Open AccessDevelopment of an explanatory framework for the solution of electricity problems
Author(s) -
Reuben Double Koontse,
Jeanne Kriek
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
suid-afrikaanse tydskrif vir natuurwetenskap en tegnologie/die suid-afrikaanse tydskrif vir natuurwetenskap en tegnologie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2222-4173
pISSN - 0254-3486
DOI - 10.4102/satnt.v36i1.1442
Subject(s) - electricity , meaning (existential) , management science , field (mathematics) , computer science , mathematical practice , epistemology , class (philosophy) , mathematics education , mathematics , artificial intelligence , engineering , philosophy , pure mathematics , electrical engineering
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 combined two extensively used frameworks, namely Mathematical Resources (MR) and Extended Semantic Model (ESM) and was rationalised in electricity subtopics namely electric circuit, electric force and electric field. An interpretivist research paradigm was chosen to explain and derive meaning from fifteen first year physics students’ mathematical approaches in solving electricity problems. In general, students were found to be more inclined to activate formal mathematical rules, even when the use of basic or everyday mathematics that require activation of intuitive knowledge elements and reasoning primitives, would be more efficient. The need for a qualitative approach to solving physics problems rather than a quantitative one was presented and this has implications for future approaches to teaching science