Abstract
This study examines a course in which students use two writing activitiesand collaborative group activities to examine the conceptual structure ofthe calculus-based introductory Physics course. Students are presented withtwo alternative frameworks; pre-Galilean Physics and Newtonian Physics. Theidea of the course design is that students would at first view the frameworksalmost in a theatrical sense as a view of a drama involving a conflict of actors;Aristotle, Galileo, Newton and others occurring a long time ago. As participantspassing through a series of interventions, the students become aware that theframeworks relate concepts from different parts of the course and learn to evaluatethe two alternative frameworks. They develop a scientific mindset changing theiroutlook on the course material from the viewpoint that it consists of a tool kit ofassorted practices, classified according to problem type, to the viewpoint that itcomprises a connected structure of concepts.
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Kalman, C.S., Aulls, M.W. Can an Analysis of the Contrast Between pre-Galilean and Newtonian Theoretical Frameworks Help Students Develop a Scientific Mindset. Science & Education 12, 761–772 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:SCED.0000004554.35266.7a
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:SCED.0000004554.35266.7a