Investigating How Life Science Students Develop Lasting Skill in Making Connections Between Physics and Biology

Swarthmore College, Swarthmore PA

Investigators

Abstract

This project aims to serve the national interest by improving instruction in the introductory college physics courses that are taken by many students in the life sciences and health professions. Introductory Physics for Life Sciences (IPLS) courses are designed to make physics accessible and exciting for the thousands of students who take introductory physics as a requirement for entering the health professions or studying the life sciences. Those courses emphasize physical concepts and competencies that life science professionals have identified as most useful for life science students, and the courses present the concepts and competencies in appropriate biomedical contexts. Since physics is an increasingly important foundation for the health professions and the life sciences, helping future practitioners become more skilled and motivated to use physics in their work has great potential to improve their work. Past studies have shown that IPLS courses can be effective and can have a long-lasting positive impact on students' attitudes toward physics and on their skill in using physics to solve biological problems in their later work. This project aims to understand how IPLS courses achieve those outcomes at multiple institutions. In particular, the investigators will explore how the topics covered, the pedagogical strategies employed, and the messages conveyed shape students' experiences in the course. The conclusions of this research will guide other colleges to achieve similar outcomes as they launch or revise their own IPLS courses. The investigators will address two central research questions: (1) How does an IPLS course support the development of students' interest in physics, a sense of self-efficacy, and an interdisciplinary identity (taken together, "physics affinity")? (2) How does an IPLS course support students in successfully applying physics to model and analyze biological situations? Specifically, how do the course's curricular, pedagogical, and interpersonal elements connect to the process of becoming a skilled problem-solver? To answer those questions, the investigators will use existing survey instruments, students' written reflections, students' written work on synthetic tasks applying physics to biology, interviews with students, and other tasks. Some products of the project will include a "physics affinity" survey (which will include elements related to self-efficacy, achievement goals, interdisciplinary attitudes, and motivation), reflection prompts and synthesis tasks, a set of guidelines for IPLS developers and instructors, and a set of student developmental profiles that illustrate how different students develop skills and physics affinity in different ways. The NSF IUSE: EHR Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.