PhD Defence Pier Siersma | Digital Scaffolding in Physics Education: Enhancing Conceptual and Strategic Knowledge

Digital Scaffolding in Physics Education: Enhancing Conceptual and Strategic Knowledge

Pier Siersma is a PhD student in the Department of ELAN Teacher Development. (Co)Promotors are prof. A.J. Visscher and dr.ir. H.J. Pol from the Faculty of Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences and prof.dr. W.R. van Joolingen from the Freudenthal Institute.

Secondary physics education increasingly requires students to apply scientific principles in complex, real-world contexts. Yet support is not always available when students work independently at home, where they may encounter difficulties without immediate guidance. This dissertation investigates how digital scaffolding can help bridge that gap within the domain of radiation and radioactivity.

The research shows that students may enter the classroom with misconceptions, including difficulties distinguishing between irradiation and contamination, especially in medical contexts. To address these barriers, the web-based environment Digi-Feedback was developed. It provides phase-specific support, such as hints, variable-analysis tools, flow diagrams, worked examples, and self-assessment checklists, while fitting within regular classroom routines.

The findings indicate that digital scaffolding can enhance conceptual knowledge. Students with lower initial performance showed the greatest progress when using self-assessment checklists that required them to compare their own reasoning with expert models. By contrast, gains in strategic knowledge, the ability to plan and structure solutions, were less evident. This suggests that strategic competence may require sustained practice across multiple topics and contexts before transfer becomes visible.

The dissertation concludes that effective digital scaffolding should do more than provide answers: it should make underlying reasoning processes visible and reusable. By combining structured support with learner autonomy, digital tools can help students regulate their learning and approach future physics problems more effectively.