Rounding off the cow: Challenges and successes in an interdisciplinary physics course for life science students
Abstract
We describe a 4-yr project designing, teaching, and assessing an interdisciplinary algebra-based physics course for undergraduate biology students. We addressed the needs of this cohort through careful selection of topics and rich biological applications, while also attending to deeper pedagogical concerns (students’ conceptual understanding, epistemological stance, and ability to connect meaning and mathematics). The course provided biology/physics connections that students value, and their work indicated an ability to understand and integrate physics in biological contexts. We offer strategies, suggestions, and some cautionary tales for faculty contemplating or already engaged in similar endeavors.
Department
Biological Sciences
Publication Date
10-2012
Journal Title
American Journal of Physics
Publisher
American Association of Physics Teachers
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
10.1119/1.4733357
Document Type
Article
Recommended Citation
Meredith, Dawn C. and Bolker, Jessica A., "Rounding off the cow: Challenges and successes in an interdisciplinary physics course for life science students" (2012). American Journal of Physics. 22.
https://scholars.unh.edu/biosci_facpub/22