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Re: [Phys-l] Physics job opening in Texas for 2008-09



The concepts involved in Newton's Laws are fundamentally very simple -
TO STATE. So simple, in fact, that we, as physics teachers often assume
them to be self-explanatory and skip ahead to solving problems.

The FCI has NO computations whatsoever, concentrating instead on
situations which exemplify the concepts ONLY. Since "traditional"
instruction in physics basically ignores the understanding of the
concepts themselves, it should come as no surprise that even students
who have "had" physics are often tripped up by the deliberate intention
of the FCI to plumb their understanding in detail. The questions are
designed to posit situations in which the student must draw a
conclusion. For someone who really understands the (simple) concepts,
the questions are almost trivial. For someone who doesn't, their
ability to use equations to solve problems, however well-honed, is
useless to them.

On Sun, 2008-07-20 at 19:09 -0400, LaMontagne, Bob wrote:
Puzzling - Perhaps the FCI does not really measure a students inherent understanding of physics.

Bob at PC

________________________________

From: phys-l-bounces@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu on behalf of John Clement
Sent: Sun 7/20/2008 4:46 PM
To: 'Forum for Physics Educators'
Subject: Re: [Phys-l] Physics job opening in Texas for 2008-09




Let us look at the Situation in Russia. Russia has physics all the way
through, and it is required in heavy doses in HS. But according to Eugenia
Etkina the students in Russia do not score significantly higher than in the
US on the FCI. And at this point in time students in Russia are generally
not going into science or engineering as a career choice, similarly to the
US.



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