Vision and change in introductory physics for the life sciences

TL;DR

This paper describes Yale's innovative calculus-based physics course tailored for life science students, emphasizing biologically relevant topics to enhance engagement and perceived relevance of physics in biology and medicine.

Contribution

It introduces a novel IPLS syllabus that integrates biologically meaningful content and evaluates its impact on student perceptions and feedback.

Findings

Students found the course more relevant to biology and medicine.

Positive feedback on the inclusion of biologically relevant topics.

Students perceived increased value of physics in their field.

Abstract

Since 2010, the Yale physics department has offered a novel calculus-based introductory physics for the life science (IPLS) sequence, that re-imagines the IPLS syllabus to include a selection of biologically and medically relevant topics, that are highly meaningful to its audience of biological science and premedical undergraduates. The first semester, in particular, differs considerably from traditional first-semester introductory physics. Here, we highlight the novel aspects of Yale's first-semester course, and describe student feedback about the course, including a comparison between how students evaluate the course and how they evaluate courses with a traditional syllabus, and how students' perceptions of the relevance of physics to biology and medicine are affected by having taken the course.