Re: [Phys-L] routine assumptions and plausible hypotheses ... or not

[Bernard Cleyet <bernardcleyet@redshift.com>]

On 2012, Jul 08, , at 12:22, Jeff Bigler wrote:

> Completely agreed.  The "what assumptions are usually good" and "which
> additional assumptions are we making" need to include the idea that
> we're only looking at plausible hypotheses and assumptions that are
> plausibly likely to be able to affect the outcome in a measurable way.
>
> In a high school course, we need to start with assumptions that the
> students can understand, which depends on their awareness of the
> components of the situation, their knowledge of what can affect those
> components and the situation as a whole, their understanding of what's
> measurable/significant and what's not, and their ability to understand
> the connections in a quantitative or qualitative manner, as appropriate.
> Given the poor number sense that many of today's high school students
> have, this is much more difficult for them than it was for high school
> students of a generation ago.


I suggest a conclusion from the thread is:

Most fill in the bubble tests are useless.   I "bet" JD will think worse than useless.

Better:   "Test"   questions specifically require the student to include a discussion of relevant assumptions.   AND use this, not as a test, but part of the teaching.

bc