The article “Pedagogical Value of ‘Obvious’ Questions in Introductory Physics”1 should be required reading for all physics teachers. The authors encourage us to confront our assumptions about the efficacy of our own teaching, namely, that no matter the method, students' preconceptions and misconceptions do not yield easily to correction. Even after mastery of correct formal physics methods, there can be a disconnect between students' informal “common sense” reasoning and what they believe is the expected textbook result.
I tried to address this dichotomy with simple vocabulary checks. Many words we use in physics, like energy, force, power, and pressure, have very specific meanings with precise definitions. But these same words are used rather loosely, almost interchangeably, in everyday discourse. We might speak of a high-pressure salesman, but could just as well say we were persuaded by a forceful argument or energetic personality or powerful speech....