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Full-Text Articles in Physics
Life Science Students’ Attitudes, Interest, And Performance In Introductory Physics For Life Sciences: An Exploratory Study, Catherine Hirshfeld Crouch, Panchompoo Wisittanawat , '13, Ming Cai , '11
Life Science Students’ Attitudes, Interest, And Performance In Introductory Physics For Life Sciences: An Exploratory Study, Catherine Hirshfeld Crouch, Panchompoo Wisittanawat , '13, Ming Cai , '11
Educational Studies Faculty Works
In response to national calls for improved physical sciences education for students pursuing careers in the life sciences and medicine, reformed introductory physics for life sciences (IPLS) courses are being developed. This exploratory study is among the first to assess the effect of an IPLS course on students’ attitudes, interest, and performance. The IPLS course studied was the second semester of introductory physics, following a standard first semester course, allowing the outcomes of the same students in a standard course and in an IPLS course to be compared. In the IPLS course, each physics topic was introduced and elaborated in …
Initial Interest, Goals, And Changes In Class Scores In Introductory Physics For Life Sciences, Catherine Hirshfeld Crouch, Panchompoo Wisittanawat , '13, K. Ann Renninger
Initial Interest, Goals, And Changes In Class Scores In Introductory Physics For Life Sciences, Catherine Hirshfeld Crouch, Panchompoo Wisittanawat , '13, K. Ann Renninger
Educational Studies Faculty Works
To examine the effect of extensive life science applications on student attitudes to learning physics, we analyzed CLASS data from life science students in introductory physics. We compare the same students' responses from the first semester, taught with a standard syllabus, to the second semester, taught with extensive life science applications (IPLS). Although first semester responses become less favorable (pre to post), IPLS responses show an increase in favorable and a decrease in unfavorable responses. This is noteworthy because improvement is rarely observed without direct attention to attitudes/beliefs, and suggests IPLS courses are one possible approach to improving attitudes. Finally, …