“Because math”: Epistemological stance or defusing social tension in quantum mechanics? Documents

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“Because math”: Epistemological stance or defusing social tension in quantum mechanics? 

written by Erin Ronayne Sohr, Benjamin W. Dreyfus, Ayush Gupta, and Andrew Elby

In collaborative small-group work, physics students need to both manage social conflict and grapple with conceptual and epistemological differences. In this paper, we document several outlets that students use as tools for managing social conflict when addressing quantum mechanics tutorials in clinical focus groups. These resources include epistemic distancing, humor, playing on tutorial wording and look-ing ahead to subsequent questions. We present preliminary analysis of episodes where students work through a Particle in a Box tutorial. Each episode highlights a different manner of navigating social tension: through shared epistemic humor in one case, and reinterpretation of the question in the other.

Last Modified December 16, 2015

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