Effect of problem-based learning on students' attitude towards learning physics: a cohort study

Background: Attitude is a learning scale that informs which approach should be used to call students to school. It can be seen a supporting tool that informs teachers, policymakers, and researchers of the needs for raising interest in learning a certain subject, such as physics. This study aimed at determining the effect of problem-based learning on students' attitude towards learning physics. Methods: The study followed a quantitative approach with a quasi-experimental design employing cross-sectional survey techniques. The participants of the study were 419 13 th-grade physics students of the 2020/2021 school year in both Ugandan government and private secondary schools. Among these students, one group was taught using problem-based learning instruction while another group was taught using traditional instruction for 12 weeks. Data were collected using a standardized tool called Views About Science Survey. Using Microsoft Excel 2016 and Statistical Package for Social Scientist version 23.0, descriptive and inferential statistics were used to determine a significant difference between experiment and control groups. Results: It was found that both problem-based learning and traditional instructions caused a statistically significant positive effect on students' attitudes towards physics. However, the experimental group gained more positive attitude than the control group as they were more inclined towards the expert-like attitude (thinking like a scientist in a domain) than their counterparts due to the problem-based learning approach they learned in. Conclusions: Therefore, it was concluded that problem-based learning is a more effective method of teaching physics than traditional methods. Hence, we suggest that secondary school teachers need to adopt the use of problem-based learning in the teaching of science concepts, especially physics.

Exploring the pre-instruction gender gap in physics

There is a substantial body of work in physics education looking at gender disparities in physics. Recent work has linked gender disparities in college physics course performance to disparities in high school physics preparation, but to our knowledge, the origin of the disparity in high school physics preparation is still underexplored. In a select sample, we found that women on average had lower force and motion conceptual evaluation (FMCE) pre-scores (the FMCE is a short conceptual assessment of Newton’s laws), and FMCE pre-score entirely mediated the effects of high school preparation and social-psychological factors on exam performance. The gender gap in FMCE pre-scores could not be explained by differences in the number of physics courses taken in high school. Instead, we find that the gender gap in the FMCE is partially explained by female students’ higher levels of general test anxiety. We hypothesize that the format of the FMCE, a timed assessment, triggers stereotype threat in female students despite being a low-stakes assessment. Therefore, instructors and researchers should take care in interpreting the results of such concept inventory scores and should re-think the way they assess understanding of physics concepts. Results of this work aligned with previous findings on gender disparity in timed exams call upon investigating gender equitable assessment formats for evaluating physics knowledge to replace timed assessments, either high or low stakes.

[Introduction of Young Researchers' Association of Medical Physics and Questionnaire Survey on Medical Physics Education and Medical Physics Training System in Japan for Young Researchers in 2021]

Details of Young Researchers' Association of Medical Physics (YRAMP) was introduced. In addition, several questionnaire surveys on medical physics education (MPE) or medical physicist training system (MPTS) in Japan have been conducted, none have targeted the current status and issues of MPE and MPTS. The purpose of this study was to investigate those from the perspective of researchers and students under 35-year-old (y.o.). The questionnaire survey was conducted between 14th September to 14th October 2021, for 112 members of the Young Researchers' Association of Medical Physics via Google Forms. The questionnaire was in two parts: MPE (Part1) and MPTS (Part2). Three subparts were constructed in Part1: Classroom lecture, Clinical training, Education course accredited by Japanese Board of Medical Physicist Qualification. Out of a total of 126 questions, 38 were mandatory to be answered. No personal information was collected. Ninety-three members (83.0%) were answered. The age structure of the respondents was as follows: 18-21, 22-26, 27-30, and 31-35 y.o.=5.4%, 36.6%, 39.8%, and 18.2%. Of the respondents, 74.2% and 11.8% answered that they first heard of "medical physics" or "medical physicist" when they were undergraduate students and in high school or younger, respectively. In Classroom lecture, 61.3%, 17.2%, and 21.5% of the respondents answered that they were "satisfied" or "moderately satisfied", "dissatisfied" or "moderately dissatisfied", and "Not sure" with the current MPE, respectively. In Clinical training, Education course, and MPTS, 58.1%, 21.5%, and 20.4% of the respondents answered that they were "satisfied" or "moderately satisfied", "dissatisfied" or "moderately dissatisfied", and "Not sure", respectively. In both MPE and MPTS, approximately 88% and 51% of the respondents answered that "holding lectures and study sessions for high school and undergraduate students" and "utilizing YouTube" would be useful in promoting MPE and MPTS in Japan, respectively. The results of the questionnaire survey will provide useful data for MPE and MPTS in Japan.

Physics meets biology: The joining of two forces to further our understanding of cellular function

Some biological questions are tough to solve through standard molecular and cell biological methods and naturally lend themselves to investigation by physical approaches. Below, a group of formally trained physicists discuss, among other things, how they apply physics to address biological questions and how physical approaches complement conventional biological approaches.

Mixed results from a multiple regression analysis of supplemental instruction courses in introductory physics

Providing less prepared students with supplemental instruction (SI) in introductory STEM courses has long been used as a model in math, chemistry, and biology education to improve student performance, but this model has received little attention in physics education research. We analyzed the course performance of students enrolled in SI courses for introductory mechanics and electricity and magnetism (E&M) at Stanford University compared with those not enrolled in the SI courses over a two-year period. We calculated the benefit of the SI course using multiple linear regression to control for students’ level of high school physics and math preparation. We found that the SI course had a significant positive effect on student performance in E&M, but that an SI course with a nearly identical format had no effect on student performance in mechanics. We explored several different potential explanations for why this might be the case and were unable to find any that could explain this difference. This suggests that there are complexities in the design of SI courses that are not fully understood or captured by existing theories as to how they work.

What really impacts the use of active learning in undergraduate STEM education? Results from a national survey of chemistry, mathematics, and physics instructors

Six common beliefs about the usage of active learning in introductory STEM courses are investigated using survey data from 3769 instructors. Three beliefs focus on contextual factors: class size, classroom setup, and teaching evaluations; three focus on individual factors: security of employment, research activity, and prior exposure. The analysis indicates that instructors in all situations can and do employ active learning in their courses. However, with the exception of security of employment, trends in the data are consistent with beliefs about the impact of these factors on usage of active learning. We discuss implications of these results for institutional and departmental policies to facilitate the use of active learning.

What factors impact student performance in introductory physics?

In a previous study, we found that students' incoming preparation in physics—crudely measured by concept inventory prescores and math SAT or ACT scores—explains 34% of the variation in Physics 1 final exam scores at Stanford University. In this study, we sought to understand the large variation in exam scores not explained by these measures of incoming preparation. Why are some students’ successful in physics 1 independent of their preparation? To answer this question, we interviewed 34 students with particularly low concept inventory prescores and math SAT/ACT scores about their experiences in the course. We unexpectedly found a set of common practices and attitudes. We found that students’ use of instructional resources had relatively little impact on course performance, while student characteristics, student attitudes, and students’ interactions outside the classroom all had a more substantial impact on course performance. These results offer some guidance as to how instructors might help all students succeed in introductory physics courses.

The ABS brachytherapy schools

The American Brachytherapy Society brachytherapy schools have been pivotal in teaching and evolving the art of brachytherapy over the past decades. Founded in 1995, the schools have consistently provided content for the major disease sites including gynecologic, prostate, and breast with ocular, vascular, head and neck, pediatric, intraluminal, systemic, and intraoperative approaches more selectively addressed. In addition, Physics schools, either coupled with clinical schools or as stand-alone venues, have provided an essential educational component for practicing physicists, a pivotal part of the brachytherapy team. Celebrating 25 years in existence, this historical overview of the American Brachytherapy Society brachytherapy schools is a tribute to the many teachers who have shared their expertise, to the many students who have been enthusiastic and interactive participants, and the staff who have made it all possible, with the reward of perpetuating the important and timely art of brachytherapy.

EDUCATION AND TRAINING IN EUROPE TO SUPPORT LOW-DOSE RADIATION PHYSICS AND RADIOBIOLOGY

The success of any research programme is dependent on a continuing influx of new expertise, and continuing education to ensure the newest technologies and methods are exploited. In the past decade, a strategic approach has been used to build up the research expertise in the area of radiation protection and risk estimation. The High Level Expert Group (HLEG, www.hleg.de) in their 2009 report on European low-dose research asserted that education and training were key components in the development and maintenance of expertise for research into the risks from low-levels of ionising radiation. Following their recommendations, a Euratom-funded Network of Excellence (DoReMi, www.doremi-noe.net) was setup to develop a platform of European research institutions to coordinate the research programme and develop expertise in the area. We present here the activities initiated by DoReMi and currently continued by CONCERT (www.concert-h2020.eu) in support of education and training in the scientific areas underpinning radiation protection research.

Factors affecting the number and type of student research products for chemistry and physics students at primarily undergraduate institutions: A case study

For undergraduate students, involvement in authentic research represents scholarship that is consistent with disciplinary quality standards and provides an integrative learning experience. In conjunction with performing research, the communication of the results via presentations or publications is a measure of the level of scientific engagement. The empirical study presented here uses generalized linear mixed models with hierarchical bootstrapping to examine the factors that impact the means of dissemination of undergraduate research results. Focusing on the research experiences in physics and chemistry of undergraduates at four Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs) from 2004–2013, statistical analysis indicates that the gender of the student does not impact the number and type of research products. However, in chemistry, the rank of the faculty advisor and the venue of the presentation do impact the number of research products by undergraduate student, whereas in physics, gender match between student and advisor has an effect on the number of undergraduate research products. This study provides a baseline for future studies of discipline-based bibliometrics and factors that affect the number of research products of undergraduate students.

A cross-cultural comparison of high school students' responses to a science centre show on the physics of sound in South Africa

We report on the attitudes and ideas developed by students from three distinct school groups to a science show about sound. We addressed two research questions: (1) How do the students compare with respect to their (a) attitudes to the sound show and to science in general and (b) changes in conceptual understanding as a result of the show and (2) what changes could be made to the show, and to science shows in general, that would be sensitive to the cultural and language differences of the groups? These were addressed by multiple-choice, pre- and post-tests comprising both attitudinal and conceptual questions. Our results pointed to a common enjoyment of the show but a different understanding of concepts and consequent learning, which suggest that science shows (and science teaching) need to be adjusted to accommodate different cultural groups for maximum impact.

Who teaches science to nurses?

OBJECTIVE

To explore the demographics of individuals teaching basic science courses in private nursing schools.

METHODS

The study was conducted in Karachi, and comprised teachers teaching basic science courses in 16 registered private nursing schools. A demographic questionnaire was used to collect data. The study was conducted in the year 2013.

RESULTS

Teachers holding academic/professional degrees in different science disciplines were involved in teaching science to nurses. In most of the schools, all the basic science courses were taught by one subject specialist science teacher. These subject specialist science teachers held degrees in different disciplines, which included Doctor of Philosophy, Master of Philosophy, Masters in Science, Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery, Bachelors in Engineering, Doctor of Pharmacy and registered nurse with a master's degree. Except the physicist(2), eleven (11) subject specialists taught two or more than two science courses. Microbiologist (4) and physiologist (5) were generally engaged in teaching all science subjects.

CONCLUSIONS

Science courses in nursing can be taught by anyone holding a bachelor or a master's degree in science or a professional degree.

Values as Predictors of Religious Experience in the Lives of Seminary Students of Philosophy and Students of Physics

The aim of this study was to show the preferences of terminal values of personal and social character and the level of religious experience: God's presence and God's absence, as well as to examine the relationship between the two variables in the groups of seminary students of philosophy and students of physics. The following methods were applied in the study: Rokeach Value Survey and Głaz's Scale of Religious Experience. The study was conducted amongst university students in Kraków (Poland). The results of 100 correctly completed sets of questionnaires were analysed. The results analysis proves that seminary students of philosophy have a higher level of religious experience: God's presence and God's absence than students of physics. Seminary students of philosophy most preferred terminal values in personal and in social character. In the group of seminary students of philosophy, from amongst the four most preferred terminal values, two have a significant relation with the experience of God's presence and God's absence, whereas in the group of students of physics only one of them has a significant relation with the experience of God's absence.

Characterizing College Science Assessments: The Three-Dimensional Learning Assessment Protocol

Many calls to improve science education in college and university settings have focused on improving instructor pedagogy. Meanwhile, science education at the K-12 level is undergoing significant changes as a result of the emphasis on scientific and engineering practices, crosscutting concepts, and disciplinary core ideas. This framework of “three-dimensional learning” is based on the literature about how people learn science and how we can help students put their knowledge to use. Recently, similar changes are underway in higher education by incorporating three-dimensional learning into college science courses. As these transformations move forward, it will become important to assess three-dimensional learning both to align assessments with the learning environment, and to assess the extent of the transformations. In this paper we introduce the Three-Dimensional Learning Assessment Protocol (3D-LAP), which is designed to characterize and support the development of assessment tasks in biology, chemistry, and physics that align with transformation efforts. We describe the development process used by our interdisciplinary team, discuss the validity and reliability of the protocol, and provide evidence that the protocol can distinguish between assessments that have the potential to elicit evidence of three-dimensional learning and those that do not.

Culture, Education, and the Attribution of Physical Causality

Two studies investigated the impact of culturally instilled folk theories on the perception of physical events. In Study 1, Americans and Chinese with no formal physics education were found to emphasize different causes in their explanations for eight physical events, with Americans attributing them more to dispositional factors (e.g., weight) and less to contextual factors (e.g., a medium) than did Chinese. In Study 2, Chinese Americans' identity as Asians or as Americans was primed before having them explain the events used in Study 1. Asian-primed participants endorsed dispositional explanations to a lesser degree and contextual explanations to a greater degree than did American-primed participants, although priming effects were observed only for students with little physics education. Together, these studies suggest that culturally instilled folk theories of physics produce cultural differences in the perception of physical causality.

Particle Physics in High School: A Diagnose Study

The science learning process improves when the contents are connected to students' lives. Particle physics has had a great impact in our society in the last years and has changed the theoretical picture about matter fundamental dynamics. Thus, we think that academic contents about matter components and interactions should be updated. With this study we aim to characterize the level of knowledge of high school students about this topic. We built a test with questions about classical atomic models, particle physics, recent discoveries, social implications and students opinions about it. Contrary to our first suspicion, students' answers show a high variability. They have new physics ideas and show a great interest towards modern concepts. We suggest including an updated view of this topic as part of the curriculum.

Contemporary Test Validity in Theory and Practice: A Primer for Discipline-Based Education Researchers

Most discipline-based education researchers (DBERs) were formally trained in the methods of scientific disciplines such as biology, chemistry, and physics, rather than social science disciplines such as psychology and education. As a result, DBERs may have never taken specific courses in the social science research methodology--either quantitative or qualitative--on which their scholarship often relies so heavily. One particular aspect of (quantitative) social science research that differs markedly from disciplines such as biology and chemistry is the instrumentation used to quantify phenomena. In response, this Research Methods essay offers a contemporary social science perspective on test validity and the validation process. The instructional piece explores the concepts of test validity, the validation process, validity evidence, and key threats to validity. The essay also includes an in-depth example of a validity argument and validation approach for a test of student argument analysis. In addition to DBERs, this essay should benefit practitioners (e.g., lab directors, faculty members) in the development, evaluation, and/or selection of instruments for their work assessing students or evaluating pedagogical innovations.

Computer-Tailored Student Support in Introductory Physics

Large introductory courses are at a disadvantage in providing personalized guidance and advice for students during the semester. We introduce E2Coach (an Expert Electronic Coaching system), which allows instructors to personalize their communication with thousands of students. We describe the E2Coach system, the nature of the personalized support it provides, and the features of the students who did (and did not) opt-in to using it during the first three terms of its use in four introductory physics courses at the University of Michigan. Defining a 'better-than-expected' measure of performance, we compare outcomes for students who used E2Coach to those who did not. We found that moderate and high E2Coach usage was associated with improved performance. This performance boost was prominent among high users, who improved by 0.18 letter grades on average when compared to nonusers with similar incoming GPAs. This improvement in performance was comparable across both genders. E2Coach represents one way to use technology to personalize education at scale, contributing to the move towards individualized learning that is becoming more attainable in the 21st century.

The current status of education and career paths of students after completion of medical physicist programs in Japan: a survey by the Japanese Board for Medical Physicist Qualification

To standardize educational programs and clinical training for medical physics students, the Japanese Board for Medical Physicist Qualification (JBMP) began to accredit master's, doctorate, and residency programs for medical physicists in 2012. At present, 16 universities accredited by the JBMP offer 22 courses. In this study, we aimed to survey the current status of educational programs and career paths of students after completion of the medical physicist program in Japan. A questionnaire was sent in August 2014 to 32 universities offering medical physicist programs. The questionnaire was created and organized by the educational course certification committee of the JBMP and comprised two sections: the first collected information about the university attended, and the second collected information about characteristics and career paths of students after completion of medical physicist programs from 2008 to 2014. Thirty universities (16 accredited and 14 non-accredited) completed the survey (response rate 94 %). A total of 209, 40, and 3 students graduated from the master's, doctorate, and residency programs, respectively. Undergraduates entered the medical physicist program constantly, indicating an interest in medical physics among undergraduates. A large percentage of the students held a bachelor's degree in radiological technology (master's program 94 %; doctorate program 70 %); graduates obtained a national radiological technologist license. Regarding career paths, although the number of the graduates who work as medical physicist remains low, 7 % with a master's degree and 50 % with a doctorate degree worked as medical physicists. Our results could be helpful for improving the medical physicist program in Japan.

Relationship between hand-skill exercises and other admissions criteria and students' performance in dental school

The aim of this study was to investigate the existence of correlations between dental admissions criteria, including a chalk carving exercise, and students' subsequent academic performance. The retrospective cohort study examined the records of dental students at Louisiana State University Health Science Center School of Dentistry for the years 1998 to 2008. Only those students who could be categorized into the following four groups were included: 1) those who graduated in the top 10% of their class, 2) those who graduated in the bottom 10% of their class, 3) those who repeated a year of dental school, and 4) those who were dismissed or resigned. The study sample consisted of 176 students: 62 in the first group, 62 in the second group, 25 in the third group, and 27 in the fourth group. Data collected were each student's undergraduate grade point average (GPA); chalk carving score; undergraduate biology, chemistry, physics (BCP) GPA; Dental Admission Test (DAT) Academic Average; Perceptual Ability Test (PAT) score of the DAT; total DAT score; grade in preclinical operative dentistry class; grade in morphology and occlusion class; and dental school GPA at graduation. The results showed that only the undergraduate GPA and BCP GPA were significantly higher for students in the top 10% of their class than for other groups. The only positive correlation involving the chalk carving scores was with the preclinical operative dentistry course grade. This study thus found limited correlations between this institution's admissions criteria and its students' success in dental school.

Research-based implementation of peer instruction: a literature review

Current instructional reforms in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses have focused on enhancing adoption of evidence-based instructional practices among STEM faculty members. These practices have been empirically demonstrated to enhance student learning and attitudes. However, research indicates that instructors often adapt rather than adopt practices, unknowingly compromising their effectiveness. Thus, there is a need to raise awareness of the research-based implementation of these practices, develop fidelity of implementation protocols to understand adaptations being made, and ultimately characterize the true impact of reform efforts based on these practices. Peer instruction (PI) is an example of an evidence-based instructional practice that consists of asking students conceptual questions during class time and collecting their answers via clickers or response cards. Extensive research has been conducted by physics and biology education researchers to evaluate the effectiveness of this practice and to better understand the intricacies of its implementation. PI has also been investigated in other disciplines, such as chemistry and computer science. This article reviews and summarizes these various bodies of research and provides instructors and researchers with a research-based model for the effective implementation of PI. Limitations of current studies and recommendations for future empirical inquiries are also provided.

To what extent do tutor-related behaviours influence student learning in PBL?

The purpose of this study was to investigate how tutor behaviours influence learning in problem-based learning (PBL). A previous study had indicated a significant influence of the tutor's social congruent behaviour on the PBL process and this study further investigates this finding by examining two groups of tutors displaying differences in social congruence. The participants were 77 students under the tutelage of four tutors and a self-report questionnaire ranked two tutors to be more socially congruent as compared to the other two. Student learning was measured by a concept recall test and the results from the analysis of covariance indicated a significant impact of the tutor's social congruent behaviour on learning after the problem analysis phase but not on the self-directed learning and reporting phases. It was concluded that the academic abilities of students and the small number of tutors involved may have affected the results, which led to the second part of this study. A group of 11 tutors were selected and the impact of their behaviours on student achievement measured by the module grade was examined. Results indicated that the tutor behaviours had a greater influence on average students as compared to the academically stronger and weaker students. This finding suggests that students who are academically stronger are not as reliant on the tutor while average students may depend more on the tutor to guide and motivate them in order to achieve the learning goals.

Bridging the knowledge gap: An analysis of Albert Einstein's popularized presentation of the equivalence of mass and energy

This article presents an analysis of a scientific article written by Albert Einstein in 1946 for the general public that explains the equivalence of mass and energy and discusses the implications of this principle. It is argued that an intelligent popularization of many advanced ideas in physics requires more than the simple elimination of mathematical formalisms and complicated scientific conceptions. Rather, it is shown that Einstein developed an alternative argument for the general public that bypasses the core of the formal derivation of the equivalence of mass and energy to provide a sense of derivation based on the history of science and the nature of scientific inquiry. This alternative argument is supported and enhanced by variety of explanatory devices orchestrated to coherently support and promote the reader's understanding. The discussion centers on comparisons to other scientific expositions written by Einstein for the general public.

Essential concepts and underlying theories from physics, chemistry, and mathematics for "biochemistry and molecular biology" majors

Over the past two years, through an NSF RCN UBE grant, the ASBMB has held regional workshops for faculty members from around the country. The workshops have focused on developing lists of Core Principles or Foundational Concepts in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, a list of foundational skills, and foundational concepts from Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics that all Biochemistry or Molecular Biology majors must understand to complete their major coursework. The allied fields working group created a survey to validate foundational concepts from Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics identified from participant feedback at various workshops. One-hundred twenty participants responded to the survey and 68% of the respondents answered yes to the question: "We have identified the following as the core concepts and underlying theories from Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics that Biochemistry majors or Molecular Biology majors need to understand after they complete their major courses: 1) mechanical concepts from Physics, 2) energy and thermodynamic concepts from Physics, 3) critical concepts of structure from chemistry, 4) critical concepts of reactions from Chemistry, and 5) essential Mathematics. In your opinion, is the above list complete?" Respondents also delineated subcategories they felt should be included in these broad categories. From the results of the survey and this analysis the allied fields working group constructed a consensus list of allied fields concepts, which will help inform Biochemistry and Molecular Biology educators when considering the ASBMB recommended curriculum for Biochemistry or Molecular Biology majors and in the development of appropriate assessment tools to gauge student understanding of how these concepts relate to biochemistry and molecular biology.

How can we improve problem solving in undergraduate biology? Applying lessons from 30 years of physics education research

If students are to successfully grapple with authentic, complex biological problems as scientists and citizens, they need practice solving such problems during their undergraduate years. Physics education researchers have investigated student problem solving for the past three decades. Although physics and biology problems differ in structure and content, the instructional purposes align closely: explaining patterns and processes in the natural world and making predictions about physical and biological systems. In this paper, we discuss how research-supported approaches developed by physics education researchers can be adopted by biologists to enhance student problem-solving skills. First, we compare the problems that biology students are typically asked to solve with authentic, complex problems. We then describe the development of research-validated physics curricula emphasizing process skills in problem solving. We show that solving authentic, complex biology problems requires many of the same skills that practicing physicists and biologists use in representing problems, seeking relationships, making predictions, and verifying or checking solutions. We assert that acquiring these skills can help biology students become competent problem solvers. Finally, we propose how biology scholars can apply lessons from physics education in their classrooms and inspire new studies in biology education research.

From F = ma to flying squirrels: curricular change in an introductory physics course

We present outcomes from curricular changes made to an introductory calculus-based physics course whose audience is primarily life sciences majors, the majority of whom plan to pursue postbaccalaureate studies in medical and scientific fields. During the 2011-2012 academic year, we implemented a Physics of the Life Sciences curriculum centered on a draft textbook that takes a novel approach to teaching physics to life sciences majors. In addition, substantial revisions were made to the homework and hands-on components of the course to emphasize the relationship between physics and the life sciences and to help the students learn to apply physical intuition to life sciences-oriented problems. Student learning and attitudinal outcomes were assessed both quantitatively, using standard physics education research instruments, and qualitatively, using student surveys and a series of postsemester interviews. Students experienced high conceptual learning gains, comparable to other active learning-based physics courses. Qualitatively, a substantial fraction of interviewed students reported an increased interest in physics relative to the beginning of the semester. Furthermore, more than half of students self-reported that they could now relate physics topics to their majors and future careers, with interviewed subjects demonstrating a high level of ability to come up with examples of how physics affects living organisms and how it helped them to better understand content presented in courses in their major.

From vision to change: educational initiatives and research at the intersection of physics and biology

In this editorial we link the articles published in this Special Issue with the framework from Vision and Change and summarize findings from the editorial process of assembling the Special Issue.

Developing and assessing curriculum on the physics of medical instruments

Undergraduate educational settings often struggle to provide students with authentic biologically or medically relevant situations and problems that simultaneously improve their understanding of physics. Through exercises and laboratory activities developed in an elective Physics in Biomedicine course for upper-level biology or pre-health majors at Portland State University, we aim to teach fundamental physical concepts, such as light absorption and emission and atomic energy levels, through analysis of biological systems and medical devices. The activities address the properties of electromagnetic waves as they relate to the interaction with biological tissue and make links between physics and biomedical applications such as microscopy or laser eye surgery. We report on the effect that engaging students in tasks with actual medical equipment has had on their conceptual understanding of light and spectroscopy. These initial assessments indicate that students' understanding improves in some areas as a result of taking the course, but gains are not uniform and are relatively low for other topics. We also find a promising "nonshift" in student attitudes toward learning science as a result of taking the course. A long-term goal of this work is to develop these materials to the extent that they can eventually be imported into an introductory curriculum for life sciences majors.

Using a physics experiment in a lecture setting to engage biology students with the concepts of Poiseuille's law

Biology students enrolled in a typical undergraduate physiology course encounter Poiseuille's law, a physics equation that describes the properties governing the flow of blood through the circulation. According to the equation, a small change in vessel radius has an exponential effect on resistance, resulting in a larger than expected change in blood flow. To help engage students in this important concept, we performed a physics experiment as a lecture demonstration to mimic the original research by the 19th-century French scientist. We tested its impact as a research project and found that students who viewed the demonstration reacted very positively and showed an immediate increase in test performance, while the control group was able to independently "catch up" at the fourth week posttest. We further examined whether students' math skills mapped to learning gains. The students with lower math scores who viewed the demonstration had slightly more improvement in test performance than those students who did not view the demonstration. Our data suggest that watching a lecture demonstration may be of even greater benefit to biology students with lower math achievement.

A framework for analyzing interdisciplinary tasks: implications for student learning and curricular design

The national conversation around undergraduate science instruction is calling for increased interdisciplinarity. As these calls increase, there is a need to consider the learning objectives of interdisciplinary science courses and how to design curricula to support those objectives. We present a framework that can help support interdisciplinary design research. We developed this framework in an introductory physics for life sciences majors (IPLS) course for which we designed a series of interdisciplinary tasks that bridge physics and biology. We illustrate how this framework can be used to describe the variation in the nature and degree of interdisciplinary interaction in tasks, to aid in redesigning tasks to better align with interdisciplinary learning objectives, and finally, to articulate design conjectures that posit how different characteristics of these tasks might support or impede interdisciplinary learning objectives. This framework will be useful for both curriculum designers and education researchers seeking to understand, in more concrete terms, what interdisciplinary learning means and how integrated science curricula can be designed to support interdisciplinary learning objectives.

Integration of physics and biology: synergistic undergraduate education for the 21st century

This is an exciting time to be a biologist. The advances in our field and the many opportunities to expand our horizons through interaction with other disciplines are intellectually stimulating. This is as true for people tasked with helping the field move forward through support of research and education projects that serve the nation's needs as for those carrying out that research and educating the next generation of biologists. So, it is a pleasure to contribute to this edition of CBE-Life Sciences Education. This column will cover three aspects of the interactions of physics and biology as seen from the viewpoint of four members of the Division of Undergraduate Education of the National Science Foundation. The first section places the material to follow in context. The second reviews some of the many interdisciplinary physics-biology projects we support. The third highlights mechanisms available for supporting new physics-biology undergraduate education projects based on ideas that arise, focusing on those needing and warranting outside support to come to fruition.

Competency-based reforms of the undergraduate biology curriculum: integrating the physical and biological sciences

The National Experiment in Undergraduate Science Education project funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute is a direct response to the Scientific Foundations for Future Physicians report, which urged a shift in premedical student preparation from a narrow list of specific course work to a more flexible curriculum that helps students develop broad scientific competencies. A consortium of four universities is working to create, pilot, and assess modular, competency-based curricular units that require students to use higher-order cognitive skills and reason across traditional disciplinary boundaries. Purdue University; the University of Maryland, Baltimore County; and the University of Miami are each developing modules and case studies that integrate the biological, chemical, physical, and mathematical sciences. The University of Maryland, College Park, is leading the effort to create an introductory physics for life sciences course that is reformed in both content and pedagogy. This course has prerequisites of biology, chemistry, and calculus, allowing students to apply strategies from the physical sciences to solving authentic biological problems. A comprehensive assessment plan is examining students' conceptual knowledge of physics, their attitudes toward interdisciplinary approaches, and the development of specific scientific competencies. Teaching modules developed during this initial phase will be tested on multiple partner campuses in preparation for eventual broad dissemination.

Toward university modeling instruction--biology: adapting curricular frameworks from physics to biology

University Modeling Instruction (UMI) is an approach to curriculum and pedagogy that focuses instruction on engaging students in building, validating, and deploying scientific models. Modeling Instruction has been successfully implemented in both high school and university physics courses. Studies within the physics education research (PER) community have identified UMI's positive impacts on learning gains, equity, attitudinal shifts, and self-efficacy. While the success of this pedagogical approach has been recognized within the physics community, the use of models and modeling practices is still being developed for biology. Drawing from the existing research on UMI in physics, we describe the theoretical foundations of UMI and how UMI can be adapted to include an emphasis on models and modeling for undergraduate introductory biology courses. In particular, we discuss our ongoing work to develop a framework for the first semester of a two-semester introductory biology course sequence by identifying the essential basic models for an introductory biology course sequence.

Advantages and challenges of using physics curricula as a model for reforming an undergraduate biology course

We report on the development of a life sciences curriculum, targeted to undergraduate students, which was modeled after a commercially available physics curriculum and based on aspects of how people learn. Our paper describes the collaborative development process and necessary modifications required to apply a physics pedagogical model in a life sciences context. While some approaches were easily adapted, others provided significant challenges. Among these challenges were: representations of energy, introducing definitions, the placement of Scientists' Ideas, and the replicability of data. In modifying the curriculum to address these challenges, we have come to see them as speaking to deeper differences between the disciplines, namely that introductory physics--for example, Newton's laws, magnetism, light--is a science of pairwise interaction, while introductory biology--for example, photosynthesis, evolution, cycling of matter in ecosystems--is a science of linked processes, and we suggest that this is how the two disciplines are presented in introductory classes. We illustrate this tension through an analysis of our adaptations of the physics curriculum for instruction on the cycling of matter and energy; we show that modifications of the physics curriculum to address the biological framework promotes strong gains in student understanding of these topics, as evidenced by analysis of student work.

Biology and physics competencies for pre-health and other life sciences students

The recent report on the Scientific Foundations for Future Physicians (SFFP) and the revised Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) reframe the preparation for medical school (and other health professional schools) in terms of competencies: what students should know and be able to do with that knowledge, with a strong emphasis on scientific inquiry and research skills. In this article, we will describe the thinking that went into the SFFP report and what it says about scientific and quantitative reasoning, focusing on biology and physics and the overlap between those fields. We then discuss how the SFFP report set the stage for the discussion of the recommendations for the revised MCAT, which will be implemented in 2015, again focusing the discussion on biology and physics. Based on that framework, we discuss the implications for undergraduate biology and physics education if students are to be prepared to demonstrate these competencies.

Using assessments to investigate and compare the nature of learning in undergraduate science courses

Assessments and student expectations can drive learning: students selectively study and learn the content and skills they believe critical to passing an exam in a given subject. Evaluating the nature of assessments in undergraduate science education can, therefore, provide substantial insight into student learning. We characterized and compared the cognitive skills routinely assessed by introductory biology and calculus-based physics sequences, using the cognitive domain of Bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives. Our results indicate that both introductory sequences overwhelmingly assess lower-order cognitive skills (e.g., knowledge recall, algorithmic problem solving), but the distribution of items across cognitive skill levels differs between introductory biology and physics, which reflects and may even reinforce student perceptions typical of those courses: biology is memorization, and physics is solving problems. We also probed the relationship between level of difficulty of exam questions, as measured by student performance and cognitive skill level as measured by Bloom's taxonomy. Our analyses of both disciplines do not indicate the presence of a strong relationship. Thus, regardless of discipline, more cognitively demanding tasks do not necessarily equate to increased difficulty. We recognize the limitations associated with this approach; however, we believe this research underscores the utility of evaluating the nature of our assessments.

Academic integrity in a mandatory physics lab: the influence of post-graduate aspirations and grade point averages

Research on academic cheating by high school students and undergraduates suggests that many students will do whatever it takes, including violating ethical classroom standards, to not be left behind or to race to the top. This behavior may be exacerbated among pre-med and pre-health professional school students enrolled in laboratory classes because of the typical disconnect between these students, their instructors and the perceived legitimacy of the laboratory work. There is little research, however, that has investigated the relationship between high aspirations and academic conduct. This study fills this research gap by investigating the beliefs, perceptions and self-reported academic conduct of highly aspirational students and their peers in mandatory physics labs. The findings suggest that physics laboratory classes may face particular challenges with highly aspirational students and cheating, but the paper offers practical solutions for addressing them.

Extent and modes of physics instruction in European dental schools

Changes in dental education towards integration of sciences and convergence of curricula have affected instruction in physics. Earlier studies of undergraduate curricula make possible comparisons in physics instruction. For this study, the websites of 245 European dental schools were explored, and information about the curriculum was found on 213 sites. Physics instruction in the form of a separate course was found in 63 percent of these schools, with eighty-two hours and 5.9 European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) credits on average. Physics integrated with other subjects or into modules was found in 19 percent of these schools. Half of these schools had on average sixty-one hours and 6.9 ECTS credits devoted to physics. Eighteen percent of the schools had no noticeable obligatory physics instruction, but in half of them physics was found to be required or accepted on admission, included in other subjects, or appeared as an elective course. In 122 dental schools, the extent of physics instruction was found to be between forty and 120 contact hours. Physics instruction has been reduced by up to 14 percent in the last fourteen years in the group of eleven countries that were members of the European Union (EU) in 1997, but by approximately 30 percent in last five years in the group of ten Accession Countries to the EU.