One of the most powerful aspects of these modeling workshops is the opportunity to step out of teacher-mode, chain our inner-explainer and try to approach physics discussions from the perspective of our students. As it turns out this is a very difficult thing to do because it isn't a matter of "playing dumb" as our students are far from dumb - they bring to the discussion years of observations about the world and a set of complex reasoning to explain them. So I think this exercise in retrospective amnesia where we try to remember what it was like to not "know" physics concepts can be a huge first step in identifying student (pre/mis)conceptions and where they might struggle (even with your crystal clear explanation and accompanying PowerPoint slides J).
As I reflect on the first week of the Waves Modeling Workshop I am struck by how authentic my student-mode has been. This isn't role play anymore. I am experiencing confusion, cognitive conflict, frustration. Translation: I'm uncomfortable. Translation: I'm learning.
How robust can my understanding of wave physics be if my underlying operational definition of a wave is flawed? While I "know" how waves interact with boundaries my personal understanding generally pivots on analogy to objects that bounce or change direction. While I had always considered waves to be one of the easier topics in the curriculum, I am realizing that teaching wave physics has much more nuance than I had given it credit. While it has been frustrating, this workshop is helping me work out my own conceptions so I can better help students do the same.
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