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]

Re: [Phys-l] Student Misconceptions



I think the distinction arrises because preconceptions play an important role in student learning and are often anchored in experiences that make them hard to change. Telling usually does not change them, students need to have new experiences and reconstruct their ideas.
Erroneous ideas of the sorts you are suggesting are alternative models that are probably not so deeply held, unless they are the basis of some metaphorical thinking, and so are less fundamental and more easily changed.
I think these are probably two ends of a spectrum.

joe

Joseph J. Bellina, Jr. Ph.D.
Retired Professor of Physics
Co-Director
Northern Indiana Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Collaborative
574-276-8294
inquirybellina@comcast.net




On Sep 29, 2011, at 10:20 AM, carmelo@pacific.net.sg wrote:

Naive conception could be better term than preconception for students?
However, PhDs or geniuses are not immune to misconceptions!
All PhDs do not have any misconceptions on quantum field theory?

Alternative framework or alternative conceptions should be preferred
as better terms for physicists' incorrect conception? This is unfair...


Best regards,
Alphonsus

Quoting Joseph Bellina <inquirybellina@comcast.net>:

I think we should be careful to distinguish misconceptions from
misunderstandings. Most of this list and I think BC's are more
misunderstandings or unanswered questions. I think perhaps
preconception is a better term because it implies a mental model
built on everyday experience prior to most instruction. I think
these are different from mistaken new ideas picked up in classrooms,
or ideas not fully developed as a result of instruction. Of course
there is the possibility that a preconception is reinforced by
classroom work done by an unwary teacher.
I also like the approach of Hammer and VanZee, that these
preconceptions occur through scientist-like thinking. The problem,
as I see it, is that preconceptions result from science-like
analysis are based on fragmented data sets in which the analysis
does not include the need to be self-consistent across a range of
experiences. Whereas in science self-consistency is an important
component of theory development.
Finally in terms of classroom use, I think it is important for
teachers to know the sorts of ideas students might be bringing to
the classroom so that engagement can be designed to address them, as
for example in McDermott's work. However I think it is not so
pedagogically useful to tell someone they have a preconception,
rather than constructing a situation in which they discover it for
themselves.
So I think it is useful to find lists of ideas students might have.
Rosalind Driver's work comes to mind. As I recall, Novak at
Cornell also ran some conferences on this.

joe

Joseph J. Bellina, Jr. Ph.D.
Retired Professor of Physics
Co-Director
Northern Indiana Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Collaborative
574-276-8294
inquirybellina@comcast.net




On Sep 28, 2011, at 10:21 PM, carmelo@pacific.net.sg wrote:

Quoting Bernard Cleyet <bernardcleyet@redshift.com>:

How about Ph.D.s' misconceptions. I had one. I queried the list
and received NO response, so I'll try again.

There are possibly many physics Ph.D.s' misconceptions...

Speed of light: It is constant and invariant?
Speed of light is the ultimate speed limit?
Mass of an object is constant and invariant?
Inflationary universe?
Newton's second law is really Newton's?
The correct interpretation of quantum mechanics?
The correct meaning of E=mc2?


Best regards,
Alphonsus

_______________________________________________
Forum for Physics Educators
Phys-l@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu
https://carnot.physics.buffalo.edu/mailman/listinfo/phys-l

_______________________________________________
Forum for Physics Educators
Phys-l@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu
https://carnot.physics.buffalo.edu/mailman/listinfo/phys-l




_______________________________________________
Forum for Physics Educators
Phys-l@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu
https://carnot.physics.buffalo.edu/mailman/listinfo/phys-l