Transforming the content, pedagogy and structure of an introductory physics course for life sciences majors

TL;DR

This paper details the transformation of an introductory physics course for life sciences majors into a Lecture/Studio format, integrating biological applications and research-based active engagement methods to improve learning and sustainability.

Contribution

It introduces a novel Lecture/Studio format for physics education tailored to life sciences students, with validated active engagement strategies and openly shared instructional materials.

Findings

Enhanced learning gains comparable or better than traditional instruction

Course reform is sustainable with no additional resources

Active engagement improves student understanding

Abstract

In this paper, we describe how we transformed our large-enrollment introductory physics sequence for life-science students to a Lecture/Studio format and aligned the physics concepts with authentic biological applications. We have reformed the pedagogy to include research-validated practices in interactive engagement, and accomplished our goals of enhanced learning gains, sustainability, and adoptability of our course reforms. The active engagement at the heart of the Lecture/Studio format results in comparable or enhanced learning gains (as measured by validated concept surveys) when compared to traditional instruction. When coupled with appropriate instructor preparation the format is sustainable, requiring no greater financial or human resources than does the traditional mode of teaching such courses. We have developed a complete suite of active-engagement instructional materials and made them available to the physics education community for adoption outside our institution.