Do Our Words Really Matter? Case Studies from Quantum Mechanics

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written by David T. Brookes and Eugenia Etkina

To understand the role of language in learning physics, we will treat it as one possible representation of a physical model. We will then present a theoretical framework that enables us to identify physical models encoded in language. We will present data showing that physicists use linguistic representations to reason productively about physical systems and problems. We will also present a case study and supporting evidence to argue that these linguistic representations are being used and applied by physics students when they reason. Sometimes students misapply and overextend these linguistic representations. This study allows us to understand and account for some student difficulties.

Physics Education Research Conference 2005
Part of the PER Conference series
Salt Lake City, Utah: August 10-11, 2005
Volume 818, Pages 57-60

download 91kb .pdf
Published: February 14, 2006

Subjects	Levels	Resource Types
Education - Basic Research - Communication = Language = Representations Quantum Physics - General	- Upper Undergraduate - Graduate/Professional	- Reference Material = Research study

PER-Central Type	Intended Users	Ratings
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Format:: application/pdf
Mirror:: https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2177022
Access Rights:: Available for purchase
Restriction:: © 2005 American Institute of Physics
DOI:: 10.1063/1.2177022
PACSs:: 01.40.Fk; 01.40.gb
Keywords:: PERC 2005, linguistic representations, role of language in learning physics, student difficulties, teaching
Record Cloner:: Metadata instance created May 13, 2009 by Jenny Rempel
Record Updated:: May 18, 2012 by Lyle Barbato
Last Update when Cataloged:: February 14, 2006

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<a href="https://www.per-central.org/items/detail.cfm?ID=8914">Brookes, David T., and Eugenia Etkina. "Do Our Words Really Matter? Case Studies from Quantum Mechanics." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2005, Salt Lake City, Utah, August 10-11, 2005.</a>

AIP Format

D. Brookes and E. Etkina, , presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2005, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2005, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=8914&DocID=2826).

AJP/PRST-PER

D. Brookes and E. Etkina, Do Our Words Really Matter? Case Studies from Quantum Mechanics, presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2005, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2005, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=8914&DocID=2826>.

APA Format

Brookes, D., & Etkina, E. (2005, August 10-11). Do Our Words Really Matter? Case Studies from Quantum Mechanics. Paper presented at Physics Education Research Conference 2005, Salt Lake City, Utah. Retrieved March 25, 2025, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=8914&DocID=2826

Chicago Format

Brookes, David T., and Eugenia Etkina. "Do Our Words Really Matter? Case Studies from Quantum Mechanics." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2005, Salt Lake City, Utah, August 10-11, 2005. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=8914&DocID=2826 (accessed 25 March 2025).

MLA Format

Brookes, David T., and Eugenia Etkina. "Do Our Words Really Matter? Case Studies from Quantum Mechanics." Physics Education Research Conference 2005. Salt Lake City, Utah: 2005. 57-60 Vol. 818 of PER Conference. 25 Mar. 2025 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=8914&DocID=2826>.

BibTeX Export Format

@inproceedings{ Author = "David T. Brookes and Eugenia Etkina", Title = {Do Our Words Really Matter? Case Studies from Quantum Mechanics}, BookTitle = {Physics Education Research Conference 2005}, Pages = {57-60}, Address = {Salt Lake City, Utah}, Series = {PER Conference}, Volume = {818}, Month = {August 10-11}, Year = {2005} }

Refer Export Format

%A David T. Brookes %A Eugenia Etkina %T Do Our Words Really Matter? Case Studies from Quantum Mechanics %S PER Conference %V 818 %D August 10-11 2005 %P 57-60 %C Salt Lake City, Utah %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=8914&DocID=2826 %O Physics Education Research Conference 2005 %O August 10-11 %O application/pdf

EndNote Export Format

%0 Conference Proceedings %A Brookes, David T. %A Etkina, Eugenia %D August 10-11 2005 %T Do Our Words Really Matter? Case Studies from Quantum Mechanics %B Physics Education Research Conference 2005 %C Salt Lake City, Utah %V 818 %P 57-60 %S PER Conference %8 August 10-11 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=8914&DocID=2826

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