Chronology Current Month Current Thread Current Date
[Year List] [Month List (current year)] [Date Index] [Thread Index] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Date Prev] [Date Next]

[Phys-L] Re: Calculators a Distraction?



I teach college, and I always have to struggle at the begining to get=
my students (especially the brighter ones who took physics in high s=
chool) to write down what they're doing. Many of them were successfu=
lly able to do a lot of their high school physics problems in their h=
eads or in their graphing calculators. They'll get away with it for =
a while, but this strategy fails miserably once the complexity of the=
problems increases. The more important issue with doing everything =
in one's head or in the calculator is that there is no permanent reco=
rd of the reasoning. =20
=20
In real life, one is usually solving problems for someone else. Even=
if students can do the problem "mentally," they must be able to conv=
ince someone else (their colleagues, co-workers, boss, etc.) that the=
ir work was done correctly. Furthermore, "real-world" projects may ta=
ke months or years before completion. Workers cannot rely on memory f=
or the duration of the project. They cannot afford to re-invent the w=
heel every day; they MUST have their reasoning written down. =20
=20
School is where one practices for life. Therefore, unless my student=
s communicate their reasoning clearly to me (in the role of their "bo=
ss"), the problem has not been solved satisfactorily. Clear communi=
cation includes not just numbers and algebra, but a statement of the =
question being solved, words of explanation, diagrams as appropriate,=
and questions (in the case of incomplete solutions) as well. Once I=
stress the need for communication on the students, and back it up wi=
th grading (correct solutions with poor presentation are penalized, i=
ncorrect solutions ending with good questions are rewarded), the qual=
ity of their work improves a LOT. They moan & groan at the beginning=
, but soon their improvement is evident even to them.
=20
Vickie Frohne