Analyzing Aspects of Difficulty

Physics teachers have a lot to gain by analyzing what factors contribute to the difficulty of the course they teach. For students, the priorities of the course are dictated by these factors, whether or not these priorities are intended by the teacher. Conceptual understanding of physics is an important facet of a student's physics education, but this is not the only thing we strive to teach in our classes. Aspects of student learning could be categorized ...

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Programming as Problem Solving

Computer programming provides an ideal environment for young students to develop the cognitive skills required to solve a problem gradually through trial and error... and error, and error, and error. At a New York City public school with a focus on science and math, I observed ninth grade students in a class called Engineering, devoted mostly to introductory computer programming. Students had spent much of the beginning of the year working in Alice, ...

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The No Relationship Relationship

Students often have a difficult time interpreting data from a graph of two variables when the relationship between these two variables doesn't exist. Teachers should approach these situations with care, and use them as an opportunity for direct discussion of what "no-relationship" means in a scientific investigation. On a recent visit to a New York City public school, I saw ninth graders complete a classic pendulum lab. Students measured the period ...

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