Week 10: Misconceptions
We will be studying misconceptions this week. As you well know, we all have misconceptions about
lots of things, including physics. They occur often and are usually based on our past experiences
when we tried to explain phenomena based on our daily lives and what we know. In order to correct
misconceptions that students have about physics, we must ourselves understand physics concepts
extremely well.
- Read Chapter 3 from Teaching Introductory Physics by Arnold
Arons. This is an excellent book
and probably should be in your personal library. Chapter 3 covers Elementary Dynamics and discusses
many common misconceptions and difficulties that students have. The file of the chapter is large and
has been separated into four sections.
Section 1 (1.3MB, 20 pgs, PDF file)
Section 2 (2.1MB, 20 pgs, PDF file)
Section 3 (1.3MB, 12 pgs, PDF file)
Section 4 (2.1MB, 12 pgs, PDF file)
- View the 20 minute video entitled "A Private Universe". "This video brings into sharp focus
the dilemma facing all educators: Why don't even the brightest students truly grasp basic science
concepts? Interviews are held with high school students and Ivy League graduates asking them to
explain what causes the seasons and the phases of the moon. Even the brightest students in the
class have false ideas based on enduring misconceptions that traditional instructional methods
cannot overcome." This is a quote from the website
http://www.learner.org/resources/series28.html
where, after signing in, you can look at the video online; just follow the instructions.
Note: this may be slow going from a telephone modem.
Assignment
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