

Taking account of misconceptions; avoiding rote learning (MIT OCW video) - vinutheraj
http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Chemistry/5-95JSpring-2009/VideoDiscussions/detail/lec03.htm

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mquander
Strongly reminiscent of this really fantastic talk from Eric Mazur, a Harvard
physics professor (and a charismatic speaker!) who was shocked when he
discovered the pervasive misconceptions held by his undergraduate students.

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwslBPj8GgI>

Mazur describes how he discovered and _carefully measured_ the lack of
fundamental understanding among the majority of his students, and how after
attempting to address the problem in various ways, he found that a discussion-
based, peer-assisted method of working through material was much more
effective than more a lecture-oriented approach.

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JabavuAdams
Thanks for that! You should submit this to the front page. Suggested title:
"Students Ace Textbook-Style Physics Questions While Struggling With Basic
Understanding."

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bemmu
On the hoop / disc question, I could figure out that there is more work
involved in rotating the hoop so the disc would go faster. However, what if
the incline of the surface is so extreme that both of them are falling? Surely
in that case they should fall with equal speed, so alpha would seem to matter.

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vinutheraj
Then it wouldn't be rolling, you need a surface for it to roll. Atleast that
is my understanding !

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bemmu
Thanks, that makes sense.

