The majority of student enrolling in introductory algebra-based physics courses are life science majors. Yet essential physics topics for biology, such as fluids, often receive little or unsuitable coverage in these classes. An understanding of fluids is essential to the practice of many of these majors, including those who pursue careers in medicine: organisms live in fluid environments and fluids inside the body carry out many essential functions. Our current knowledge of student understanding of fluids is sparse and so our pedagogy on this topic is relatively uninformed.
Research-based curricular interventions and assessment questions enable a more informed pedagogical approach to teaching fluids. The research of this award is examining students? current state of knowledge of fluids through interviews that elucidate student preconceptions about fluids and student resources (both productive and unproductive) for reasoning about fluids. These findings are then serving to help in the design of guided inquiry labs, tutorials, quantitative questions, as well as formative and summative assessment tools. The research systematically examines assessment questions for validity and reliability with the objective of constructing a fluids concept inventory, while also assessing the curricular interventions for effectiveness in improving student understanding. The broad impact of this award is apparent, as these deliverables enable instructors at any institution with a course for life science majors to offer a tested, research-based curriculum on fluids with topics of high interest to life science students.
