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Re: [Phys-L] Physics prof strips down to underwear to teach QM



They won't remember the stunt even if it relates to the topic. If you want
them to understand and remember you have to surround the event with
prediction and peer instruction. So why do a stunt? Why not just use some
concep questions. Twins talking about the so called paradox will not
enhance memory or understanding. IE techniques do work. Look at the work
of Mazur and Crouch on demos. They do not work by themselves, but only when
surrounded by the proper IE methods. The twin discussion might have some
effect if two conditions are met. First the twins need to be similar to the
students. Second they need to debate different points of view. There is
research which shows that this type of presentation works. But it doesn't
need twins, just any two peers to the students.

The idea that dramatic demos will improve learning and understanding is
false. There is a very good YouTube video where Mazur discusses a good
demo, and 2 weeks later and many students think it showed the exact opposite
of what it actually showed. So it is not the demo that is important, but
the task of getting students to think about the demo and how it challenges
their existing paradigms. One can have very interesting lectures which do
nothing to improve learning, and one can have average IE lectures which do
improve understanding. I would agree that totally dull lectures are
unlikely to have much effect, but the important factors are engagement with
the topic, cognition, and metacognition.

Stunts don't work!

John M. Clement
Houston, TX


There are stunts, and then there are STUNTS. Professors can
plan stunts that enhance the point, not to entice and
titillate. If you want to show quantum confusion then build
a box and put a cat inside (or a tape recording of a cat
scratching or meowing). They will remember the stunt and
remember what it was meant to show. Or get twins to come up
front (staged in case there are no twins in the audience) and
proceed to talk about the paradox. Things that have to do
with the lecture and make it interesting, yet memorable.

On Feb 19, 2013, at 7:29 PM, John Clement wrote:

The real embarassment should be that he did not understand
that stunts
do not enhance learning! Stunts are stunts. Rensselaer
used to fly a
rocket across the lecture hall (on a wire). Everyone remembers the
stunt, but not the point. If he wanted to entice students to his
lecture, he should have persuaded the previous lecturor to
do a stunt,
and imply that more would come. If the stunt worked, I
would be all for it!