Reading the literature in physics is difficult for educational specialists. The language tends to be highly technical and mathematical. Much of the research done in the learning sciences is qualitative. Physicists are not used to evaluating or building inferences based on qualitative research. A further difficulty is produced by extremist views in both fields.
Radical constructivists raise a barrier to communication with scientists.
Many of their statements look to physicists as either ignorant of science or anti-science. Some physicists, unaware of recent gains in cognitive science and education, reject research in education out of hand as unscientific and having little to offer. Even for educational research done within the discipline of physics, communication is weak with the rest of the physics community. Finally, change at the tertiary level is difficult because physics faculty lack knowledge about models for building non-traditional, more effective learning environments. This discourages them.