Disciplinary Knots and Learning Problems in Waves Physics

TL;DR

This study explores student understanding of wave physics through extracurricular laboratory activities, identifying learning difficulties and proposing improved teaching strategies based on observed challenges.

Contribution

It provides an analysis of disciplinary knots and learning problems in wave physics, leading to a new teaching-learning proposal based on experimental observations.

Findings

Students faced difficulties in laboratory activities involving wave measurements.

Quantitative analysis revealed specific conceptual misunderstandings.

The experience informed a new pedagogical approach for teaching wave physics.

Abstract

An investigation on student understanding of waves is performed during an optional laboratory realized in informal extracurricular way with few, interested and talented pupils. The background and smart intuitions of students rendered the learning path very dynamic and ambitious. The activities started by investigating the basic properties of waves by means of a Shive wave machine. In order to make quantitative observed phenomena, the students used a camcorder and series of measures were obtained from the captured images. By checking the resulting data, it arose some learning difficulties especially in activities related to the laboratory. This experience was the starting point for a further analysis on disciplinary knots and learning problems in the physics of waves in order to elaborate a teaching-learning proposal on this topic.