From F=ma to Flying Squirrels: Curricular Change in an Introductory Physics Course

TL;DR

This study reports on curricular changes in an introductory physics course for life science majors, emphasizing the relationship between physics and biology, resulting in high conceptual gains and increased student interest and relevance perception.

Contribution

Introduces a novel 'Physics of the life sciences' curriculum with revised materials and assessments tailored for life science majors, enhancing relevance and understanding.

Findings

High conceptual learning gains comparable to active learning courses

Increased student interest in physics and its relation to life sciences

Majority of students could relate physics concepts to their careers and majors

Abstract

We present outcomes from curricular changes made to an introductory calculus-based physics course whose audience is primarily life science majors, the majority of whom plan to pursue post-baccalaureate studies in medical and scientific fields. During the 2011-12 academic year, we implemented a "Physics of the life sciences" curriculum centered on a draft textbook that takes a novel approach to teaching physics to life science majors. In addition, substantial revisions were made to the homework and hands-on components of the course to emphasize the relationship between physics and the life sciences and to help the students to learn to apply physical intuition to life science-oriented problems. Student learning and attitudinal outcomes were assessed both quantitatively, using standard physics education research instruments, and qualitatively, using student surveys and a series of post-semester interviews. Students experienced high conceptual learning gains, comparable to other active learning-based physics courses. Qualitatively, a substantial fraction of interviewed students reported an increased interest in physics relative to the beginning of the semester. Furthermore, more than half of students self-reported that they could now relate physics topics to their majors and future careers, with interviewed subjects demonstrating a high level of ability to come up with examples of how physics affects living organisms and how it helped them to better understand content presented in courses in their major.