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Re: Ideocosmology



Message text written by INTERNET:phys-l@atlantis.uwf.edu
I've tended to compact the process by teaching my students the most
favoured misconceptions first<

Which are?
The ones I see over and over as test answers like, "the Doppler effect is
the increase and decrease of the loudness of a sound as a car goes past."
Now, that's the knowledge they brought to my classroom when we worked in a
standard traditional way on Doppler.
They processed my performance by attributing the word loudness to my use of
the word frequency because it created the least mental confusion for
themselves. So who likes to be confused anyway?
Or if I'm teaching math and we do area of a circle and there are some who
consistently use the perimeter formula. They learned that one first so they
"generalise". To these students the squared etc are just make them feel
confused and they stick with the stuff they were not confused about.
So the process of showing the misconception in contrast with the
appropriate process tends to bring them "out of the woodwork". They
experience confusion and the process of highlighting the differences
enables them to resolve this confusion.
It also enriches the dialog I have with my students, I am pushed to find
more ways to show differences. So with the "remove the air from the room"
example we end up acknowledging that the things in the room get heavier
because they no longer get buoyed up by the air around them. And a helium
balloon (a rigid plastic one to save complications) would fall to the
ground. So I work harder.

And *then* I brainwash them ;-)

Regards Scott.