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Life-science-contextualized redesign of an introductory physics course

Design · All designs
Evidence · 1 claim (1 for) · 1 study (1 design), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 1 claim rests on one study

Description

A course-level design pattern in which lecture questions, homework, hands-on sessions, and free-response exams are all rebuilt around life science contexts so students apply physical intuition to life-science-oriented problems. New LON-CAPA homework problems used physics principles to understand situations of interest to life science students while striving to ensure the problems are "authentic to the disciplines involved" and emphasize conceptual thinking useful in students' careers. Topic coverage was rebalanced toward thermodynamics and fluid dynamics and away from kinematics and rotational motion.

Design Implications

Context

Requirements

  • Support at the faculty and departmental level
  • an investment of time to create a substantial quantity of life-science-focused recitation, homework, and exam problems
  • possibly new lab and/or demonstration hardware

Constraints

  • The order and emphasis of topics differs substantially from a standard course, which could be uncomfortable for some physics faculty
  • results may not generalize to the second-semester course, which was not evaluated similarly

Target Learners

  • undergraduate life science majors, most planning post-baccalaureate medical or scientific study

Target Goals

  • applying physical intuition to life-science-oriented problems
  • relating physics topics to students' majors and future careers

Claims

Examples

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Key Sources

  • O'Shea, B., Terry, L., & Benenson, W. (2013). From F=ma to Flying Squirrels: Curricular Change in an Introductory Physics Course. CBE-Life Science Education (accepted). https://www.lifescied.org
Page metadata
Field Value
type design
id life-science-contextualized-physics-course-pattern
title Life-science-contextualized redesign of an introductory physics course
description A course-level design pattern in which lecture questions, homework, hands-on sessions, and free-response exams are all rebuilt around life science contexts so students apply physical intuition to life-science-oriented...
status review
generated by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-09-26
trust unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
sources 1 — oshea-2013

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