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Re: [Phys-l] Inquiry



This is an excellent question. But how do we learn?

One thing we do is ask questions, go out and read journals. We do
experiments, or put out papers. Some of us actually stay in the same rut we
had when leaving school, but we don't do it the way conventional teaching
expects students to learn.

Ideally courses should mirror what we do, and how we learn. That is one of
the guiding principles behind some of the reforms. Modeling has the
students doing investigations, as does Workshop Physics. Mazur uses
"mental" inquiry to help the students build mental models.

I think that the lecture system which has been pushed to lower grades robs
students of initiative, so they become more passive and less inquiring. I
don't know if this has been investigated. There is some evidence, albeit
anecdotal that Feuerstein's IE program enables students to take charge of
their own learning.

One thing we do know is that more authority breeds passivity. In older
people caregivers who do more for the patients breed dependence and
passivity. But caregivers who make the patients do things they are capable
of improve the patients outlook. So there is a point where telling the
students things and literally giving them the answers to upcoming tests
breeds more passivity. I submit that this is what is going on in the
pre-college schools, and it is showing in college. My wife commented she
never listened when the teacher first said something because she knew it
would be repeated several times. So the teachers are adding more repeats,
and the students are paying less attention. More and more explicit
instructions kills the initiative. This is one good reason why Modeling
does not give out cookbook instructions.

The best measure I know of better learning attitudes is the Redish's MPEX
and it goes down with each conventional course, but goes up with studio
style courses. So there are indications that a studio style course may make
students better more active learners.

So it is not being cheeky, but is an excellent question, which has not been
well investigated!

John M. Clement
Houston, TX


I don't mean to be cheeky. I DO generally support a lot of what PER
is trying to accomplish, and use many PER methods in my own courses,
to the extent that time and resources permit.

That said, I often find myself with this question: when are students
supposed to learn how to learn like adults? (Like adults must, that
is.)

[Like throwing gasoline on the fire, I know....]

David Craig


<http://web.lemoyne.edu/~craigda/>



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