HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE IN A
COLLEGE PHYSICS COURSE
RON GOOD
Professor of Science Education &
Physics
GREG HUSSEY
Professor of Physics & Associate Dean
of Basic Sciences
Louisiana State University Baton Rouge, LA
70803
ABSTRACT
This paper
describes attempts to revive a dormant physics course for non science majors at
Louisiana State University, using history and philosophy of science (HPS) as
key components. Texts by Nobel Prize winner Leon Cooper and Harvard
physicist/historian Gerald Holton, along with video segments from The
Mechanical Universe, are used to portray the struggle to understand the
physical universe, from Copernicus and Kepler in the late 16th century to Curie
and Einstein in the early 20th century. Together, these three sources form an
excellent foundation on which to build an understanding of the origins of
scientific ideas about our physical universe. From a list entitled "Some
Philosophical Questions" (e.g., Is science democratic?, How can we decide
whether claims are scientific?, Are scientific models real?) students write
papers and discuss ideas as part of their efforts to understand physics. HPS in
a College Physics Course provides details about the course, including the
authors' impressions of its success and how such courses might be used in
science teacher education reform.
INTRODUCTION
In the
introductory chapter of his excellent text (Science Teaching: The Role of
History and Philosophy of Science) Matthews (1994, p. 6) identifies six ways HPS
can contribute to the improvement of science teaching and learning. Of these,
two are especially relevant to the college physics course described in this
paper: 1. HPS can humanize the sciences and connect them to personal, ethical,
cultural and political concerns. 2. HPS can contribute to the fuller
understanding of scientific subject matter. Understanding science as a human
endeavor includes associating ideas in science with real people who live real
lives, including their struggles to understand nature.
Science For
All Americans (AAAS, 1989) identifies 13 ideas in the first chapter (The Nature
of Science) that scientifically literate persons should understand:
.The World
Is Understandable
.Scientific
Ideas Are Subject to Change
.Scientific
Knowledge Is Durable
.Science
Cannot Provide Complete Answers to All Questions
.Science
Demands Evidence
.Science Is
a Blend of Logic and Imagination
.Science
Explains and Predicts
.Science Is
Not Authoritarian
.Science Is
a Complex Social Activity
.Science Is
Organized into Content Disciplines and Is Conducted in Various Institutions
.There Are
Generally Accepted Ethical Principles in the Conduct of Science
.Scientists
Participate in Public Affairs Both as Specialists and as Citizens
These ideas,
when intertwined with the broad themes of science as a human endeavor, served
as guidelines for the development of PHYS 2401 --Introduction to Concepts in
Physics. An excellent review of research on students' and teachers' ideas about
the nature of science can be found in the Journal of Research in Science
Teaching by Lederman (1992).
This paper
is organized in the following way:
Section 1
-Introduction
Section 2
-Reviving and Rethinking a Dormant Course.
Section 3
-Textbooks and Other Course Materials.
Section 4
-Some Philosophical Questions (Used throughout the course to encourage thought
and discussion about the nature of science).
Section 5
-The Sand Reckoner (A guest lecture by physicist Greg Hussey on Archimedes).
Section 6
-Confronting Aristotle (Aristotelian physics, including similar
(mis)conceptions held by most people today)
Section 7
-Holton's Thematic Analysis Gerald Holton's ideas on broad themes (e.g.,
simplicity, symmetry, conservation continuity) as sources of imagination in
science. See review of latest
edition.
Section 8
-The Lion is known by His Claw (The tremendous accomplishments of Newton).
Section 9
-Beyond the Mechanical Universe (Entering the less certain, strange worlds of Planck,
Einstein, Bohr, Heisenberg, etc.).
Section 10
-Reflections and Ideas for the Future.
The story
told in this paper continues to evolve as PHYS 2401 is taught during the fall
of 1995. Reflections on its effectiveness and ideas for the future are offered
in the final section.
REVIVING AND
RETHINKING A DORMANT COURSE
The LSU
General Catalog description of PHYS 2401 is:
“Introduction
to Concepts in Physics (3): Primarily for students in liberal arts and
education. Historical evolution and underlying philosophy of principles of
physics;
provides appreciation of physics; does not develop technical skill.”
With this
description as a guide plus the ideas on the use of HPS found in Matthews'
(1994) and guidelines for science literacy regarding nature of science found in
Science For All Americans (1989), PHYS 2401 was revised and taught during the
Fall of 1993 for the first time in over five years. It was taught again during
the 1994 fall semester and is scheduled again for 1995.
TEXTBOOKS
AND OTHER COURSE MATERIALS
Of the many
introductory physics texts available today, one seems to be particularly well
suited for PHYS 2401. PHYSICS: Structure and Meaning (1992) by Leon N. Cooper,
1972 Nobel Prize winner in physics, takes a historical, mainly qualitative
approach to describing and explaining the nature of physics. In the Preface,
Cooper explains his intentions:
“I have
tried, in all, to present physics as one attempt made by human beings to
organize their experience --different in technique, but not totally different
in outlook from that of the painter, for example, whose canvas is often his
organization of his experience of light and color. It seems to me that
important physics, as important painting, imposes the vision of the
scientist/artist on the raw data, in principle available to everyone. A
generation or two later the world appears to us as that vision. (p. xii)”
This text by
Cooper serves as the main source of ideas in print about physics.
A second
text, also required, serves to introduce students to thematic analysis of ideas
about the physical world. Thematic Origins of Scientific Thought: Kepler to
Einstein (1988) by Gerald Holton, Harvard University Professor of Physics and
History of Science, introduces the reader to themes (e.g., conservation,
continuity, simplicity) that have influenced the course of science. In his
Introduction, Holton talks of personal and public science and how themes, or
themata as he calls them, can be studied:
“The study
of the personal context of discovery has in fact come into its own in the past
few decades. As I have indicated, it is now clear that one must distinguish
between science in the sense of the personal struggle and a different, communal
activity, also called "science," which is its public, institutional
aspect. (p. 9)
It is
possible that the origin of themata will be best approached through studies
concerned with the nature of perception, and particularly of the psychological
development of concepts in early life But, for my part the most fruitful stance
to take now is akin to that of a folklorist or anthropologist, namely, to look
for and identify recurring general themata in the preoccupation of individual
scientists and of the profession as a whole, and to identify their role in the
development of science. (p. 17)”
Holton's
Thematic Origins provides insights into fundamental processes of scientific
thought that nicely complement Cooper's physics text. Although an occasional
paper from other sources is assigned, these two texts provide the main reading
materials for PHYS 2401.
Finally, the
third major source of ideas developed in the course is The Mechanical
Universe...And Beyond, a video series of 52 30-minute programs that re-enact
great moments in the history of science (physics) and explain, with excellent
graphics, central physics concepts and models. About one-third of the 52
programs are used throughout the semester-long PHYS 2401 to introduce or
further explain ideas from the time of Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, and Newton
to Maxwell, Planck, Einstein, and Bohr. The Mechanical Universe... And Beyond
(1985) is produced by the California Institute of Technology (introductory
lectures by Caltech professor David L. Goodstein) and the Southern California
Consortium and distributed by the Annenberg/CPB Collection. Winner of the
prestigious international Japan Prize, The Mechanical Universe... And Beyond is
very effective in capturing the interest of students and in promoting
discussion during and after classes. Whether used to humanize science or to assist
students in developing more accurate conceptions of scientists' ideas about the
physical world, The Mechanical Universe is an excellent science education
resource.
The
preceding three sources (Cooper text, Holton text, Mechanical Universe videos)
comprise the large majority of the reading and viewing material for PHYS 2401.
Included among the secondary sources used in the course are materials from:
.Cromer, A.
(1993). Uncommon sense: The heretical nature of science. New York, NY: Oxford
University Press.
.Ferris, T.
(1988). Coming of age in the Milky Way. New York, NY: Morrow.
.Lightman,
A. (1992). Great ideas in physics. New York, NY: McGraw-Hili.
.Wolpert, L.
(1993). The unnatural nature of science. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Press.
SOME PHILOSOPHICAL
QUESTIONS
To encourage
students in PHYS 2401 to think about the nature of science as described in
Science For All Americans. Matthews (1994), and other contemporary sources, a
list of24 "philosophical" questions is provided early in the semester.
The questions are reprinted here as they are given to the students:
Some
Philosophical Questions:
1. Are laws
of physics discovered or invented?
2. How can
we decide whether claims are scientific?
3. Is
science democratic?
4. How are
science and religion related?
5. Is
science basically helpful or harmful?
6. How
certain can we be of science's products?
7. What is
the relationship of theory to evidence in science?
8. What are
some of the influences of society on science?
9. How have
society-science interactions changed since Galileo?
10. What
does it mean to be scientifically literate?
11. What is
"the scientific method"?
12. Are
there ideas in science of which we can be certain?
13. What are
the limits of science?
14. Do aesthetics
playa role in science?
15. What is
the role of the experiment in science?
16. Is the
science of physics a unique way of knowing?
17. How do
scientific theories change?
18. What is
the meaning of "theory" in science?
19. Are
scientific models real?
20. Is
physics gender-biased?
21. How is
science related to technology?
22. How does
physics as a way of knowing compare to literature as a way of knowing?
23. How
might misconceptions about physics concepts originate?
24. How can
we distinguish between science and pseudoscience?
Throughout
the semester these questions appear in assignments, exams, and as part of
discussions in class. Some of the questions are used by students as the focus
of their term papers. For example, in his paper "Paradox Lost: The
Cosmology and Physics of Milton's Paradise Lost" student Jeffrey Dupuis
(1993) writes:
“While the
Ptolemaic system is the manifestation of Divine order, Raphael's mention of a
different system is quite important. By transforming the center of the cosmos
from the Earth to the Sun in a heliocentric system, Milton is at once able to
acknowledge the "new astronomy" of Copernicus and thereby foreshadow
the Fall of Man when expelled from Eden--the center of the Universe--and forced
to abide in a new world (the heliocentric universe) where there exists no
longer harmony with God. (pp. 6-7)”
"Some
Philosophical Questions" play a much more prominent role in PHYS 2401 than
was expected when they were first conceived. To a large extent, the
"philosophy" of the course is embodied in these questions.
THE SAND
RECKONER
Early in the
course a guest lecture by Greg Hussey, Professor of Physics and Associate Dean
of Basic Sciences at LSU, on Archimedes (287-212 B.C.) of Syracuse (Sicily)
highlights the contributions of Archimedes, with a focus on "The Sand
Reckoner" (see Dijksterhuis, 1987 for an excellent account of Archimedes'
work, including The Sand Reckoner). The influence of Greek thought more than
2000 years ago on modem science (beginning with Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo,
etc.) is pointed out by Professor Hussey in the work and thought of Archimedes.
In The Sand Reckoner, Archimedes uses Aristarchus' estimate of the size of the
universe and then shows how Euclid's geometry can be used to arrive at an
estimate of the number of grains of sand that would be required to fill a
sphere the size of the universe. Archimedes' powers of estimation are truly
impressive, providing an excellent example from more than 2000 years ago of a
very important aspect of scientific thought today.
Selecting
Archimedes' work and thought as among the best of the influential Greek
thinkers two millennia ago, helps the students in PHYS 2401 appreciate the
power of method in science and mathematics. Also, they see that although
Aristarchus proposed that the Earth revolved around the sun, nearly 2000 years
before Copernicus' work it is not Aristarchus but Copernicus who is credited
with displacing the Earth from the center of the universe. Cooper (1992, p. 45)
explains that Aristarchus' proposal required his contemporaries to assume a
universe far greater in size than that proposed by Aristotle, so his ideas were
dismissed. It is a nice example from the history of science that can be used to
discuss how and why credit is assigned to people as they propose ideas to
explain how nature works. It is not always the first proposer who gets the
credit; the nature of the claim and how it is viewed by one's colleagues play a
critical part in the process.
Since we
have come this far with The Sand Reckoner, it is worth telling the end of the
story. Dijksterhuis (1987, pp. 360-373) tells us Archimedes worked through the
mathematics for King Gelon and arrived at a number of 10S1 for the grains of
sand in the cosmos. The Sand Reckoner ends with these words:
“I conceive,
King Gelon, that these things will appear incredible to the numerous persons
who have not studied mathematics; but to those who are conversant therewith and
have given thought to the distances and the sizes of the earth, the sun, and
the moon, and of the whole cosmos, the proof will carry conviction. It is for
this reason that I thought it would not displease you either to consider these
things. (p. 373)”
CONFRONTING
ARISTOTLE
During the
last two decades" Aristotelian thought" has been found to be common
in students of all ages. Hundreds of studies show that students develop ideas
about our physical environment, mechanics in particular, that are similar to
the pre-Newtonian/Aristotelian ideas credited to the influence of Aristotle
(384-322 B.C.). Examples of these studies can be found in AAAS (1993), Arons
(1990), Camp and Clement (1994), Cromer (1993), Maloney (1994), Pfund and Duit
(1991), Wandersee, Mintzes, and Novak (1994), and throughout journals such as
American Journal of Physics, International Journal of Science Education,
Journal of Research in Science Teaching, Physics Education, Science Education
and The Physics Teacher.
Cooper's
(1992, p. 119) statement, "Seeing is not easy when belief is strong,"
explains nicely the influence of Aristotle's physics on his contemporaries and
nearly all people who cared to think about such things until Copernicus,
Kepler, Galileo, and finally Newton (1642-1727) developed different ideas.
To help
students in PHYS 2401 understand Aristotle's belief system about what we now
call mechanics in physics, brief selections from his Physical Treatises (in
Aristotle I, Great Books of the Western World. R. Hutchins, Ed.) are read and
discussed in class. Examples of the selections follow:
.Of things
that exist, some exist by nature, some from other causes. (p. 268)
.Each of
them has within itself a principle of motion and of stationariness. (p.
268)because what is heavy is naturally carried downwards and what is light to
the top, wherefore the stones and foundations take the lowest place, with the
earth above because it is lighter, and wood at the top of all as being the
lightest. (p. 277)
.But when an
event takes place always or for the most part, it is not incidental or by
chance. (p.277)
.It is plain
then that nature is a cause, a cause that operates for a purpose. (p. 277)
All of these
statements reflect a belief in a grand design. Aristotle and those who followed
for nearly two millennia were unable to separate nature from the grand design
dogma embodied in Aristotle's work. Through assignments and class discussion,
students in PHYS 2401 compare authoritarianism and science. Dawkins' (1987)
Blind Watchmaker is discussed to highlight the unpredictable nature of
evolution of life, including the fact that most species eventually become
extinct; this would seem to be a peculiar design for Aristotle's kind of Grand
Designer.
Even without
influence from a belief in Aristotle's kind of Grand Designer, students of all
ages develop ideas about force and motion (mechanics) that are similar to
Aristotelean physics. Among these everyday, prescientific notions are: (1) a
constant force applied to an object causes it to move at constant velocity; (2)
a force moves an object in the direction of the force; and (3) moving objects
slow down unless a force is applied. Understanding one's environment in terms
of Newtonian physics rather than Aristotelian physics is neither natural nor
easy, as Wolpert (1993), Cromer (1993), and many studies during the last two
decades have shown.
Before
confronting the great lion of physics, a brief digression into Holton's (1988)
thematic analysis is made to highlight the use of his ideas of PHYS 2401.
HOLTON'S
THEMATIC ANALYSIS
First
published in 1973 and again (in revised form) in 1988, Thematic Origins of
Scientific Thought: Kepler to Einstein is praised by Harvard's E. O. Wilson as
"a brilliant explanation of the true, powerful process of scientific
thought" (back cover). On page one in the Introduction, Holton (1988)
explains the principal aim of Thematic Origins: "Throughout the book a
chief aim is to inquire, by means of specific case studies of physical
scientists from Kepler to Einstein and Bohr, how the scientific mind
works" (p. 1). Early in the book Holton provides his first example of
thema:
Thus on
February 10, 1605 --a date that might be taken to be historic for physics --he
[Kepler] revealed for the first time his devotion to the thema of the universe
as a physical machine in which universal terrestrial force laws would hold for the
operation of the whole cosmos... (p. 2)
Holton
continues in the next sentence in Thematic Origins to explain the nature and
importance of Themata in science:
“But his
[Kepler's] effort would have been doomed if he had not supplemented the mechanistic
image with two other, very different ones: the universe as a mathematical
harmony and the universe as a central theological order. These three themata
continued to echo in the work of the seventeenth-century scientists who
followed Kepler, and indeed up to the delayed triumph of the purely mechanistic
view in the completion of Newton's work by Laplace. (pp. 2-3)”
Throughout
Thematic Origins Holton differentiates between public science and private
science. Public science is "dry-cleaned" of the personal elements
resulting in a science that the public sees as final and generally
uncontroversial. Most publications portray science as a straightforward, linear
progression practiced by dispassionate, somewhat odd people. The conflicts
within and between scientists are seldom seen even though, as Holton shows:
“Cases
abound that give evidence of the role of "unscientific"
preconceptions, passionate motivations, varieties of temperament, intuitive
leaps, serendipity or sheer bad luck, not to speak of the incredible tenacity
with which certain ideas have been held despite the fact that they conflicted
with the plain experimental evidence, or the neglect of theories that would
have quickly solved an experimental puzzle (p. 8)”
The ideas in
Thematic Origins are seen by most students in PHYS 2401 as interesting, but
difficult. The scholarly presentation by Holton, a strength of the book as seen
by other scholars with like interests, is a challenge to many undergraduates
whose interests in science are not deep. Details deemed necessary by Holton are
little appreciated by many students in PHYS 2401. Some students, however, find
the reading unproblematic and do not understand why others complain of
difficult reading.
The
distinctions between public and private science in Thematic Origins and the
examples of themes/them at a used by scientists from Kepler to Einstein are
very useful in painting a more accurate picture of how science is done ~ it
appears in the textbooks. The challenge for the teacher of a course like PHYS
2401 is to translate, summarize, and present the key ideas in ways that are
accessible to students before they give up on the scholarly treatment by
Holton.
THE LION IS
KNOWN BY HIS CLAW
The fourth
of 47 chapters in Cooper's PHYSICS: Structure and Meaning is entitled "The
Lion Is Known by His Claw." Following earlier descriptions of the
contributions of Galileo, Cooper (1992) opens this chapter with the statement:
“Isaac
Newton, born the year Galileo died, grasped the tools, the insights, the knowledge
that had set the seventeenth century scientific world in a ferment, and adding
his own inventions created the first great modem physical theory, a structure
so remarkable that it dominated the landscape of human thought for two
centuries. (p. 31)”
Building on
Galileo's work on falling bodies and earlier contributions by Kepler and
others, Newton developed the foundation of his physical theory and the
associated mathematics (calculus) during the years 1764- 1766, before he was 25
years old! Twenty years later (July, 1687) at the urging of Edmond Halley,
Newton wrote and published his “Principia”, in which his revolutionary physical
theory is consolidated and detailed. In three laws, Newton overturned
Aristotelian physics, at least with his colleagues in science. More than three
centuries after the publication of Principia most lay persons continue to
reflect Aristotelian ideas of force and motion. As Wolpert (1993) points out,
"Science does not fit with our natural expectations" (p. 1).
To supplement
the text material in Cooper, two video programs (Newton's Laws, The Apple and
The Moon) from Mechanical Universe are viewed and discussed during weeks 4-6 in
PHYS 2401. Each 30-minute video is a valuable resource, both for explaining
physics concepts and in portraying Newton and his contemporaries in a realistic
way. By combining re-enactments of history, animations of objects in motion,
and modem-day applications of Newton's physics, the videos do what cannot
otherwise be done in ordinary "talk and chalk" lectures. More details
on Isaac Newton can be found in Westfall's (1993) The Life of Isaac Newton, a
source used throughout the semester in PHYS 2401.
The first
half of PHYS 2401 focuses on the nature of Aristotelian physics and the
transition to Newtonian physics. Galileo's work on velocity and acceleration is
the focus of at least three classes, including considerable work on sketching
qualitative line graphs (i.e., no numbers) of common events, both in and out of
the classroom. The work on kinematics by the physics education group at the
University of Washington is helpful during this phase of the course. At least
half of the students find that graphic representation of common events (e.g.,
dropping a coin, bouncing a ball, flight of a bird, cycling up and down a hill)
is not easy for them. Program two, "The Law of Falling Bodies" in the
Mechanical Universe is quite helpful in representing and explaining concepts
that many of the students find difficult to understand.
Following
the midterm exam the remainder of the course is devoted to studying the origins
of relativity theory and quantum theory.
BEYOND THE
MECHANICAL UNIVERSE
In his
excellent chapter on the origins of Einstein's special theory of relativity,
Holton (1988) looks at influences on Einstein's early work leading to the
publication of his 1905 paper on relativity ("Zur Elektrodynamik bewegter
Korper") in Annalen Der Physik, Holton notes that Einstein's paper begins
with "a curious question":
“Why is
there in Maxwell's theory one equation for finding the electromotive force
generated in a moving conductor when it goes past a stationary magnet, and
another equation when the conductor is stationary and the magnet is moving?
(Holton, 1988, p. 212)”
His question
about this anomaly, placed in the paper before other concerns and analyses,
suggests that Einstein was, most of all, trying to resolve what to him was a
most unsatisfactory situation. It should be only the relative motion between
the conductor and magnet that counts. To resolve this fundamental problem
Einstein was willing to do what none of his contemporaries were able to do; he
dismissed the conceptions of absolute motion and of the ether!
Although
Holton's chapter on the origins of the special theory of relativity contains
more details than most students in PHYS 2401 are interested in knowing, an
important message is communicated. Holton makes it clear that Einstein was
willing to question fundamental conceptions of space and time in order to
eliminate the anomaly already mentioned in Maxwell's theory. The
epistemological implications regarding space and time are difficult to
comprehend and accept, as illustrated in the comments on the 1905 relativity
paper by Max von Laue, a physicist and contemporary of Einstein:
“...slowly
but steadily a new world opened before me. I had to spend a great deal of
effort on it And particularly epistemological difficulties gave me much
trouble. I believe that only since about 1950 have I mastered them. (Holton,
1988, p. 213)”
About 10
class meetings are devoted to comparing Newtonian physics with Einsteinian
physics, utilizing chapters in both Cooper and Holton and four excellent video
programs from the Mechanical Universe and Beyond: (1) The Michelson-Morley
Experiment; (2) The Lorentz Transformation; (3) Velocity and Time; and (4)
Mass, Momentum, Energy. Confusion and disbelief are good descriptors for most
students' reactions to the material on relativity. We discuss the strong
conviction to his theory Einstein had to have in light of the fundamental
changes required in thinking about space and time concepts; however, discussion
does not seem to clarify much of the physics for the students. As von Laue
suggests, it takes a great deal of effort and a long time to understand and
accept the implications of Einstein's relativity theory.
The final
weeks in PHYS 2401 are devoted to late 19th century ideas about the structure
of the atom, the beginnings of the quantum theory, discussion of current ideas
on science in our society, and presentation and discussion of student term
papers.
REFLECTIONS
AND IDEAS FOR THE FUTURE
In its
revised format PHYS 2401 is being taught for the third time during the 1995
fall semester. Two things missing in the previous two offerings are a part of
the syllabus for the 1995 fall semester: (1) labs to recreate some of Galileo's
experiments with inclined planes and pendula, and (2) computer simulations of
experiments with inclined planes using "Graphs and Tracks" by David
Trowbridge from Physics Academic Software. The majority of the time students
spend working on experiments and computer simulations will be done as part of
assignments outside of regular class time, although reports and discussions in
class will occur. It is anticipated that these activities will provide students
with the experiences to better understand kinematics while having personal
opportunities to appreciate the experimental side of the nature of science.
Having the
freedom to explore HPS issues in PHYS 2401 without feeling the pressure to
achieve a specified level of "technical" competence in solving
physics problems is important. Also, some topics that are ordinarily included
in introductory physics courses for science or engineering majors are barely
mentioned in PHYS 2401. For example, thermodynamics, electrostatics, and
nuclear physics receive very little attention. Because students are not
expected to develop technical competence for future science-related courses,
more attention can be given to topics that fit more nicely with a focus on HPS.
The nature of physics/science as a way of knowing is on the center stage in
PHYS 2401. However, the ideas,
including the conceptual physics, are challenging to the students. Classical
mechanics and relativity theory are among the most conceptually difficult areas
for students, as shown by the hundreds of studies on (mis)conceptions reported
during the past two decades.
PHYS 2401 is
a demanding course. It deals with sophisticated and important ideas about the
historical and philosophical nature of science. More college students,
especially those who will teach science one day, should have the opportunity to
grapple with ideas similar to those in PHYS 2401.
REFERENCES
AAAS.
(1989). Science for all Americans. Washington, DC: Author
AAAS.
(1993). Benchmarks for science literacy. Washington, DC: Author
Arons, A.
(1990). A guide to introductory phvsics teaching. New York, NY: Wiley.
Cal Tech.
(1985). The mechanical universe... and beyond. A 52 video program distributed by
the Annenberg/CPB Collection.
Camp, C. and
Clement, J. (1994). Preconceptions in mechanics: Lessons dealing with students'
conceptual difficulties. Dubuque, IA: Kendal/Hunt.
Cooper, L.
(1992). Physics: Structure and meaning. Hanover, NH: University Press of New
England.
Cromer, A.
(1993). Uncommon sense: The heretical nature of science. New York, NY: Oxford
University Press.
Dawkins, R.
(1987). The blind watchmaker: Why the evidence of evolution reveals a universe
without design. New York, NY: Norton.
Dijksterhuis,
E. (1987). Archimedes. Translated by C. Dikshoorn. Princeton, NJ: Princeton
University Press.
Dupuis, J.
(1993). Paradox lost: The cosmology and physics of Milton's Paradise Lost. A
paper presented in PHYS 2401, Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University.
Holton, G.
(1988). Thematic origins of scientific thought: Kepler to Einstein. Cambridge,
MA: Harvard University Press.
Maloney, D.
(1994). Research on problem solving: Physics. In D. Gabel (Ed.), Handbook of
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Matthews, M.
(1994). Science teaching: The role of history and philosophy of science. New
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Pfundt, H.
& Duit, R. (1991). Bibliography: Students' alternative frameworks and science
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Wandersee,
J., Mintzes, J. & Novak, J. (1994). Research on alternative conceptions in
science. In D. Gabel (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Science Teaching and
Learning. (pp. 177-210). New York, NY: Macmillan
Westfall, R.
(1993). The life of Isaac Newton. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University
Press.
Wolpert, L.
(1993). The unnatural nature of science: sense. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press.