The impact of computer simulations on the performance of grade 11 learners in electromagnetism

Abstract

This study examines the impact of computer simulations on the performance of 65 grade 11 learners in electromagnetism in a South African high school in the Mgwenya circuit in the Mpumalanga province. The study followed a non-equivalent control group design. The performances of participants in the control group (N = 35) and experimental group (N = 30) were used to determine the impact of computer simulations on the performance of grade 11 learners in electromagnetism. The t-test for independent samples showed that the experimental group achieved significantly higher scores on the post – test than the control group. In the analysis of the short-answered written questions, the experimental group outperformed the control group. Average normalized gain, (<g>), introduced by Hake on conceptual learning was calculated as 0.18 for the control group which is consistent with Hake’s low <g> course and 0.32 for the experimental group which is consistent with Hake’s medium <g> course. It was concluded that computer simulations influenced the higher performance of the learners in the experimental group.