Monday, January 12, 2009

Redish, Conf Proc: World View on Physics Educ in 2005 (2005)

Problem Solving and the Use of Math in Physics Courses
E. F. Redish, to be published in Proceedings of the Conference, World View on Physics Education in 2005: Focusing on Change, Delhi (Aug 21-26, 2005).

Abstract: Mathematics is an essential element of physics problem solving, but experts often fail to appreciate exactly how they use it. Math may be the language of science, but math-in-physics is a distinct dialect of that language. Physicists tend to blend conceptual physics with mathematical symbolism in a way that profoundly affects the way equations are used and interpreted. Research with university physics students in classes from algebra-based introductory physics indicates that the gap between what students think they are supposed to be doing and what their instructors expect them to do can cause severe problems.

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