Re: [Phys-L] Fun in learning Was: The Make-Believe World of Real-World Physics

[Bernard Cleyet <bernard@cleyet.org>]

On 2013, Jul 12, , at 07:02, "Dan L. MacIsaac" <danmacisaac@gmail.com> wrote:

> While I also like to do fun things, and my students and I do MANY fun things in 
> class; I think it's also important that students experience and learn to work through 
> challenges and frustration, as part of preparing them to be successful in life.
> At first, with a lot of support then tapering support off.  
> I think we do our students a disservice if we avoid frustrating them at times.
>
> My analogy would be working out at the gym -- you can't be serious without hard
> work and effort, and there is a "burn" when you tire your muscles.  Similarly I think
> there is a "burn" when you are changing your brain while learning physics.  
> Changing your brain hurts and is tiring, though when you "get it" clearly you get
> a dopamine reward (as well as the joy of insight).
>
> My question would be more generally -- what roles do student frustration and 
> struggle play with learning physics?  And how can we appropriately foster
> and support appropriate levels of student frustration?
>
> Dan M
>
> PS -- for the record, I'm not anti-fun.

Mmm, I usta think that learning patience was important.  The Michel-Cavendish was I thought useful to teach this in addition to the physics.  No?  Now it's digitized -- so many labs are now digitized -- are the techniques important other than programing, etc.??

bc embarrassed when he video taped the red spot on the two meter stick and played back on a vcr that included an accurate comparatively high res. clock to "collect" the data.

p.s. old timer who used a K2 pot and ballistic galvo. inter alia.