between Iranian EFL Teacher Motivation and Engagement via Ant Colony Optimization Algorithm and...

Teacher motivation is considred as one of the most decisive factorts infulencing teacher functioing as well as students' achievement. Many variable can develop teacher motoivation. In this study, it is presumed that teacher engagement, comprising three facets of emotional, behavioral, and cognitive influence teacher motivation. To examine this hypothesis, this study takes the initiative to utiliuze an innovative artificial intelliengce (AI)-inspired approach called Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) technique. ACO is an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm originating from natural phenomena. The concept originates from biology and physics and specifically from ants' movements. ACO has the ability to find the connections between inputs and outputs, and it can find the most influencing inputs. Motivation was the output of the study, and the inputs were three different engagement factors. Based on the results, ACO reached a high R-value meaning that it could predict the output with a high accuracy. The findings of this study substantiate the wide-ranging and multifacsted potentials of AI, in particular ACO, in studying and predicting human functioning in academic settings.