TY - JOUR
T1 - Comparing Teaching Approaches About Maxwell’s Displacement Current
AU - Avelar Sotomaior Karam, Ricardo
AU - Coimbra, Débora
AU - Pietrocola, Maurício
PY - 2014/8
Y1 - 2014/8
N2 - Due to its fundamental role for the consolidation of Maxwell’s equations, the displacement current is one of the most important topics of any introductory course on electromagnetism. Moreover, this episode is widely used by historians and philosophers of science as a case study to investigate several issues (e.g. the theory–experiment relationship). Despite the consensus among physics educators concerning the relevance of the topic, there are many possible ways to interpret and justify the need for the displacement current term. With the goal of understanding the didactical transposition of this topic more deeply, we investigate three of its domains: (1) The historical development of Maxwell’s reasoning; (2) Different approaches to justify the term insertion in physics textbooks; and (3) Four lectures devoted to introduce the topic in undergraduate level given by four different professors. By reflecting on the differences between these three domains, significant evidence for the knowledge transformation caused by the didactization of this episode is provided. The main purpose of this comparative analysis is to assist physics educators in developing an epistemological surveillance regarding the teaching and learning of the displacement current.
AB - Due to its fundamental role for the consolidation of Maxwell’s equations, the displacement current is one of the most important topics of any introductory course on electromagnetism. Moreover, this episode is widely used by historians and philosophers of science as a case study to investigate several issues (e.g. the theory–experiment relationship). Despite the consensus among physics educators concerning the relevance of the topic, there are many possible ways to interpret and justify the need for the displacement current term. With the goal of understanding the didactical transposition of this topic more deeply, we investigate three of its domains: (1) The historical development of Maxwell’s reasoning; (2) Different approaches to justify the term insertion in physics textbooks; and (3) Four lectures devoted to introduce the topic in undergraduate level given by four different professors. By reflecting on the differences between these three domains, significant evidence for the knowledge transformation caused by the didactization of this episode is provided. The main purpose of this comparative analysis is to assist physics educators in developing an epistemological surveillance regarding the teaching and learning of the displacement current.
U2 - 10.1007/s11191-013-9624-3
DO - 10.1007/s11191-013-9624-3
M3 - Journal article
SN - 0926-7220
VL - 23
SP - 1637
EP - 1661
JO - Science and Education
JF - Science and Education
IS - 8
ER -