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Re: [Phys-L] show the checks



On 10/16/2012 06:49 PM, Jeff Bigler wrote:

The students who work sequentially from start to finish usually have an
easy time showing an appropriate level of detail in their work. The
students who work more intuitively have a lot of trouble documenting as
they go, because their brains take them to the answer before they do
anything else. For those students, I teach them that when they get to
the answer, they're not finished yet; they still have to write down
something akin to a proof of why their answer is correct.

Wow. Very nice. That's a humane and intelligent approach.

It's yet another reminder that not all students are the same
... and that a "different" approach is not necessarily a wrong
approach.

=========

Continuing that thought: another factor to consider:

Experts such as the folks on this list find it relatively easy
to check our work, because we know ten different ways of solving
the problem, and each way serves as a cross-check on the others.

In contrast, for the typical student in the introductory class,
they struggle to find even one way of solving the problem, so
trying to find a second independent solution is a burdensome
task. As they learn more about the subject, they will have
an easier time checking their work via the cross-check method.

On the third hand, the cross-check method is not the only
method available. There are more routine checks that can be
made, and we should insist that they be made, even in the
most elementary courses.

I've been collecting examples of what I mean by "routine checks".
A few of them are listed at
http://www.av8n.com/physics/thinking.htm#sec-check-work


Show your work.
Check your work.
Show the checks.