Abstract
There are so many educational research projects devoted to energy teaching at all school levels, that it may seem hard to add something original and relevant. However, the persistent difficulties documented by both teachers and students in this area show that there is still a great need for coherence and consistency in its presentation, in particular in an interdisciplinary perspective. This paper collects materials made available at the beginning of the seminar for the joint debate on energy teaching. Section “Introduction” presents the motivation and a general look at the energy teaching; section “The Proposal and the Theoretical Background” is devoted to four ideas suggested as a starting point for the discussion; in section “Experiments” concrete experiments are sketched, illustrating how the proposed approach to energy naturally enhances the interconnections between different aspects of natural phenomena and permits students’ introduction to dynamical modelling activities (more thoroughly presented in a poster session report). While it was not possible to enter in the specific context of the various proposals outlined during the seminar discussions, some aspects were discussed in depth, and will form part of the report on the discussion of the working group.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
This situation is interesting also because, as pointed out years ago by Alonso (1994), the introduction of modern physics in the courses should not be done just adding some appealing topic at the end. Rather, a modernisation occurs introducing the fundamental results emerged in the research in more modern topics also in the classical fields: in this case the general and fundamental relationship between symmetries and conservations laws. This operation may require a deep rethinking of the conceptual structure both at a disciplinary and at a didactical level, but opens up to important new perspectives that can be of great help for our students.
- 2.
It is interesting to note that students, looking at the accelerated toy car, naturally ask where the linear momentum comes from, as well as they are able to individuate the surface on which the car is moving as the second physical system involved in the mechanical exchange.
- 3.
Process diagrams are of particular interest since in nature one process drives often another process, sometimes creating long chains. For a detailed introduction see for example Fuchs (2010).
- 4.
Probably not for those students who are happy to have a formula to enter numbers in, but rather for those who wish to understand, capture the inconsistencies and who therefore, unfortunately, often think they do not understand.
- 5.
As well known, only the “interaction term” of the total field energy can be interpreted as the potential energy of the system. However, in spite of what is considered by certain authors (see (Hilborn 2014), difficulties of this type do not seem to me a motivation for abandoning the idea of introducing fields as real physical systems already in high school.
References
Alonso, M.: Physics teachers are more conservative than conservation laws. American Journal of Physics 62, 13-14 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1119/1.17731
Bécu-Robinault K., Tiberghien, A.: Integrating experiments into the teaching of energy. International Journal of Science Education 20, 99-114 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1080/0950069980200107
Bevilacqua, F.: Energy, Learning from the Past, Science & Education 23, 1231–1243 (2014).
Brewe, E.: Inclusion of the energy thread in the introductory physics curriculum: an example of long-term conceptual and thematic coherence. Dissertation, Arizona University (2002). https://education.fiu.edu/docs/faculty_profiles/profile_Brewe.pdf
Brewe, E.: Energy as a substance-like quantity that flows: Theoretical considerations and pedagogical consequences. Physical Review ST Physics Education research, 7, 020106 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.7.020106
Close, H.: Improving instruction in mechanics through identification and elicitation of pivotal cases in student reasoning, in particular: Appendix E - How should we use the word conserve? Dissertation - Washington University (2005) http://www.compadre.org/PER/items/detail.cfm?ID=12327
Corridoni, T., D’Anna, M. Modeling Mechanical, Magnetic And Thermal Processes In High School Lab Activities: An Experiment With A Rotating Disc. In Proceedings of the GIREP 2016 Seminar, Krakow 30 Aug – 3 Sept, 2016
Corridoni, T., D’Anna, M., Fuchs, H.U.: Damped mechanical oscillator: Experiment and detailed energy analysis. The Physics Teacher 52, 88-90 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1119/1.4862111
D’Anna, M., Rosenberg, J.: Experiments. In F. Herrmann et al., Analogies: a key to understand physics. Girep Book of selected papers presented in the GIREP-ICPE-MPTL International Conference. Teaching and Learning Physics Today: Challenges? Benefits?, W. Kaminski, M. Michelini (Eds.), Reims (2014). http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=9B638811E36695C4
Daane, A., Vokos, S., R. Scherr: Learner intuitions about energy degradations. Seattle University (2008).
Daane, A., Vokos, S., Scherr, R.: Goals for teacher learning about energy degradation and usefulness. Physical Review ST – Pysics Education Research, 10, 020111 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.10.020111
Doménech, J., Gil-Pérez, D., Gras-Martì, A., Guisasola, J., Martinez-Torregrosa, J., Salinas, J., Trumper, R., Valdés, P., Vilches, A.: Teaching of Energy Issues: A Debate Proposal for a Global Reorientation. Science & Education 16, 43-64 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11191-005-5036-3
Dreyfus, B., Gouvea, J., Geller, B., Sawtelle, V., Turpen, C., Redish, E.F.: Chemical energy in an introductory physics course for the life sciences. American Journal of Physics 82, 403-411 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1119/1.4870391
Duit, R.: Understanding energy as a conserved quantity – Remarks on the article by R.U. Sexl. European Journal of Science Education, 3, 291-301 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1080/0140528810030306
Duit, R.: Teaching and Learning the Physics Energy Concept. In Chen, R., Eisenkraft, A., Fortus, D., Krajcik, J., Neumann, K., Nordine, J., Scheff, A. (eds.) Teaching and Learning of Energy in K-12 Education, pp. 15-36. Springer, New York (2014)
Duit, R., Haussler, P.: Some ideas for dealing with energy degradation in grades 5 to 10. In Marx, G. (ed.) Entropy in the school, Proceedings of the 6th Danube Seminar on Physics Education. R. Eötvös Society, Budapest (1983).
Fuchs, H.U.: The Dynamics of Heat; 2nd Edition. Springer, New York (2010).
Hilborn, R.C.: What should be the role of field energy in introductory physics courses? American Journal of Physics 82, 66-71 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1119/1.4826598
Jewett, J.W.: Energy and the confused student: Part I – Work; Part II – Systems; Part III – Language; Part IV - A global approach to energy; Part V - The energy-momentum approach to problem solving. The Physics Teacher, 46, 38/81/149/210/269 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1119/1.2823999; https://doi.org/10.1119/1.2834527; https://doi.org/10.1119/1.2840978; https://doi.org/10.1119/1.2895670; https://doi.org/10.1119/1.2909743
Lancor, R.: Using metaphor theory to examine conceptions of energy in biology, Chemistry and Physics. Science and Education 23, 1245-1267 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11191-012-9535-8
Logman, P., Kaper, W., Ellermeijer, T.: Frameworks for talking about energy – mutually exclusive? In Proceedings GIREP Conference Community and Cooperation, Leicester (2009)
Millar, R.: Teaching about energy. University of York, York (2005)
Neuenschwander, D.: Emmy Noether’s wonderful theorem. The John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore (2011)
Papadouris, N., Constantinou, C.: Middle school students using energy analysis in diverse phenomena, Review of science, Mathematics and ICT Education, 6(1), 73-87 (2012)
Papadouris, N., Hadjigeorgiou, A., Constantinou, C. Pre-service Elementary School Teachers’ Ability to Account for the Operation of Simple Physical Systems Using the Energy Conservation Law. Journal of Science Teacher Education 25, 911-933 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10972-014-9407-y
Quinn, H.: A Physicist’s Musings on Teaching About Energy. In Chen, R. et al. (eds.) Teaching and Learning of Energy in K-12 Education, pp. 15-36. Springer, New York (2014)
Quinn, H., Schweingruber, H., Keller, T., National Research Council. A framework for K-12 science education. National Academies Press, Washington, DC (2012)
Ross, K.: There is no energy in food and fuels – but they have fuel value School Science Review, 95, 39-47 (1993)
Scherr, R., Close, H., McKagan, S., Vokos, S.: Representing energy. Representing a substance ontology for energy, Physical Review ST Physics Education Research 8, 020114 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.8.020114
Scherr, R., Harrer, B., Close, H., Daane, A., DeWater, L., Robertson, A., Seeley L., Vokos, S. (2016). Energy Tracking Diagrams, The Physics Teacher 3, 96-102.
Sexl, R.U. (1981). Some observations concerning the teaching of the energy concept, European Jornal of Phyics. Education 3, 285-289.
Swackhamer, G. (2005). Cognitive Resources for Understanding Energy. http://modeling.asu.edu/modeling/CognitiveResources-Energy.pdf.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
D’Anna, M. (2018). Addressing Some Common Difficulties in Teaching and Learning Energy in High School. In: Sokołowska, D., Michelini, M. (eds) The Role of Laboratory Work in Improving Physics Teaching and Learning. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96184-2_15
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96184-2_15
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-96183-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-96184-2
eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyPhysics and Astronomy (R0)