Abstract
Educators and policy makers have advocated for reform of undergraduate biology education, calling for greater integration of mathematics and physics in the biology curriculum. While these calls reflect the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of biology research, crossing disciplinary boundaries in the classroom carries epistemological challenges for both instructors and students. In this paper we expand on the construct of authenticity to better describe and understand disciplinary practices, in particular, to examine those used in undergraduate physics and biology courses. We then apply these ideas to examine an introductory biology course that incorporates physics and mathematics. We characterize how instructors asked students to use interdisciplinary tools in this biology course and contrast them with the typical uses of these tools in physics courses. Finally, we examine student responses to the use of mathematics and physics in this course, to better understand the challenges and consequences of using interdisciplinary tools in introductory courses. We link these results to the reform initiatives of introductory physics courses for life-science students.
Highlights
In 2009 the National Academies published a report advocating for a new vision of the biological discipline to meet the economic and social challenges of the 21st century
The report envisioned a new approach to research in biology that draws from many scientific disciplines and collaborations across organizations
The essence of New Biology is integration—reintegration of the many subdisciplines of biology, and the integration into biology of physicists, chemists, computer scientists, engineers, and mathematicians to create a research community with the capacity to tackle a broad range of scientific and societal problems ([1], p. vii). As part of this call for reform, the National Academies recommended further changes in how scientists are educated and trained, at the undergraduate level. They advocated for more interdisciplinary courses, greater integration of biology in introductory physics, and pedagogies centered on solving complex, real-world scientific problems that require interdisciplinary tools
Summary
In 2009 the National Academies published a report advocating for a new vision of the biological discipline to meet the economic and social challenges of the 21st century. As part of this call for reform, the National Academies recommended further changes in how scientists are educated and trained, at the undergraduate level. They advocated for more interdisciplinary courses, greater integration of biology in introductory physics (likewise, more physics and mathematics in introductory biology), and pedagogies centered on solving complex, real-world scientific problems that require interdisciplinary tools.
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