Vashti Sawtelle

Building Interdisciplinary Learning Environments: Physics for Life Scientists

The National Research Council's DBER report establishes science as undergoing a fundamental shift towards increasing interdisciplinarity. This creates a need to develop curricula that can help students develop the necessary competencies and dispositions to succeed as members of an interdisciplinary workforce. However, little is known about the mechanisms that support learning that crosses disciplinary boundaries, and initial research shows that for many students these experiences are fragmented (or even in conflict) rather than coherent. We are exploring the intersection of physics and the life sciences to understand how to build from successful learning strategies from physics education to create successful interdisciplinary learning environments. In doing so, our work focuses on some of the following questions:

  • What are the key design features of a undergraduate interdisciplinary course?
  • What kinds of models and modeling practices cut across disciplinary boundaries?
  • In what ways can a learning environment (e.g. physics) draw upon students' alternative disciplinary affinities (e.g. love of biology)?

    • Understanding the Development
    of Disciplinary Identities

    Retention and persistence is a critical issue facing the science community. Studies have shown a student's sense of self is a key factor influencing retention. At MSU we are exploring the ways that student develop these perceptions of belonging to the science community. At the upper division level we are exploring how students develop a subject specific identity. We are also investigating how undergraduates begin to see themselves as scientists and negotiate their entry to the community of practicing scientists. We pay particular attention to the role of the learning environment in these developing identities. In a variety of classroom contexts we are exploring the following questions:

  • What critical experiences shift students' identities of what it means to be a "physicist" or a physics major?
  • How do students learn to describe what it means to be a physicist and how does that description change over time?
  • How do learning environments impact students' perceptions of their available future trajectories?
  • What are the critical factors in developing a functional community of learners?

    • Examining Group Problem Solving Dynamics in Physics

    When students solve problems in groups, their behaviors and strategies are understandably different than when they work individually. Differences in problem solving approaches, shared resources (computers, worksheets, etc.), and gender can all affect the manner in which a group proceeds. In this project, we hope to understand more fully the nature of these effects. In a study currently in progress, we examine the effects of students' diverse problem solving strategies. We have begun to examine how students work cooperatively in groups on problems in which they are not provided multiple possible solutions. We hope to develop a model for how group interaction affects the student roles in cooperative learning.