Rounding off the cow: Challenges and successes in an interdisciplinary physics course for life science students

2012 ◽  
Vol 80 (10) ◽  
pp. 913-922 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dawn C. Meredith ◽  
Jessica A. Bolker
Keyword(s):  
Life Science ◽  
Science Students ◽  
Interdisciplinary Physics ◽  
Physics Course

scholarly journals Entropy and spontaneity in an introductory physics course for life science students

2014 ◽  
Vol 82 (5) ◽  
pp. 394-402 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin D. Geller ◽  
Benjamin W. Dreyfus ◽  
Julia Gouvea ◽  
Vashti Sawtelle ◽  
Chandra Turpen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Science ◽  
Introductory Physics ◽  
Science Students ◽  
Physics Course

scholarly journals On a Calculus-based Statistics Course for Life Science Students

2010 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 298-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph C. Watkins
Keyword(s):  
Life Science ◽  
Science Students ◽  
Scientific Background ◽  
Statistics Course

The choice of pedagogy in statistics should take advantage of the quantitative capabilities and scientific background of the students. In this article, we propose a model for a statistics course that assumes student competency in calculus and a broadening knowledge in biology. We illustrate our methods and practices through examples from the curriculum.

scholarly journals Development of the BioCalculus Assessment (BCA)

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. ar6
Author(s):  
Robin T. Taylor ◽  
Pamela R. Bishop ◽  
Suzanne Lenhart ◽  
Louis J. Gross ◽  
Kelly Sturner
Keyword(s):  
Life Science ◽  
Alternative Methods ◽  
Large Network ◽  
Science Students ◽  
Undergraduate Biology ◽  
Validity Assessment ◽  
Learning Success ◽  
Evidential Support ◽  
Calculus Instruction ◽  
The Rasch Model

We describe the development and initial validity assessment of the 20-item BioCalculus Assessment (BCA), with the objective of comparing undergraduate life science students’ understanding of calculus concepts in different courses with alternative emphases (with and without focus on biological applications). The development process of the BCA included obtaining input from a large network of scientists and educators as well as students in calculus and biocalculus courses to accumulate evidential support of the instrument’s content validity and response processes of test takers. We used the Rasch model to examine the internal structure of scores from students who have experienced calculus instruction in the two methods. The analysis involved three populations (Calculus 1, Calculus 2, and Biocalculus) for which the Calc 1 and Calc 2 students were not exposed to calculus concepts in a life science setting, while the Biocalculus students were presented concepts explicitly with a life science emphasis. Overall, our findings indicate that the BCA has reasonable validity properties, providing a diagnostic tool to assess the relative learning success and calculus comprehension of undergraduate biology majors from alternative methods of instruction that do or do not emphasize life science examples.

Using Biomedically Relevant Multimedia Content in an Introductory Physics Course for Life Science and Pre-health Students

2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 222-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elliot Mylott ◽  
Ellynne Kutschera ◽  
Justin C. Dunlap ◽  
Warren Christensen ◽  
Ralf Widenhorn
Keyword(s):  
Life Science ◽  
Introductory Physics ◽  
Multimedia Content ◽  
Physics Course

scholarly journals Att börja tala ’biokemiska’ - Betydelsen av metaforer och hjälpord för meningsskapande kring proteiner

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 30-42
Author(s):  
Carl-Johan Rundgren
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Life Science ◽  
Visual Representations ◽  
Theoretical Description ◽  
Science Students ◽  
Science Courses ◽  
Secondary School Education ◽  
Frequent Use ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
Scientific Terms

This paper deals with the process of acquiring a subject-specific language. When confronted with the visual representations and scientific terms of molecular life science, students try to make meaning using the language they have access to and their prior experience. In this process students use a kind of intermediate language, with frequent use of metaphors. Some metaphors can be traced back to the teaching they have experienced, while some are spontaneous metaphors created by the students. They also make use of words that seemingly have no meaning, here referred to as helpwords. The results from this study indicate that spontaneous metaphors and helpwords are important in learning situations, especially in an abstract discipline such as molecular life science. This paper aims to give a preliminary theoretical description of the phenomenon of helpwords, based on an interview study of 20 students taking natural science courses in their upper secondary school education.

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