Speaker
Description
Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) have become essential in the development of the country in all its facets. It has been observed over the past few years that students entering university for degree studies in their respective fields experience considerable level of difficulty. Inadequate understanding of basic mathematics and physics concepts has been identified as a critical deficiency characterizing the performance of SET first year students. As a norm, the intake is usually based on Grade 12 results. Admission to mainstream (three year) programme or a four year extended programme is determined on the basis of M-Scores by various respective institutions. Analysis of students’ performance in the four year programme at the University of Johannesburg painted a bleak picture and this led to the introduction of the Foundation Provision Programme (PFP) as a precursor to the normal first year curriculum. This programme serves to adequately develop the basic or foundational competencies necessary for students to embark on successful first year physics studies and beyond. The sample in this study comprised a group of freshmen from Grade 12 registered for various degrees in Science , Engineering and Optometry. All these groups receive physics tuition in one lecture class. The Foundation Provision Programme was implemented for the first time at the University of Johannesburg in 2010 and the results obtained were compared to the results of students’ performance obtained from previous years.
| Level (Hons, MSc, <br> PhD, other)? | Other |
|---|---|
| Consider for a student <br> award (Yes / No)? | No |
| Would you like to <br> submit a short paper <br> for the Conference <br> Proceedings (Yes / No)? | Yes |
