The Challenge Of Changing Deeply-Held Student Beliefs About The Physical World: An Example From Special Relativity

Rachel E. Scherr, Peter S. Shaffer, and Stamatis Vokos

Department of Physics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA

Abstract

Previous research indicates that after standard instruction students at all academic levels often construct a conceptual framework in which the ideas of absolute simultaneity and the relativity of simultaneity co-exist. This article describes the development and assessment of instructional materials intended to improve student understanding of the concept of time in special relativity, the relativity of simultaneity, and the role of observers in inertial reference frames. Results from pretests and post-tests are presented to demonstrate the effect of the curriculum in helping students deepen their understanding of these topics. Excerpts from taped interviews and classroom interactions help illustrate the intense cognitive conflict that students encounter as they are led to confront the incompatibility of their deeply-held beliefs about simultaneity with the results of special relativity.


THE CHALLENGE OF CHANGING DEEPLY-HELD STUDENT BELIEFS ABOUT THE PHYSICAL WORLD: AN EXAMPLE FROM SPECIAL RELATIVITY (PDF)

Table of Contents

I. Introduction
II. Context For Research And Curriculum Development
III. Overview Of The Instructional Approach
IV. Laying The Groundwork For Addressing Student Difficulties With Reference Frames
V. Building An Understanding Of The Relativity Of Simultaneity
VI. Assessing Student Understanding Of Simultaneity
VII. Conclusion

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