Advantages and Challenges of Using Physics Curricula as a Model for Reforming an Undergraduate Biology Course

We report on the development  of  a life sciences curriculum, targeted to undergraduate students, which was modeled after a commercially available physics  curriculum  and  based on aspects  of  how people learn. Our paper describes the collaborative development process  and  necessary modifications required to apply a  physics  pedagogical model in a life sciences context. While some approaches were easily adapted, others provided significant  challenges . Among these  challenges  were: representations  of  energy, introducing definitions, the placement  of Scientists’ Ideas,  and  the replicability  of  data. In modifying the curriculum to address these  challenges , we have come to see them as speaking to deeper differences between the disciplines, namely that introductory  physics —for example, Newton's laws, magnetism, light—is a science  of  pairwise interaction, while introductory biology—for example, photosynthesis, evolution, cycling  of  matter in ecosystems—is a science  of  linked processes, and  we suggest that this is how the two disciplines are presented in introductory classes. We illustrate this tension through an analysis  of  our adaptations  of  the  physics  curriculum for instruction on the cycling  of  matter and  energy; we show that modifications  of  the  physics  curriculum to address the biological framework promotes strong gains in student underst and ing  of these topics, as evidenced by analysis  of  student work.