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Re: [Phys-L] Conceptual Physics Course



I firmly believe that /concepts/ are good.

It really bugs me when "conceptual physics" becomes a synonym for
"bonehead physics" or (all too often) "grotesquely wrong physics".

The people who have contributed to this thread are evidently quite
dedicated to fixing this problem ... which I find quite encouraging
and inspiring.

In particular, all too often, "conceptual physics" is in danger
of becoming "pretending to do physics while avoiding all the
fundamental concepts, because we think these students are too
dumb to handle actual concepts".

This has got to stop!

I am quite aware that many students arrive having no clue what
a "concept" is, let alone how to /learn/ a concept. OK, fine.
That tells me, plain as day, that the first order of business is
to teach them how to go about learning a concept.

Teaching is never easy, and teaching process issues such as "how
to figure out a concept" is particularly tricky ... but it can be
done. It urgently needs to be done.


On 05/17/2012 08:22 AM, Jeffrey Schnick wrote:
what do you do to convince a person in a lasting
manner that the reciprocal of (1/x + 1/y) is not, in general, x+y? [1]

I see question [1] as the tip of the iceberg. My previous answer,
while not wrong, was superficial.

IMHO the deeper point is this: If the student /understood/ the
expression 1/(1/x + 1/y) he wouldn't be asking question [1]. So
let's back up a couple of steps:

[2] What is the most /meaningful/ way to /understand/ this particular
expression 1/(1/x + 1/y) ?

If we answer this, then question [1] answers itself.

[3] More generally, what is the process a person should use when
faced with some generic unfamiliar math formula -- or an unfamiliar
physical situation -- in order to acquire a good understanding?

Note: Item [2] corresponds to having a fish, whereas item [3]
corresponds to knowing how to catch fish whenever needed.

[4] So, how do we /teach/ them to fish?

Dirac said:
I consider that I understand an equation
when I can predict the properties of its solutions,
without actually solving it.

In that spirit, I have typed up some notes on how IMHO somebody should
go about acquiring an /understanding/ of a hitherto-unfamiliar expression,
using 1/(1/x + 1/y) as an example.

I am aware that this is not the perfect pedagogical example, because
electric circuits come rather late in the course, whereas the process
issues ... _how to acquire a concept_ ... need to be addressed literally
on Day One. So please consider this a work in progress. Perhaps it is
a small step in the right direction.

http://www.av8n.com/physics/understanding-parallel-r.htm

Comments, anyone?