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Since we're all relating our favorite stories:
(a) Many of my students believe we live inside the earth.
(b) Our valedictorian a coupla years ago didn't know that the moon
revolves around the earth and was angry that I wrote a problem that
assumed that knowledge.
(c) Another 4.0 GPA student thought the earth was "bowl-shaped" so
we wouldn't fall off.
I have a huge number of these anecdotes. It's always interesting
to find out what students REALLY think about the world around them, and
it's hard to find out.
Wes
-----Original Message-----
From: "Monce, Michael N." <mnmon@conncoll.edu>15 years ans suddenly have become aware of a serious depletion of general
Sent: Feb 27, 2006 8:16 AM
To: Forum for Physics Educators <phys-l@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu>
Subject: [Phys-l] base knowledge erosion
A bit of a vent: I'm teaching astronomy for the first time in about
knowledge that certainly wasn't there when I last taught the course.
satellite. To solve the problem the student should obviously know the
I recently gave an exam that had a problem on geosynchronous
rotation rate of the earth. Well, I now know that 5 students out of a
class of 24 had no idea that 1) the earth rotates, and 2) that the
rotation rate is 24 hours. i.e. they had no idea what causes day and
night. Is it really that bad out there???
Mike Monce
Connecticut College
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