Dr Pamela Zinn received her PhD at the age of 76
These are the words of Pamela Zinn (nee Radien) who graduated with her PhD in the Faculty of Education on 11 December 2024.
The title of her doctoral thesis is ‘Achievement in Mathematics through self-directed learning facilitation: an impact evaluation of an offline technological approach.’
“It will take our country decades, if not generations, to overcome the mathematics crisis country-wide unless innovative intervention strategies, such as the GMMDC’s model is implemented in all provinces,” she says.
Graduating at the age of 76, she says “I already had my Master’s in Computer-based Education from the University of Johannesburg and thought I might as well go all the way! You are never too old to learn and I’m always amused when youngsters think I don’t know about computers because of my age.”
Her motto to all learners who say maths and science is difficult is “you never know until you have tried”. She says the overwhelming number of learners she has taught, when given good learning models and steered in the right direction, have grasped maths and science.
“This is what drew me to the GMMDC led by Professor Werner Olivier,” says Zinn. “The significance of the GMMDC’s TBM model is that it uses computer hardware and software BUT offline. This gives the economically disadvantaged learner the same opportunity of access as the economically privileged to the use of digital technology for mathematics learning.”
Her PhD study set out to determine, through evaluation, whether or not the TBM facilitated or enhanced learners’ self-directed learning (SDL), and the effect of this on learners’ motivation, mathematics scores, and career choices,” Zinn explains.
“The results were extremely positive and showed that the TBM is well suited to overcoming learners’ negative learning contexts and highly effective in guiding learners to take charge of their own learning. This is a lifetime skill, and a prerequisite for studying, the workplace and the digital era.”
Her research, which included existing analysis of a large number of learners mainly from the Eastern Cape and new data that Zinn collected from learners previously with the GMMDC and now pursuing careers, showed that the majority had pursued a science direction in professional careers such as medicine and engineering.
She is so positive about the TBM that she adds: “It appears to be the solution to the country’s mathematics crisis.”
She says the extent of the crisis is revealed through international assessments such as TIMSS (Trends in Mathematics and Science studies), where South African learners’ average performance consistently ranks either last or second last out of 38 to 48 countries – depending on the number of participating countries at the time of an assessment.
Worse still, Grade Six learners in other countries outperform South Africa’s Grade Nine learners in the same assessments.
“We need to act fast unless we want to lose yet another generation of learners,” says Zinn. Her commitment to decent education for all as a member of what she describes as “the educated poor” dates back to her childhood.
“I actually never wanted intended to be an educator, I wanted to be a doctor but my family did not have the money. My mother was a nurse so after matriculating from high school in Uitenhage, I pursued nursing but didn’t follow through with it.”
Her educational path happened by chance after she married Sydney Zinn, a minister in the Seventh Day Adventist Church. “We moved around a lot and in so many places there were no maths and science teachers, and I was good at these subjects, thanks to some good teachers I had as a learner, and so I stepped in.”
She was 36 when she started teacher training, qualified and went on to get her Master’s degree and now her PhD. “During my Master’s I realised that learners needed more than just chalk and talk, which is why I did my Master’s on computer-based education and then took this further with my PhD.”
Zinn says that as she crosses the stage to be conferred with her PhD she will be thinking of her husband who passed away in September. “He lived long enough to know I had achieved my PhD and was so very proud of me,” she says. “I just wish he could have been with me at my graduation.”
Her supervisor was Dr Tulsi Morar.
For more information about the Govan Mbeki Mathematics Development Centre
https://gmmdc.mandela.ac.za/