I was particularly interested in the quote below that Richard Hake gave us.
IN JAPAN, TEACHERS TEND TO HAVE STUDENTS STRUGGLE WITH A PROBLEM AND
THEN PARTICIPATE IN A DISCUSSION ABOUT HOW TO SOLVE IT. CONFUSION AND
FRUSTRATION ARE SEEN AS A NATURAL PART OF THE PROCESS AND ARE USEFUL
TO PREPARE THE STUDENTS FOR THE INFORMATION RECEIVED DURING THE
DISCUSSION. THE TEACHER'S ROLE IS TO ENGAGE THE STUDENT, REVEAL THE
MATHEMATICS OF INTEREST, AND HELP THE STUDENTS UNDERSTAND THE PROBLEM
SO THEY CAN ATTEMPT TO SOLVE IT.
This is a problem for my students, they don't know how to deal with the
"struggle" and frustration required to do well with Physics and Physics
problems. Their response to the least little bit of frustration tends to be
a "give up" response. I don't recall this attitude amongst the better half
of my peer group as a student; we tended to have more of a "damn it, I can
figure this stuff out" attitude. What are other folks perceptions
regarding
this?