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A passion to change negative perceptions about physics

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Professor Jeanne Kriek is a National Research Foundation (NRF) B3-rated researcher in physics education and a full professor at Unisa. Her research interests are in teaching and learning in physics with the use of technology, nuclear energy and professional development. Following a master’s degree in nuclear physics in 1989, her involvement in training physics teachers resulted in a doctoral study in physics educational research (the learning, understanding and teaching of physics and the application of physics knowledge). A study visit to the United States in 2008 alerted her to the value of technology as a cognitive tool to enhance conceptual change and understanding in physics.

Professor Jeanne Kriek

Kriek has presented papers at 30 international and 20 national conferences, at some as an invited speaker. She is a reviewer of ten international and seven national journals. She has acted as non-examining chairperson for 20 PhD and master’s students, and external examiner for 50 PhD and master’s dissertations. She has supervised 14 master’s and nine PhD students to completion.

Expressing her sentiments about her B3 rerating, Kriek says is it is a dream come true. Her passion is to develop innovative teaching approaches to facilitate conceptual understanding of physics students as well as to identify students’ misconceptions or alternative understanding on a specific physics topic in order to develop innovative teaching approaches. Asked what inspired this passion, she explains: “There is a perception that physics is difficult, and I wanted to find ways to help physics students to be successful. I personally struggled understanding certain concepts in physics, and realised that there must be other ways to teach such concepts better.”

The NRF’s B3 rating recognises internationally acclaimed researchers, an achievement which Kriek has worked hard to achieve and is very proud of. The rating of individuals is based primarily on the quality and impact of their research outputs over the past eight years, taking into consideration the evaluation made by local and international peers. It identifies researchers who count among the leaders in their fields of expertise and gives recognition to those who constantly produce high quality research outputs.

While she is an internationally acclaimed researcher, Kriek is always looking for opportunities to learn. She explains that for her, attending conferences to present or listen to experts is always the highlight of her research career as it has in numerous occasions afforded her opportunities to learn. Her advice to Unisa staff members is as follows: “Unisa provides a lot of opportunities, use them. Work hard and go the extra mile. Also, be quick to forgive and never stop smiling. Challenges in life are inevitable, being defeated is optional.”

 * By Tshimangadzo Mphaphuli, Senior Journalist, Department of Institutional Advancement

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Publish date: 2021/04/28

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