Thesis (M. Ed.) -- University of Limpopo, 2017. / One of the effective ways of teaching science is by developing the thinking abilities of individuals by allowing them to engage in enquiry-based learning. Computer simulation (CS) can help improve understanding of scientific concepts and enhance conceptual development and performance. This study focused on exploring learners’ conceptual development using CS in Grade 10 science class. A pre- and post-test research designs were used. 105 Grade 10 learners participated: 53 from one whole class were assigned to an Experimental Group (EG) and 52 from another class to a Control Group (CG). The EG was taught using CS while the CG was taught using the traditional approach. Data on learners’ performance were collected using a performance test and interviews were employed to collect data on learners’ attitudes towards science. The results revealed that the EG performed better than the CG (t-test, p < 0.05), (ANCOVA, p < 0.01). Girls in the EG performed better than girls from the CG (t-test, p < 0.05), and independent sample t-test revealed that girls in the EG were in the same range with boys after intervention suggesting that CS did not discriminate against gender in this study. Furthermore, the results from interviews indicate that learners from EG exhibited positive attitudes towards science, unlike their counterparts from the CG. This suggests that learners from the EG may have been excited to observe phenomena on the screen of a computer that they would otherwise not do due to lack of laboratory equipment in their school.

M.Ed. (Curriculum Studies) / The purpose of this study is to determine whether affective considerations have a claim on inclusion in the curriculum and, if so, how these claims may be accommodated. The target group is the adolescents in their secondary school phase. Current research has indicated beyond doubt that curriculum planning can no longer be restricted to the cognitive domain. Feelings and emotions are involved in every learning experience and hamper or enhance cognitive development. Therefore the teacher's responsibility should be extended to include the education of feeling and emotion as well. The study proposes an approach based on sound educational principles and scientifically acquired data. The point of departure is the widely accepted principles and criteria for curriculum design. The relatively new communicative curriculum provides a useful framework, but it has innate weaknesses. Only if care is taken to counter the possible effects of such weaknesses, will the new sillabi have a chance of success. Affective aims should, however, not oust cognitive aims. Intellectual development is the primary goal of the school curriculum. A continuous stream of interaction flows between the affective and the cognitive fields. On all levels of curriculum design the approach should be to take the development patterns of the adolescents as the vantage points, formulate aims to accommodate affective development and only then to choose the relevant cognitive aims. Such an approach will hopefully lead to the achievement of a more balanced education for the volatile adolescent.