Abstract:

Revision of introductory physics courses for life-science area students at university level is a well-known addressed problem in PER (Physics Education Research). The need is not only to address the relevant topics for the specific field of study, but to build a competence to employ the methodological approach of physics to the specific problems. A student-centered approach, in which the active role of students produces operative awareness of the role of physics in solving problems and relative instruments and methods, is relevant as well as taking into account the learning difficulties of students into the learning process to produce effective learning outcomes.

To address these main needs, specific research-based intervention modules for innovation in introductory physics course for biotechnology in Udine University (IT) started in the academic year 2015/16 involving - on average - 60 students per year. The content innovation pays attention to the strategies, and in particular to the role of problem-solving activities, the contribution of laboratorial activity, specific seminars and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in teaching/learning process and the support of CAI (Computer-Assisted Instruction) systems.

In the theoretical framework of the MER (Model of Educational Reconstruction) the modules have been designed and implemented, focusing on increase the quality of teaching, avoiding reductionism promoting active involvement of students. Our goal is to build a functional understanding of the addressed contents, in order to allow students in gaining mastery in using physical concepts to critically interpret phenomena in their specific field of study, giving them the opportunity to use methodologies employed in physics in order to derive laws and experimentally validate them.

This work is on 5 different research plans:
(a) curricular, understood as a global re-design of contents, instruments and methods;
(b) learning modalities and strategies in teaching specific topics;
(c) role of the laboratorial activity;
(d) link between academic research in biotechnology and
(e) role of exercises.

The institutional role of innovation has been taken into account to give a guarantee of consolidation to the progress achieved in each phase of the experimentation.

The innovation in introductory physics course for biotechnology resulted in an increased formative success from 70% to 85% as concern the last academic year.

Here we describe the adopted strategies, the specific choices and the evolution of the course structure and contents as well as the employed instruments to evaluate and/or to involve students as for example the experimental activities and the on-line self-assessments questionnaires. We also discuss the main achieved results.

Keywords:

Physics education research, university innovation, introductory physics, biotechnology freshmen.