...so as not to corrupt the bandwidth of this listserv, please list what you consider to be (just) two of the main strategies promoted by PER advocates and why you consider these points to be unworthy of consideration to future physics teachers.
Regards,
Rob Spencer
Message: 6
Date: Tue, 05 Dec 2006 14:27:49 -0500
From: John Denker <jsd@av8n.com>
Subject: Re: [Phys-l] Reading PER literature
To: Forum for Physics Educators <phys-l@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu>
Message-ID: <4575C835.4070701@av8n.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
On 12/05/2006 01:23 PM, Bob LaMontagne wrote:
I have not had the time nor the inclination to wade through PER material.
It's not humanly possible to wade through it. There is too much of it.
Here is a trick I have used more than once (with respect to PER and to
other unrelated ideas as well): I ask for the *one* paper that *best*
describes the things the guy is advocating. I then review the paper
according to my normal standards.
I then go back to the guy and say:
This is the *best* paper, right? So all the others are worse? Uh
huh, I thought so. Well, this one is a piece of garbage for the
following eleventeen reasons, starting with several instances of
PbBA and several instances of "proving" things that cannot possibly
be true. If this is the best there is, I don't believe any of it,
and the more you tout it the less I trust your judgement.
I have killfiled some people who routinely post to this list "facts"
that cannot possibly be true. I find it unnecessary even to refute
them, on the grounds that AFAICT almost nobody on this list takes
them seriously. Refuting them would be a waste of bandwidth.
What generally passes for "R" in "PER" would not be accepted as research
in any field of science. I am reminded of Feynman's discussion of
cargo-cult science in particular the last part where he talks about
how hard it is to do study behavior and learning in rats. You can
read at http://yunus.hun.edu.tr/~saritan/cargo.htm
I recommend the whole article, but if you are in a super-big hurry
search down to the paragraph that contains "1937". For that matter,
I recommend the whole book.
"*** This message is from the West Lafayette Community School Corporation and may contain confidential or privileged information.
If you are not the addressee of this e-mail or it was addressed to you in error, you are not authorized to copy or distribute this e-mail or attachments.
Any error in addressing or delivery of this e-mail does not waive confidentiality or privilege. If you received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender by
return e-mail and delete it. This e-mail message may not be copied, distributed, or forwarded without this statement and the permission of the sender.***"