Jeanne Kriek

• BSc, MSc, Phd
• Professor (Full) at University of South Africa

Identifying students’ understanding provides a pathway to develop focused teaching to facilitate conceptual understanding. This study aimed to gain more insight into undergraduate students’ conceptual understanding of two nuclear physics concepts. Literature shows that students face difficulties in learning and understanding them. These concepts ar...

Improving scientific reasoning enables students to navigate the challenges of learning science. Teachers use Lawson's classroom test of scientific reasoning (LCTSR) to measure scientific reasoning. The LCTSR is a two-tiered assessment that uses content-based questions and explanation statements. Researchers have found that if a student answers a kn...

The technological, pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK) framework was developed incorporating content, pedagogical and technological knowledge. Studies used TPACK constructs and reported on teachers’ TPACK and student learning, but none explored the correlation between teachers’ TPACK and the achievement of their learners. This research follow...

Learners underperform in stoichiometry as they lack conceptual reasoning of the underlying concepts and the ability to solve stoichiometric problems. Therefore, it was necessary to determine if there is a statistical correlation between problem-solving skills and conceptual reasoning in stoichiometry and if so, whether one can significantly predict...

Nanoscience and technology is a major field of scientific research and technological innovation but understanding concepts such as superconductivity and nanotechnology are not straightforward. To develop focused teaching strategies, it is necessary to categorise students’ prior understanding as different categories of prior ideas require different...

This article explores the budding scholarship related to the decolonisation of the South African curriculum, by making use of third-generation Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) as a lens. In the article the authors advocate for the use of indigenous knowledge as a vehicle for curriculum transformation. The article has a binomial nature, in...

Problem-based learning (PBL) is considered to be an effective teaching and learning strategy as it leads to longer retention of concepts learnt, improves problem-solving skills and enhances critical thinking. However, teachers often find it difficult to implement as they do not receive guidance during their initial training. A professional developm...

Introductory physics courses uses simplified models and approximations to convey fundamental concepts. Many of these simplifications are introduced without explanation. When considering motion, one such simplification is the point particle approximation. That is to assume that the motion of an extended object can be represented by the motion of a s...

This study established whether 12 South African secondary school physics students had incorrect conceptions of basic magnetism and if they had, to what extent they consistently applied such conceptions. Different scenarios in the form of thought experiments were presented in a clinical interview approach. A complex systems perspective underpinned t...

The South African National Department of Basic Education (DBE) has associated the poor pass rate in the National Senior Certificate (NSC) Physical Sciences to the learners’ lack of practical work and the inability to solve problems by integrating their knowledge from different topics in Physical Sciences. Given that the Curriculum and Assessment Po...

One of the topics that is regarded as challenging to learn for conceptual understanding by students from secondary to tertiary levels is simple electric circuits. The topic is said to be challenging to learn for qualitative understanding due to the presence of misconceptions brought by or derived from every day prior experiences about the topic. In...

The South African Department of Education has attributed the poor pass rates in Grade 12 Physical Sciences to the learners' lack of practical work and the inability of learners to solve problems by integrating their knowledge from different topics in Physical Sciences. A possible reason for this could be a disjointed alignment between the curriculu...

Various reasons for underperformance in physical sciences have been found, such as a lack of teachers’ content knowledge and a lack of resources. This study looks into the extent of alignment between the various levels of the curriculum on circuit electricity (intended, implemented and attained levels). The research took place in Mpumalanga amongst...

The study aimed to determine the most effective of three pedagogies to improve Grade 12 learners’ understanding of the photoelectric effect when the teaching was done using chalk and talk, guided learning with computer simulations (CS) as a demonstration tool and semi-autonomous learning where the learners used the CS individually with limited supp...

The paper compares the experiences of rural and urban learners who participate in Eskom Expo for Young Scientists science fairs in the Limpopo province of South Africa. Within an exploratory case study in the Limpopo province, a third-generation activity-theory framework was applied as an analytical tool to determine differences in activities betwe...

Problem solving is considered a higher order thinking skill and is included as one of the 21st century’s core competencies. To demonstrate how students’ use of a specific mathematical approach leads to a particular type of understanding when solving problems in electricity, an interpretive framework was developed. This interpretive framework combin...

Students' use of mathematics in physics is one area where expectations impact significantly on the learning of physics. First-year physics students' expectations of the role of mathematics in physics were explored to determine if that provided an indication of their actual behavior when solving problems, a contributing factor to their learning of p...

Work integrated learning (WIL) is an essential component of any engineering education programme. The balance of theory, practicals and work experience makes the diploma in electrical engineering a popular qualification with students and employers in South Africa. The Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) published new standards for WIL, which...

It is expected of lecturers to integrate content knowledge with appropriate pedagogical approaches and select relevant technology to enhance student learning. However the selection of effective technology to support 21stcentury learning in tertiary education could be time-consuming and complex since there is a plethora of technology available. The...

A study on the effect of the use of computer simulations (CS) on the acquisition of knowledge and cognitive load was undertaken with 104 Grade 11 learners in four schools in rural South Africa on the physics topic geometrical optics. Owing to the lack of resources a teacher-centred approach was followed in the use of computer simulations. The theor...

This study contributes to a growing literature that investigates vocational students' conceptual understanding of electricity by proposing a multidimensional and pragmatic approach to conceptual change. Conceptual change model-based activities were designed in a six-stage conceptual change model and were incorporated into a four-week course. The ef...

The impact of computer simulations on the performance of 65 grade 11 learners in electromagnetism in a South African high school in the Mpumalanga province is investigated. Learners did not use the simulations individually, but teachers used them as an interactive demonstration tool. Basic concepts in electromagnetism are difficult to understand ow...

This explanatory study was done to get an understanding of how three groups of preservice teachers’ knowledge and perceptions of radiation compare to that of experts. The first group consists of students with factual radiation knowledge, due to their training. The second group is students with limited knowledge and the third group students with no...

Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate Ethiopian physics undergraduate students' conceptual change in the concepts of electric potential and energy (EPE) and electromagnetic induction (EMI). A quasi-experimental design was used to study the effect of cognitive perturbation using physics interactive simulations (CPS) in relation to co...

To reduce domestic electricity consumers consumption of electricity is a global concern. This pilot study investigates the extent to which domestic electricity consumers intend to use and use energy efficiently. A co-relational research design was used to investigate the relationship between the predictor variables and the independent variables in...

The purpose of this study was to categorize 35 Ethiopian undergraduate physics students’ alternative conceptions in the concepts of electric potential and energy. A descriptive qualitative research design was used to categorize the students’ alternative conceptions. Four independently homogeneous ability focus groups were formed to elicit the stude...

South African schools have been confronted with educational reform since the mid-nineties and the process is still continuing. The concomitant changes put a very high demand on physical sciences teachers and also have an impact on teacher behaviour. The purpose of this study was to probe whether teachers could be considered equipped to teach the ph...

Purpose – Practical work is regarded as an essential part of learning; hence most tertiary institutions have included a practical component in their physics courses. There is a concern about the effectiveness of the practical work in most universities. The purpose of this study is to assess the contributions of simulations on 20 Foundation Physics...

Quantum mechanics is often thought to be a difficult subject to understand, not only in the complexity of its mathematics but also in its conceptual foundation. In this paper we emphasize students’ depictions of the uncertainty principle and wave-particle duality of quantum events, phenomena that could serve as a foundation in building an understan...

In this exploratory study, we sought to examine the influence of mathematics teachers' beliefs on their intended and actual usage of dynamic mathematics software in their classrooms. The theory of planned behaviour (TPB), the technology acceptance model (TAM) and the innovation diffusion theory (IDT) were used to examine the influence of teachers'...

In this exploratory study, we sought to examine the influence of mathematics teachers’ beliefs on their intended and actual usage of dynamic mathematics software in their classrooms. The theory of planned behaviour (TPB), the technology acceptance model (TAM) and the innovation diffusion theory (IDT) were used to examine the influence of teachers’...

In this pilot study, we sought to examine the influence of the beliefs of Grade 10 to 12 physical science teachers on their intended and actual usage of interactive simulations (Physics Education Technology, or PhET) in their classrooms. A combination of the Theory of Planned Behaviour, the Technology Acceptance Model and the Innovation Diffusion T...

Whenever students appear to have trouble with mathematics in their physics courses, they either hate physics or fear it. The blame for this plight could be due to the structure of the mathematics and physics curricula or the incompetence of the teachers. This paper focuses on investigating the progression of the mathematics courses and the level of...

The study sought to obtain information on the relationship, if any, between students’ achievement and teacher background as well as between students’ achievement and professional development. The respective correlation coefficient showed that there was a significant relationship between students’ achievement and teacher background and an insignific...

The state of mathematics and science education in South Africa is a cause for concern. This situation can be attributed, in part, to many mathematics and science teachers’ limited content knowledge, ineffective teaching approaches, and unprofessional attitudes. To address these three problem areas simultaneously, a holistic model for the developmen...

The new South African Further Education and Training (FET) curriculum is currently in the implementation phase. The paper reports on the responses and views of 59 Physical Science teachers in the northern part of South Africa about their experiences with the implementation of this curriculum. The paper is conceptualised around the belief that views...

Research has found that teaching practices are a critical factor in promoting student achievement in mathematics and may therefore explain a substantial portion of the variance in student learning and achievement. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between student achievement in mathematics and teachers' teaching practices in the...

The incomplete understanding of Ohm's law is a phenomenon widely experienced in introductory physics courses and high school science. Nonetheless, lecturers and teachers may be unaware of student's inability to distinguish between the definition of resistance and Ohm's law describing constant resistance. Our study explores the development of unders...