Related papers: Neuroqueering Physics Literacy
[Taken from the "README" in the book] My goal with this book is to provide some kind of bridge for mathematics between the high-school-level and college-level for physics students. From my perspective, our job as physicists is to observe…
On their way to an academic career in physics, Ph.D. students have to overcome difficulties at many levels. Beyond the intellectual challenge, there are also psychological, social and economic barriers. We studied the difficulties…
Mathematics is the language of science. Fluent and productive use of mathematics requires one to understand the meaning embodied in mathematical symbols, operators, syntax, etc., which can be a difficult task. For instance, in algebraic…
Immersion in a creative task can be an intimate experience. It can feel like a mystery: intangible, inexplicable, and beyond the reach of science. However, science is making exciting headway into understanding creativity. While the mind of…
An important goal of graduate physics core courses is to help students develop expertise in problem solving and improve their reasoning and meta-cognitive skills. We explore the conceptual difficulties of physics graduate students by…
Many systems neuroscientists want to understand neurons in terms of mediation; we want to understand how neurons are involved in the causal chain from stimulus to behavior. Unfortunately, most tools are inappropriate for that while our…
Technology enables a more sustainable and universally accessible educational model. However, technology has brought a paradox into students' lives: it helps them engage in learning activities, but it is also a source of distraction. During…
The ability to make decisions based on data, with its inherent uncertainties and variability, is a complex and vital skill in the modern world. The need for such quantitative critical thinking occurs in many different contexts, and while it…
Introductory undergraduate courses in classical physics stress a perspective that can be characterized as realist; from this perspective, all physical properties of a classical system can be simultaneously specified and thus determined at…
In many ways, the American learning system is unique in its reliance on testing using multiple-choice questions. Learning in physics, as well as in any other subject, is a context-dependent process. In this paper, I consider a broader…
Understanding how learners conceptualise complex scientific systems remains a key challenge in geoscience education. We investigate the evolution of conceptual understanding of cloud physics among 153 learners, ranging from bachelor…
The brain is a complex system comprising a myriad of interacting elements, posing significant challenges in understanding its structure, function, and dynamics. Network science has emerged as a powerful tool for studying such intricate…
Cognitive conflict is well recognized as an important factor in conceptual change and is widely used in developing inquiry-based curricula. However, cognitive conflict can also contribute to student anxiety during learning, which can have…
Despite numerous achievements and recent progress, nuclear physics is often (wrongly) considered an old field of research nowadays. However, developments in theoretical frameworks and reliable experimental techniques have made the field…
When people share the same documents and observations yet reach different conclusions, the disagreement often shifts into a judgment that the other party is cognitively defective, irrational, or acting in bad faith. This paper argues that…
A generalized view of Duality is offered as a bridge between physical sciences and the more abstract philosophical dimensions bordering on mysticism. To that end several examples of duality are first cited from from conventional physics…
We still lack any consensus about what one is actually talking about as one uses quantum mechanics. There is a gap between the abstract terms in which the theory is couched and the phenomena the theory enables each of us to account for so…
Within computational neuroscience, informal interactions with modelers often reveal wildly divergent goals. In this opinion piece, we explicitly address the diversity of goals that motivate and ultimately influence modeling efforts. We…
We focus on reflections and suggestions of five college quantum educators from four different institutions (two from same institution) regarding what can be done to diversify the second quantum revolution. They are leading QIST researchers,…
During recent collaboration with colleagues to revise our institution's general-education curriculum, I encountered many perceptions of what we mean by the Natural Sciences. I was surprised to find that perceptions of scientific pedagogy…