The impact of introductory physics for the life sciences in a senior biology capstone course

TL;DR

This study evaluates how an introductory physics course tailored for life sciences students influences their reasoning and understanding of diffusion in a senior biology capstone, showing lasting benefits in quantitative and mechanistic reasoning.

Contribution

It provides evidence that IPLS courses enhance students' ability to reason quantitatively and mechanistically about biological processes, with effects lasting up to two years.

Findings

IPLS students reason more quantitatively about diffusion.

IPLS students better coordinate multiple representations.

Long-term impact observed up to two years after course completion.

Abstract

A goal of Introductory Physics for Life Sciences (IPLS) curricula is to prepare students to effectively use physical models and quantitative reasoning in biological and medical settings. To assess whether this goal is being met, we conducted a longitudinal study of the impact of IPLS on student work in later biology and chemistry courses. We report here on one part of that study, a comparison of written responses by students with different physics backgrounds on a diffusion task administered in a senior biology capstone course. We observed differences in student reasoning that were associated with prior or concurrent enrollment in IPLS. In particular, we found that IPLS students were more likely than non-IPLS students to reason quantitatively and mechanistically about diffusive phenomena, and to successfully coordinate between multiple representations of diffusive processes, even up to two years after taking the IPLS course. Finally, we describe methodological challenges encountered in both this task and other tasks used in our longitudinal study.