+
Rethinking Introductory Physics
for Life Science Students:
A model for deep curriculum reform
+
2
Outline
The Challenge
An Approach to a solution
Opening lines of communication
Some surprising results
The biologists turn up the pressure
Modifying the IPLS class
Implications
What if we ... ?
APS Dept. Chairs Conf.
6/7/15
+
THE CHALLENGE
The biologists
turn up the pressure
6/7/15
APS Dept. Chairs Conf.
3
+
4
Biologists are clamoring
for an upgrade
Leading research biologists
and medical professionals
have increasingly been
calling for a major reform
of undergraduate
instruction.
2013
2011
APS Dept. Chairs Conf.
2003
2009
6/7/15
+ This is an interesting
5
challenge. Can we do it?
These reports have specific
requests. They want courses that
Stress
scientific skills / competencies
(and they have identified many fairly
specific ones)
Include topics essential and relevant
for modern biology.
Enhance interdisciplinarity.
APS Dept. Chairs Conf.
6/7/15
+In the summer of 2010, HHMI
6
offered an opportunity to
four universities:
Create a proposal to develop
prototype materials
for biologists and pre-meds
with a focus on scientific competency
building and interdisciplinary links in
APS Dept. Chairs Conf.
Chemistry (Purdue)
Math (UMBC)
Physics (UMCP)
Capstone case study course (U of Miami)
6/7/15
+ Goals of NEXUS:
A national demonstration project
Create prototype materials
An inventory of open-source
instructional modules that
can be shared nationally .
Interdisciplinary
7
Coordinate instruction
in biology, chemistry, physics, and math.
Competency based
Teach generalized scientific skills so that
it supports instruction in the other disciplines.
APS Dept. Chairs Conf.
6/7/15
+
AN APPROACH
TO A SOLUTION
Opening lines
of communications
6/7/15
APS Dept. Chairs Conf.
8
+ Is there anything broken?
9
Lines of communication! It turns out there are
important cultural differences between how biologists
and physicists view the class.
Many biologists see most of the traditional introductory
physics class as useless and irrelevant to biology – and
the physicists claim that “we can apply physics to biology
examples” as trivial and uninteresting.
Physicists see a coherent structure with no room for
change.
Physics is an outlier in a biology curriculum. Lower
division bio classes use no physics and (essentially) no
upper division biology classes require physics as a
prerequisite.
The new MCAT will no longer do “traditional” physics
questions.
APS Dept. Chairs Conf.
6/7/15
+
10
Two views heard at a conference on
interdisciplinary Science Education
1. Physicist: "This whole 'physics for biology’ idea makes me
very uncomfortable. What's next? 'Physics for mechanical
engineers’ or 'physics for electrical engineers'? Where does it
end?
I could see maybe having a physics class for all students and
then having a few tailored recitation sections where students
focus on applications to their various fields, but I’m
uncomfortable with 'physics for X' as an idea. We should be
conveying how we view physics to everyone.”
APS Dept. Chairs Conf.
6/7/15
+ Two views heard at a conference on
11
interdisciplinary Science Education
2. Biologist: "I guess the physics for biologists idea
may be a step in the right direction, but for it to be useful
it has to go much further and be entirely revamped.
It has to be very narrowly focused on those ideas that biologists
see as essential, not just removing a few topics. If I want to
know about forces, I'll look it up, but it does not make sense for
biology students to be spending time on that when they have
profound problems with biology. Unfortunately, physicists
generally have a profound ignorance about biology, so I'm not
sure they are the right folks to be doing it. I can teach the
relevant physics myself."
APS Dept. Chairs Conf.
6/7/15
We put together are large team
+
of stake-holders. The questions for
discussion were:
12
What starting assumptions
should we make about our students?
What content should we teach?
What competencies should we focus on?
What are the barriers to constructing
an effective course?
What do we need to do to create effective
inter- or trans-disciplinary instruction?
APS Dept. Chairs Conf.
6/7/15
+
13
After many interesting
and illuminating discussions
We came to a better understanding
of what it was the biologists needed
and how the disciplines perceived
the world and their science differently.
APS Dept. Chairs Conf.
6/7/15
+ Changing the culture of the course
We seek content and examples that have
authentic value as perceived by biology students.
Biology, chemistry, and calculus are pre-requisites.
We do not assume students will have later
physics courses that will “make things more realistic.”
We want upper division bio to make physics a pre-requisite.
We do not assume this is a first college science course.
14
The value added by physics can’t wait until later classes.
We choose different content from the traditional class,
focusing on topics that are common to all biology majors
Atomic and molecular examples
Chemical energy
Motion in fluids
Random motion and its implications
APS Dept. Chairs Conf.
6/7/15
+ And...
We continue to negotiate these changes
through extensive discussions among
biologists, chemists, and physicists.
We support and refine our approach
through extensive qualitative and
quantitative Physics Education Research .
15
Throughout...
We (try to) maintain the crucial components
of “thinking like a physicist” – quantification,
mathematical modeling, mechanism, multiple
representations and coherence (among others).
APS Dept. Chairs Conf.
6/7/15
+ SOME INTERESTING
RESULTS
Modifying the IPLS class
6/7/15
APS Dept. Chairs Conf.
16
+ What can physics do
17
for biology students
that’s useful for them?
Put “legs under” complex topics introduced in
bio and chem through the use of “toy models.”
Fluids
Diffusion
Chemical reactions
Thermodynamics and statistical physics
Help develop scientific skills that
may be harder to build in intro chem and bio
because of the complexity of the examples.
Learning the value of “toy models” (understanding the
simplest possible system well as a starting point)
Blending math with physical sense making
APS Dept. Chairs Conf.
6/7/15
+ Revising the content
Expand
18
Reduce substantially
or eliminate entirely
Atomic and molecular
Projectile motion
models of matter
Universal gravitation
Energy, including
chemical energy
Inclined planes, mechanical
advantage
Fluids, including fluids
in motion and solutions
Linear momentum
Dissipative forces
Rotational motion
(drag & viscosity)
Torque, statics, and angular
Diffusion and
momentum
gradient driven flows
Magnetism
Kinetic theory, implications
Relativity
of random motion,
statistical picture of
Long-term goal: Have coverage of many more
thermodynamics
APS Dept. Chairs Conf.
topics than can be covered so different instructors
make make different choices.
6/7/15
+ Revising the approach
We want to
19
So we
Be explicit about modeling
and analyzing as systems.
Give problems where
building equations are the point
Emphasize equations
as guides to thinking
and reasoning
Do problems with simulations,
video, numerical calculations
(solving ODEs on a spreadsheet)
Focus on coherent vs.
random motion
Do multiple labs
on random motion
Develop quantification skills
and a sense of scale
Give estimation problems
on macro & micro scales
Use modern pedagogical
tools
Create clicker and groupwork
problems
APS Dept. Chairs Conf.
6/7/15
+
20
The NEXUS/Physics materials
The materials are on-line, modular,
and open to all, including
A modular textbook or “wiki-book” of readings
A problem collection
Recitation-appropriate group-learning activities
A set of scientific community laboratories
A teacher’s guide to the content and pedagogy
(in progress)
APS Dept. Chairs Conf.
6/7/15
+
21
New interdisciplinary topics
Focus on modeling and explicating assumptions.
Do micro and macro examples throughout
assuming students know about atoms and molecules.
Include discussion of chemical energy and reactions
Treat random motion as well as coherent. (Labs!)
Carefully build the basic statistical mechanics
support for thermodynamics (conceptually).
Expand treatment of fluids and physics in fluids.
APS Dept. Chairs Conf.
Dreyfus et al., Am. J. Phys 82:5 (2014) 403-411
Geller et al., Am. J. Phys 82:5 (2014) 394-402
Moore et al., Am. J. Phys 82:5 (2014) 387-393
6/7/15
Example:
The energetics of chemical bonding
+
– Interdisciplinary reconciliation
In introductory chemistry and biology classes,
students learn about chemical reactions
and the critical role of energy made available
by molecular rearrangements.
But students learn heuristics by rote
that can feel contradictory to them
and that they often don’t know how to reconcile.
22
1.  It takes energy to break a chemical bond.
2.  Breaking the bond in ATP is the “energy currency”
providing energy for cellular metabolism.
W. C. Galley, J. Chem. Ed., 81:4 (2004) 523-525.
M. Conf.
Cooper
APS Dept. Chairs
and M. Klymkowsky, CBE Life Sci Educ 12:2 (2013) 306-312
6/7/15
+ Many students infer a “piñata”
23
model of a chemical bond.
"But like the way that I was thinking of it, I don't know why,
but whenever chemistry taught us like exothermic,
endothermic, like what she said, I always imagined like the
breaking of the bonds
has like these little [energy]
molecules that float out,
but like I know it’s wrong.
But that's just how
I pictured it
from the beginning."
APS Dept. Chairs Conf.
6/7/15
+ Distinct disciplinary perspectives
24
Physicists and biologists (and chemists)
make different tacit assumptions.
Physicists tend to isolate a system to focus on a
particular physical phenomenon and mechanism.
Biologists (and chemists) tend to assume the
natural and universal context of life – a fluid
environment (air and water taken for granted).
We learned to not try to condemn one or other
perspective as “wrong” but to be explicit and
discuss the different ways different disciplines
look at the same phenomenon – and why.
APS Dept. Chairs Conf.
6/7/15
+ The NEXUS/Physics
25
Chemical Energy Thread
Dreyfus et al., Am. J. Phys 82:5 (2014) 403-411
APS Dept. Chairs Conf.
6/7/15
+ How can physics help?
26
Build a coherent story using toy models
Bulldog on a skateboard
Atomic interactions
and binding
Reactions in which bonds
are first broken and then
stronger ones formed
(the Gauss gun)
APS Dept. Chairs Conf.
6/7/15
+
A series of clicker questions (PhET based)
helps students get comfortable with negative PE
and with the concept of binding energy.
27
Same problems analyzed
with shifted zero of PE –
one positive E, one bound.
APS Dept. Chairs Conf.
6/7/15
+
28
Bound states
HW problem
The skateboarder is just
an analogy for the cases
we are interested in -interacting atoms.
If the atoms have an energy
of -7.5 units as shown
by the solid line in the figure,
would you have to put in
energy to separate the atoms
or by separating them would
you gain energy? How much?
Explain why you think so.
APS Dept. Chairs Conf.
6/7/15
+ The Gauss Gun: A classical analog
29
for an exothermic reaction
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZmCJ5eZlmo
APS Dept. Chairs Conf.
6/7/15
+
30
Student drawing from a HW
on the reaction H2 + O2 2H2O
APS Dept. Chairs Conf.
6/7/15
+Some more general student comments
31
“At first I was expecting the class to be like the biology calculus
class that did not focus on any biology. But, as the semester
progressed I saw that the class was actually directed towards
helping students to understand biological ideas using physics. “
…[biology professors] have to go over so much stuff that they don't
really take the time to go over why things happen. And I'm a very why
kind of person I want to understand why does this happen? ...And
you know [diffusion] was never explained to me very well, and then
when I take this [physics] class and understand oh well this is why
molecules interact the way they do.
“I now see that physics really is everywhere, and the principles of
physics are used to govern how organisms are built and how they
function.”
[In lab] “I learned how to approach a problem by designing our own
experiments and interpreting data our own way. These labs taught
me how to think for myself.”
APS Dept. Chairs Conf.
6/7/15
+
IMPLICATIONS
What if we ...?
6/7/15
APS Dept. Chairs Conf.
32
+ At Maryland NEXUS/Physics has involved
33
our biophysics research group
in the creation and teaching of the class
This has yielded exam, homework problems,
and recitation activities tied to our local research
(chemical signaling, forces on cells, motor proteins)
Six NEXUS/Physics biology students (from our
second year class of 30) became interested enough
in biophysics and the quantitative approach to sign
up for the biophysics group’s summer MATLAB
bootcamp.
Eight NEXUS/Physics biology students (and an
equal number of physics majors) signed up for an
upper level research class that carried out research
at NIH mentored by NIH postdocs and using some of
the tools they learned in our IPLS class.
APS Dept. Chairs Conf.
6/7/15
+
34
Current universities testing
NEXUS/Physics
Purdue*
Montgomery College*
The College of New England (Maine)*
Swarthmore College
Florida State
Michigan State
Dickinson College
George Mason University
Elon College
APS Dept. Chairs Conf.
*Full implementation with labs
6/7/15
+ The Long Term Plan
35
Create an AAPT on-line IPLS environment
(NSF proposal from AAPT and 7 collaborating
universities)
Use NEXUS/Physics as the core of a modular,
on-line set of materials that can integrate
readings, activities, and problems from multiple
sources.
This would be an open environment in which
users could contribute their own materials, have
them peer reviewed, and added to the collection.
This gives the potential for a course that matches
local (research) interests and opportunities.
APS Dept. Chairs Conf.
6/7/15
+
36
It’s been fun!
Rethinking intro physics in the
biological context has been a blast.
Thinking about how to teach new physics –
like the energy analysis of chemical bonds,
diffusion, and free energy – at an intro level
has been extremely interesting.
Seeing physics from the angle of other
disciplines (biology, chemistry) has given us
deeper insights into what we traditionally do –
how we use models and the role of math.
APS Dept. Chairs Conf.
6/7/15
+
37
The key to the process was
carefully rethinking the class
Considering the long term goals in context
(where the students are in their curriculum)
Being willing to strike out in new directions
and not just make incremental changes
Focusing not just on content but also on
epistemology
Working to understand what attitudes and
expectations students bring into the class
Focusing on what epistemological resources
can be valuable for the students both at their
level of development and for their future careers.
APS Dept. Chairs Conf.
6/7/15
+
38
Let’s speculate
What if we did this in other
contexts?
Engineers?
Physics
APS Dept. Chairs Conf.
majors?
6/7/15
+
39
Engineers?
Engineers very much tend to favor
real-world examples. Why don't we do
more "How good is this model?"
and "How does this physics affect
design?" (Design is a big deal for
engineers.)
Does “old” (19th century) physics
suffice for modern engineers?
APS Dept. Chairs Conf.
6/7/15
+
40
Physics majors?
When I finished my undergraduate
education (>50 years ago) I said that,
"I learned everything about point particles
and empty space and nothing about
anything." That’s still mostly true.
Today a very large fraction of our students
are going to have careers in the physics of
materials, atomic physics, optics, quantum
computing, nano- and meso-scale physics
and the like. Are our instructional paths
for our majors appropriate for their current
reality?
APS Dept. Chairs Conf.
6/7/15
+
EPILOGUE
6/7/15
APS Dept. Chairs Conf.
41
+
The NEXUS Development Team
(UMCP)
Physicists
Joe Redish
Wolfgang Losert**
Chandra Turpen
Vashti Sawtelle
Ben Dreyfus*
Ben Geller*
Kimberly Moore*
John Gianini* **
Arnaldo Vaz (Br.)
APS Dept. Chairs Conf.
Biologists
Todd Cooke
Karen Carleton
Joelle Presson
Kaci Thompson
Education (Bio)
Julia Svoboda
Gili Marbach-Ad
Kristi Hall-Berk*
* Graduate student
** Biophysicist
42
6/7/15
+
43
Discussants:
UMCP co-conspirators
Physicists
Arpita Upadhyaya**
Michael Fisher
Alex Morozov**
Peter Shawhan
Biologists
Marco Colombini***
Jeff Jensen
Richard Payne
Patty Shields
Sergei Sukharev**
APS Dept. Chairs Conf.
Chemists
Jason Kahn***
Lee Friedman
Bonnie Dixon
Education
Andy Elby (Phys)
Dan Levin (Bio)
Jen Richards (Chem)
** Biophysicist
*** Biochemist
6/7/15
+ Off-campus collaborators
Physicists
Catherine Crouch*
(Swarthmore)
Royce Zia*
(Virginia Tech)
Mark Reeves
(George Washington)
Lilly Cui &
Eric Anderson
(UMBC)
Dawn Meredith
(U. New Hampshire)
Steve Durbin
(Purdue)
APS Dept. Chairs Conf.
Biologists
Mike Klymkowsky*
(U. Colorado)
Chemists
44
Chris Bauer*
(U. New Hampshire)
Melanie Cooper*
(MSU)
Education
Janet Coffey
(Moore Foundation)
Jessica Watkins
(Tufts University)
*NSF TUES project
6/7/15
+ References
•
Reinventing physics for life science majors, D. Meredith & E. Redish,
Physics Today, 66:7 (2013) 38-43.
•
NEXUS/Physics: An interdisciplinary repurposing of physics
for biologists, E. Redish, et al., Am. J. Phys. 82:5 (2014) 368-377.
•
Toward better physics labs for future biologists, K. Moore, J. Giannini,
& W. Losert, Am. J. Phys., 82:5 (May, 2014) 387-393.
•
Chemical energy in an introductory physics course for the life sciences,
B. Dreyfus, B. Geller, J. Gouvea, V. Sawtelle, C. Turpen, & E. Redish,
Am. J. Phys., 82:5 (2014) 403-411.
•
Entropy and spontaneity in an introductory physics course for life science
students, B. Geller, B. Dreyfus, J. Gouvea, V. Sawtelle, C. Turpen,
& E. Redish, Am. J. Phys. 82:5 (2014) 394-402.
•
Language of physics, language of math: Disciplinary culture and dynamic
epistemology, E. Redish and E. Kuo, Science & Education (2015-03-14)
doi:10.1007/s11191-015-9749-7.
APS Dept.
Chairsand
Conf. access to materials, see: http://nexusphysics.umd.edu
For
more
45
6/7/15