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Re: unexpected obstacles,was Ask Marilyn "geometry test"



Mike Monce wrote:
The purpose is to get the students to work on their own, gain
direct experience in thinking through problems, and making decisions with
regard to data. For this sophomore/junior level course I am trying to
simulate a realistic experimental research environment. The difference is
that the experiments are well-understood in terms of the physics. They
don't have to design apparatus; just set it up and calibrate it. But they
have to learn to make the proper choices. They have, on average, two
weeks in which to perform a particular lab, so this isn't something that
is done in one 3 hour afternoon session. They have time to make mistakes
and then learn from them.

This sounds perfectly reasonable to me. Research simulation for the
level of students with whom you are working needs to be kept open-ended
to quite a degree. You're not telling them the details of exactly how
to carry out the research; but you're not withholding "the rules of the
game", failing to be clear about what things you want done "your way"
and what "your way" is. You're not placing artificial obstacles in
their path to success, either intentionally or through cluelessness.

John Denker remarked:
Amen, brother.
This is a good practice; it doesn't deserve to
be tagged with pejorative words like "obfuscation".

I wasn't thinking of "obfuscation" as pejorative when I wrote it; I used
it because I thought it was descriptive of what Mike related to us. I
suppose any word can be interpreted negatively if you want to do so;
connotation, among other things, is in the eye of the beholder. Let me
quote from my Merriam Webster's: Ob-fus-cate, "to make obscure".
Ob-scure, "OBSCURE implies a hiding or veiling of meaning through ...
withholding of full knowledge". Mike related that his instructions were
purposefully vague; what non-pejorative would you use to inquire about a
purposefully vague practice?

I objected to "tormenting students with directionless vaguery" by
instructors failing to distinguish between (a) "which things I really
want done my way" and (b) "which things are matters of taste and
style". I don't see how my remark relates to John's later remarks about
incompleteness. I'd be grateful if someone could fill in the gap for
me.

Best wishes,

Larry

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Larry Cartwright <exit60@cablespeed.com>
Retired Physics Teacher
Charlotte MI 48813 USA
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Lord, preserve us from the excesses of those
who would do us harm; and preserve us from
the excesses of those who would protect us.
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