ABSTRACT School instruction is critical for helping students use energy as a lens for making sense of phenomena, however, students often struggle to see the usefulness of energy analysis for interpreting the world around them. One reason for this may be an over-reliance on the idea of energy forms in introductory energy instruction, which may unintentionally suppress, rather than prompt, insights into how and why phenomena occur. We argue that an approach to energy instruction that emphasizes energy transfers between systems, and does not require the idea of energy forms, provides students with a more consistent and useful set of tools for interpreting phenomena. Such a perspective requires connecting the energy concept to the notion that fields, which mediate interaction-at-a-distance, are a real physical system that can transfer energy – an idea that is rarely presented in middle school science. We outline an instructional approach in which middle school students learn to interpret phenomena by modelling energy transfers between systems of interacting objects and fields. We argue that this approach presents a more physically accurate picture of energy, helps align energy instruction across disciplines, and supports students in seeing the value of energy as a lens for making sense of phenomena.

中文翻译：

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模拟系统之间的能量转移以支持使用中的能源知识

摘要 学校教学对于帮助学生将能量用作理解现象的镜头至关重要，然而，学生们往往很难看到能量分析对解释周围世界的用处。造成这种情况的一个原因可能是在介绍性能量教学中过度依赖能量形式的概念，这可能会无意中抑制而不是促进对现象发生的方式和原因的洞察。我们认为，强调系统之间能量转移的能量教学方法不需要能量形式的概念，为学生提供了一套更加一致和有用的解释现象的工具。这种观点需要将能量概念与介导远距离相互作用的场的概念联系起来，是一个真正的物理系统，可以传递能量——这种想法在中学科学中很少出现。我们概述了一种教学方法，其中中学生通过对相互作用的物体和场系统之间的能量转移进行建模来学习解释现象。我们认为，这种方法提供了更物理准确的能量图，有助于跨学科协调能量教学，并支持学生将能量的价值视为理解现象的镜头。