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Re: [Phys-l] Inquiry



see below.

Joseph J. Bellina, Jr. Ph.D.
Professor of Physics
Saint Mary's College
Notre Dame, IN 46556

On Feb 27, 2009, at 8:32 AM, Philip Keller wrote:



* Most people learn (physics) best by actively doing ("engaging") rather
* than passively reading.

I agree, I suppose...but there is only so much time in one life! I can read a book about the 50 great experiments in history, learning in a few dozen hours what represents lifetimes of research and experiment.

But your students do not have the cultural support you have...you know the language, have many of the important concepts connected in an expert way etc. Most of your students don't.


* There is no better substitute for a good teacher, lively class, etc. We
* are their best resource for helping students understand this most
* difficult subject.

I agree, definitely. But it cannot be the only resource. Class time represents just a few hours a week and there is so much more to learn. If we let our students get out of the habit of reading, if in fact we ENABLE them to not read, we are limiting what they can learn and WHEN they can learn.

As to my use of the word "extraordinary": maybe a better choice of words would be "surprisingly" or "refreshingly". I think that we give in to this culture of not-reading and blame the books. When I look closely at the books my classes use, I see lucid writing, thoughtful diagrams and carefully worked examples. But to make that discovery, I have to read and read slowly.
Most of your students think they can read a text like they would read a novel...I say like they would because I suspect most of them don't even read novels. So we need to help them learn to read texts...there are strategies. Given that issue, the primary venue to their understanding cannot be through a text. Indeed if the reading is enhanced by their understanding it will reinforce both their understanding and their reading. Hence my use of reading as post- class review. At the time I did not realize how difficult it was for them to read the text, given their assumption they could read it quickly, so I did not attend as much as I should have to reading strategies.

joe
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