tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34480619.post526402691637049936..comments2024-03-11T13:47:03.621-05:00Comments on Physics and Physicists: Education Technology - Is It All Good?ZapperZhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15861398273820851809noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34480619.post-70004914725487288222016-04-08T04:03:56.581-05:002016-04-08T04:03:56.581-05:00I will go one step further and say that the classe...I will go one step further and say that the classes I enjoyed most in my studies were those where the professor also followed this approach in the lectures - standard old chalkboard lectures where each derivation or problem was worked out in detail, with steps and assumptions shown, and diagrams drawn to illustrate the key ideas. <br /><br />One of the most important skills in physics education is developing an intuition about the solutions to problems. I think this is most readily developed by "playing" with the equations with pen and paper. The first year physics class at my institution was actually famous for never asking for numerical answers; all assignments required derivation of an expression for some final quantity in terms of some initial conditions. At the end, they would typically ask questions like, "What is the limit of your expression if m1 >> m2 ... explain why this makes sense." This approach forced students to develop a physical picture of the problem, and some intuition about the answer. <br /><br />Steve Whttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15767299905748676344noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34480619.post-565431079443272022016-04-04T13:22:51.925-05:002016-04-04T13:22:51.925-05:00I agree with the points you make here. Being able ...I agree with the points you make here. Being able to sketch figures and write clear solutions are crucial skills that risk not being emphasized enough if the course relies to heavily on online forms. Thinking back on my own studies I wish I had spent more time practicing solving problems weekly. When I was a TA three years ago or so (in first year classical physics), we tried different ways to have the students solve one problem per week on their own, using pen and paper. This was hard to achieve and we couldn't make it mandatory for various reasons. Giving the students that completed the task a piece of candy in class didn't cut it, as it turned out. <br /><br />I guess it's also tempting for the tutor to have an automated online system that saves him or her time. Anyway, I think it's worth being a dinosaur in this case.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09822985898360346680noreply@blogger.com