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Staging Aristotle and natural observation against Galileo and (stacked) scientific experiment or physics lectures as rhetorical events
Author(s) -
Roth WolffMichael,
Tobin Kenneth
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
journal of research in science teaching
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.067
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1098-2736
pISSN - 0022-4308
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1098-2736(199602)33:2<135::aid-tea2>3.0.co;2-v
Subject(s) - rhetorical question , galileo (satellite navigation) , natural philosophy , appropriation , mathematics education , natural (archaeology) , opposition (politics) , philosophy of science , natural science , epistemology , science education , nature of science , physics , psychology , philosophy , linguistics , history , geodesy , archaeology , politics , political science , law , geography
Abstract This study was designed to understand lectures in a redesigned physics course for prospective elementary teachers. Our understanding was based on videotaped lectures and interviews with students and the professor. We show that the lectures can be understood as a rhetorical move. The professor staged Aristotle, natural philosophy, and students' observations and intuitive knowledge in opposition to Galileo, controlled (stacked) experiment, and mathematical inscriptions in the form of numbers, plotted data pairs, and curves. We conclude that this form of instructional delivery does not help students to become proficient in physics discourse, and offer alternatives that would facilitate students' construction and appropriation of physics discourse. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.