I was going through some old files on my computer and came upon one I had
done for a Summer AP workshop that I had forgotten about. What I had done
was assign the HS teachers in the workshop some of the Heller 'real world'
problems to work out and present (in an instructional mode). What I had
done then, was to write up a set of solutions, complete with a narrative of
the process, to hand out to the teachers. HERE is my 'insight':
The process of writing out the complete solution to a problem, including
one's thought processes, can be very helpful. Try it. Pick out a
non-trivial problem and then do the writing. Include _everything_ and try
and be as clear and logical as possible. Then let this sit a few days, then
go back and read what you've written and see if indeed you have been as
clear as you originally thought.
We tend to talk through our problem solving techniques and think we are
communicating. Even with the care one takes in writing out something like
this, I suspect that many of us will find (again on later reflection) that
maybe we aren't quite so clear and logical as we first thought.
{Concentrate on what you 'say' to go along with the algebraic manipulations.
The math is usually easy for us--the narrative often is not.}
Rick
***********************
Richard W. Tarara
Associate Professor of Physics
Department of Chemistry & Physics
Saint Mary's College
Notre Dame, IN 46556
rtarara@saintmarys.edu