Conveners
Education
- Deena Naidoo (School of Physics, University of the Witwatersrand)
Education
- Case Rijsdijk (SAAO (retd))
Education
- Douglas Clerk (School of Physics, University of the Witwatersrand)
Education
- Kevindran Govender (South African Astronomical Observatory)
Education
- Sam Ramaila (University of Johannesburg)
Education
- Derek Fish (Unizul Science Centre)
Education: SG Meeting
- Sam Ramaila (University of Johannesburg)
Description
Physics Education
This study explores learners’ knowledge of measuring instruments (Ammeter and Voltmeter) in a direct current resistive circuit. It investigates learners’ understanding of how instruments should be connected and why they have to be connected in a particular way. Ammeter and voltmeter are used to determine the behavior of a circuit by indicating the readings of current and voltage,...
Mathematics is an essential tool in studying physics, i.e., it will be difficult to study Physics without the sound basics of Mathematics. It is even called the “language of physics” (Redish, 2005). Physicists blend conceptual physics with mathematical skills and use them to solve and interpret equations and graphs. For instance, in kinematics, different aspects from mathematics such as...
An Investigation of students’ expectations when they are accepted to study at the University of Pretoria, how they study for physics and their reactions after the first semester test. We find that most students are shocked after their first semester test, because they expected to obtain high marks and don’t, or the other way around.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the pre-knowledge of the Physics I students on vectors. The study was conducted on 234 Physics I students from the University of Limpopo (Medunsa campus). The sample was divided into four groups, where the first group (n = 119) did their grade 12 in 2010, the second group (n = 46) did their grade 12 prior 2010, the third group (n = 42) did...
A simple pinhole camera was used to demonstrate to students that light travels in a straight line. The one to one correspondence between a point on the object and a point on the image was used to explain why the image was upside down and reversed from left to right.
The investigation reflects on the causes of unsatisfactory students’ performance on the section involving forces during tests. It has been realized that more often than not students tend to be excited after undertaking a test on forces. However, subsequent feedback usually paints a different picture and this has become a worrying trend. The results of the investigation in this regard seem...
The preparedness of matriculants for university studies has been a subject of intense debate and interrogation at various levels of public discourse. In addition, the standardization of Grade 12 assessment marks in various subjects by the Quality Assurance Body (Umalusi) has of late become a highly contentious issue. It is in recognition of these considerations that we undertook to...
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...
Active learning techniques were used for the first time in the Statistical Physics module presented to third year students at the University of the Witwatersrand in the first semester of 2009. The reaction of the students, recorded in a formal Student Assessment of Lecturer Performance, administered by the Centre for Teaching and Learning Development at the University, was overwhelmingly...
This study examines the effect on the learning experiences of students of changes to the running of laboratory and tutorial sessions of the first year auxiliary physics course at the University of the Witwatersrand, between 2001 and 2010. This research is underpinned by the principles of indirect interactive instructional skills and experiential learning. Two concerns drove this study: the...
Lightning has in recent times wreaked havoc during the rainy season in several parts of South Africa and this prompted the physics community under the auspices of the South African Institute of Physics (SAIP) to devise meaningful strategies for promoting public awareness. In response to this call, first year physics students at the University of Johannesburg responded to a carefully...
In recent years student satisfaction surveys have become increasingly popular in universities. Whether this gain in popularity is because students themselves know best when they are learning, or whether it is because universities merely wish to ensure that they have satisfied customers, is still a matter of debate. Nevertheless, the importance of student satisfaction surveys in universities...
This is the second part of our study, where we are analysing the reasons and explanations behind each answer of each student. In the first part of our study (2010) using an open circuit (battery, single wire, resistive element) in which the resistive element (resistor, heating element, light bulb) and the words (“current’, “charge flow”) are inter-changed in an electrically equivalent...
The Faculty of Military Science of Stellenbosch University presents an Algebra-based Physics course to first year students. The practical component comprises of a range of experiments that differ significantly in characteristics. Questionnaires are yearly completed by the students to evaluate the theoretical and practical components of this course. This paper will explore some of the...
Traditional lecturing of Physics in a preaching pattern to a multitude stduent masses in a large lecture theatre, has not succeeded in attracting more number into Physics further than second year. University of Pretoria Physics Education Research Group (UPPERG) has introduced "Interactive-Inquiry Learning" Teaching where Masters and Doctoral students are guided to lecture groups of 40 BSc4Y...
Premature withdrawal from university due to academic failure has the potential to present problems to both students and educators. The demand from industry for a larger pool of science and engineering graduates in South Africa is in line with international norms. This state of affairs is compounded by a shrinking pool of good quality school leavers. For the desired growth in graduate...
During the past decades there has been an increasing interest in alternative conceptions in physics. An alternative conception in science refers to a conception which in some aspects is contradictory to or inconsistent with the concept as intended by the scientists. Research in this domain tries to answer questions such as which misconceptions occur, what are their origins, how extensive...
Educational technology in the form of classroom response systems (clickers)have become a tool in classroom instruction. In the classroom the clickers are used to promote interactive student engagement and immediate assessment of student understanding. The paper reports on a study using clickers as well as flash cards (a low tech version of the clicker) as a tool to enhance interactive...
Every year over a hundred people die unnecessarily from lighting in South Africa. Recent reporting and correspondence in the media clearly indicated a total lack of knowledge on the part of the public, from Ministerial level down, about the causes and effects of lightning. Much work has been done by organizations such as the CSIR and SA Weather Bureau, and there are several commercial...
With the current success of physics and astronomy and their technological support bases in South Africa, there is a need to identify and nurture talent in physics. It is clear that the current South African schooling system has little chance of doing this, and thus it becomes imperative that alternative means are found to grow local talent. This need was identified by the International...
This talk forms part of the author’s Masters investigation into perceptions of Physics in school visitors to Unizul Science Centre. Visitors typically fall into three distinct groups with very different needs and responses. Those coming from: rural schools, township schools and urban schools. In this study, pupils were exposed to an interactive Science Show: Good Vibrations, presenting the...
This paper addresses what has been done in the Science Faculty at the University of the Western Cape (UWC). The Extended Curriculum Programme (ECP) Physics at UWC centers its focus on giving students access to the studies of the Physical Sciences and improving their success. The paper notes that the incoming students enter university with educational disadvantage backgrounds. For this...
The proverb “seeing is believing” is generally applied in science education today. Many of the contemporary teaching strategies engage the learners in activities that guide them in making their own observations. Still, problems regarding the learning of physics, especially the prevalence of alternative conceptions, remain a head-ache in physics education research. A variety of causes...
For several years an on-going study has examined student performance in relation to the types of assessment task encountered in first year physics examinations. The typology used recognises four basic task types: routine operations, novel problems, interpretive questions and bookwork. Thus far it appears that average student performance is strongest for routine operations, variable for...
The International Astronomical Union (IAU), in recognition of the immense use of astronomy to stimulate development, has developed a decadal strategic plan entitled "Astronomy for the Developing World". At the heart of the implementation of this plan is the Global Office of Astronomy for Development. South Africa bid in 2010 to host this office and was selected as the host country, with the...
