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] Soak Time [was Academically Adrift?]



In response to my post "Academically Adrift?" an ETD-L subscriber wrote to me privately (slightly edited):

". . . .do you have access to any papers that address the amount (or relevance) of TIME that is devoted to topics in technical (physics/engineering/math) education? My take on this is that without sufficient 'soak time', students are stuck with just memorizing facts and applying them to the basic problems at hand. . . . . I also fear that those facts are quickly forgotten. I am not sure that is really 'learning'. . . . . Please share any insight you may have regarding research that addresses this soak time aspect of technical courses."

Regarding the insufficient "soak-time" of most science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education see the classic:

1. article by Phillip Morrison (1964) "Less My Be More," and

2. comment by Arnold Arons (1986): "The Standard Relativistic Model Of Instruction [is] based on the premise that, if one starts with an E - N - O - R -M - O - U - S breadth of subject matter but passes it by the student at sufficiently high velocity, the Lorentz contraction will shorten it to the point at which it drops into the *hole* which is the student mind."

For a cartoon rendition of "2" suitable for framing see page 9 of "What Can We Learn from the Physics Education Reform Effort?"[Hake (2000)].

Richard Hake, Emeritus Professor of Physics, Indiana University
Honorary Member, Curmudgeon Lodge of Deventer, The Netherlands
President, PEdants for Definitive Academic References which Recognize the
Invention of the Internet (PEDARRII)
<rrhake@earthlink.net>
<http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~hake>
<http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~sdi>
<http://HakesEdStuff.blogspot.com>
<http://iub.academia.edu/RichardHake>

REFERENCES [All URL's accessed on 30 Jan 2011; some shortened by <http://bit.ly/> and]
Arons, A.B. 1986. "Conceptual Difficulties in Science," in "Proceedings of the Chicago Conferences on Liberal Education, No. 1, " edited by M.R. Rice (Univ. of Chicago), p. 23-32. See also Arons (1997) and Hake (2004).

Arons, A.B. 1997. "Teaching Introductory Physics." Wiley. Amazon.com information at <http://amzn.to/bBPfop>. Note the searchable "Look Inside" feature.

Hake, R.R. 2000. "What Can We Learn from the Physics Education Reform Effort?" ASME Mechanical Engineering Education Conference: "Drivers and Strategies of Major Program Change," Fort Lauderdale, Florida, March 26-29, online as a 436 kB pdf at <http://bit.ly/gDrN2T>. This talk was a precursor to Hake (2002, 2007).

Hake, R.R. 2002. "Lessons from the physics education reform effort," Ecology and Society 5(2): 28; online at <http://bit.ly/aL87VT>.

Hake, R.R. 2004. "The Arons Advocated Method," submitted to the "American Journal of Physics" on 24 April 2004; online as a 144 kB pdf at <http://bit.ly/boeQQt>. With regard to "soak time" see especially feature #8 of the "Arons Advocated Method": REDUCTION OF VOLUME AND PACE OF STANDARD INTRODUCTORY COURSES.

Hake, R.R. 2007. "Six Lessons From the Physics Education Reform Effort," Latin American Journal of Physics, online as a 124 kB pdf at <http://bit.ly/bjvDOb>.

Hake, R.R. 2011. "Academically Adrift?" online on the OPEN! AERA-L archives at <http://bit.ly/gwJD0W>. Post of 29 Jan 2011 10:00:09-0800 to AERA-L and Net-Gold. The abstract and link to the complete post are being transmitted to various discussion lists are also online on my blog "Hake'sEdStuff" at <http://bit.ly/hVYzHI> with a provision for comments.

Morrison, P. 1964. "Less My Be More," Am. J. Phys. 32(6): 441-457; online to subscribers at <http://ajp.aapt.org/resource/1/ajpias/v32/i6>. An abstract is online at <http://bit.ly/ezx5m0>.