Colloquium

Understanding or Memorization: Are we Teaching the Right Thing?, at Physics Colloquium, Georgetown University (Washington, DC), Thursday, April 11, 1996
Signs that introductory physics courses can lead to frustration (both for students and faculty) abound. A major problem is that traditional lectures in introductory science frequently fail to stimulate students to further study. Many, if not most, students concentrate on problem-solving without paying sufficient attention to the underlying concepts. Physics is then reduced to a set of recipes, or 'problem-solving strategies' as they are called in textbooks. The remaining, purely mechanical material is uninteresting and the apparent lack of any underlying consistency or logic leads to... Read more about Understanding or Memorization: Are we Teaching the Right Thing?
Understanding or Memorization: Are we Teaching the Right Thing?, at Physics Colloquium, Georgetown University (Washington, DC), Thursday, April 11, 1996
Signs that introductory physics courses can lead to frustration (both for students and faculty) abound. A major problem is that traditional lectures in introductory science frequently fail to stimulate students to further study. Many, if not most, students concentrate on problem-solving without paying sufficient attention to the underlying concepts. Physics is then reduced to a set of recipes, or 'problem-solving strategies' as they are called in textbooks. The remaining, purely mechanical material is uninteresting and the apparent lack of any underlying consistency or logic leads to... Read more about Understanding or Memorization: Are we Teaching the Right Thing?

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