Understanding How Students Use Physical Ideas in Introductory Biology Courses

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written by Jessica Watkins, Kristi Hall, Edward F. Redish, and Todd J. Cooke

The University of Maryland (UMD) Biology Education and Physics Education Research Groups are investigating students' views on the role of physics in introductory biology courses. This paper presents data from an introductory course that addresses the fundamental principles of organismal biology and that incorporates several topics directly related to physics, including thermodynamics, diffusion, and fluid flow. We examine how the instructors use mathematics and physics in this introductory biology course and look at two students' responses to this use. Our preliminary observations are intended to start a discussion about the epistemological issues resulting from the integration of the science disciplines and to motivate the need for further research.

Physics Education Research Conference 2010
Part of the PER Conference series
Portland, Oregon: July 21-22, 2010
Volume 1289, Pages 333-336

download 87kb .pdf
Published: August 24, 2010

Subjects	Levels	Resource Types
Education Practices - Curriculum Development Fluid Mechanics - Dynamics of Fluids Thermo & Stat Mech - General	- Lower Undergraduate	- Reference Material = Report = Research study

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Mirror:: https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3515237
Access Rights:: Limited free access and
Available for purchase; A preprint of the work is available. A hard copy of the PERC 2010 proceedings is available for purchase from the AIP.
Restriction:: © 2010 American Institute of Physics
DOI:: 10.1063/1.3515237
NSF Number:: 0919816
PACSs:: 01.40.Fk; 01.40.Di, 01.40.Ha
Keywords:: epistemology, physics in biology, PERC 2010, curriculum reform
Record Cloner:: Metadata instance created November 10, 2010 by Alea Smith
Record Updated:: May 1, 2013 by Lyle Barbato
Last Update when Cataloged:: August 24, 2010
Other Collections:: The PER-Central

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Record Link

<a href="https://www.compadre.org/portal/items/detail.cfm?ID=10497">Watkins, J, K. Hall, E. Redish, and T. Cooke. "Understanding How Students Use Physical Ideas in Introductory Biology Courses." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2010, Portland, Oregon, July 21-22, 2010.</a>

AIP Format

J. Watkins, K. Hall, E. Redish, and T. Cooke, , presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2010, Portland, Oregon, 2010, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10497&DocID=1953).

AJP/PRST-PER

J. Watkins, K. Hall, E. Redish, and T. Cooke, Understanding How Students Use Physical Ideas in Introductory Biology Courses, presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2010, Portland, Oregon, 2010, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10497&DocID=1953>.

APA Format

Watkins, J., Hall, K., Redish, E., & Cooke, T. (2010, July 21-22). Understanding How Students Use Physical Ideas in Introductory Biology Courses. Paper presented at Physics Education Research Conference 2010, Portland, Oregon. Retrieved February 18, 2025, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10497&DocID=1953

Chicago Format

Watkins, J, K. Hall, E. Redish, and T. Cooke. "Understanding How Students Use Physical Ideas in Introductory Biology Courses." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2010, Portland, Oregon, July 21-22, 2010. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10497&DocID=1953 (accessed 18 February 2025).

MLA Format

Watkins, Jessica, Kristi Hall, Edward F. Redish, and Todd J. Cooke. "Understanding How Students Use Physical Ideas in Introductory Biology Courses." Physics Education Research Conference 2010. Portland, Oregon: 2010. 333-336 Vol. 1289 of PER Conference. 18 Feb. 2025 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10497&DocID=1953>.

BibTeX Export Format

@inproceedings{ Author = "Jessica Watkins and Kristi Hall and Edward F. Redish and Todd J. Cooke", Title = {Understanding How Students Use Physical Ideas in Introductory Biology Courses}, BookTitle = {Physics Education Research Conference 2010}, Pages = {333-336}, Address = {Portland, Oregon}, Series = {PER Conference}, Volume = {1289}, Month = {July 21-22}, Year = {2010} }

Refer Export Format

%A Jessica Watkins %A Kristi Hall %A Edward F. Redish %A Todd J. Cooke %T Understanding How Students Use Physical Ideas in Introductory Biology Courses %S PER Conference %V 1289 %D July 21-22 2010 %P 333-336 %C Portland, Oregon %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10497&DocID=1953 %O Physics Education Research Conference 2010 %O July 21-22 %O application/pdf

EndNote Export Format

%0 Conference Proceedings %A Watkins, Jessica %A Hall, Kristi %A Redish, Edward F. %A Cooke, Todd J. %D July 21-22 2010 %T Understanding How Students Use Physical Ideas in Introductory Biology Courses %B Physics Education Research Conference 2010 %C Portland, Oregon %V 1289 %P 333-336 %S PER Conference %8 July 21-22 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=10497&DocID=1953

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