The make-believe world of real-world physics

Presentation Date: 

Friday, April 8, 2011

Location: 

Spring 2011 Joint Meeting of the New England Sections of the American Physical Society & American Association of Physics Teachers, UMass Lowell (Lowell, MA)

Presentation Slides: 

That physics describes the real world is a given for physicists. In spite of tireless efforts by instructors to connect physics to the real world, students walk away from physics courses believing physicists live in a world of their own. Are students clueless about the real world? Or are we perhaps deluding ourselves and misleading our students about the real world?