Introduction to Workshop on Physics Teaching and the Development of Reasoning

Authors

Francis P. Collea, California State University, Fullerton
Robert FullerFollow
Robert Karplus, University of California, Berkeley
Lester G. Paldy, SUNY, Stony Brook
John W. Renner, University of Oklahoma

Date of this Version

1975

Comments

Copyright (c) 1975 American Association of Physics Teachers. Used by permission.

Abstract

Are physics teachers in high schools, colleges, and universities knowledgeable concerning the reasoning patterns their students use? The personal experiences of many instructors and research carried out during the last few years indicate that a substantial fraction of physics students have difficulty applying functional relationships among variables, considering all necessary combinations of experimental and theoretical conditions of a problem, and examining their own reasoning critically to locate possible errors. The theory of intellectual development formulated by the Swiss psychologist and epistemologist Jean Piaget deals with these matters and can therefore be of help to physics teachers. We have prepared these individualized workshop materials to present the two principal concepts of Piaget’s theory, stages of development and self- regulation, with background and illustrations that will make clear their relevance for physics teaching.