PERC 2015 Abstract Detail Page
Previous Page | New Search | Browse All
| Abstract Title: | Attitudes of Life Science Majors Towards Computational Modeling in Introductory Physics |
|---|---|
| Abstract: | Biological and health care majors comprise one of the largest populations of students enrolled in physics courses each year. Because of this, there is a growing interest within the physics and biology communities to restructure the introductory physics courses for life science majors to better support the needs of these students. In this context, computational modeling could prove to be an accessible and compelling tool for exploring biologically and medically relevant phenomena, such as diffusion, within in the physics course. As a first step leading to implementation, we conducted an exploratory study to help us learn about life-science majors' attitudes towards programming. Our observations suggest that these students had an apprehension towards programming but at the same time held a positive attitude towards data tables, which can be used to scaffold more rigorous computational modeling tasks in the classroom. |
| Abstract Type: | Contributed Poster Presentation |
Author/Organizer Information | |
| Primary Contact: |
Brandon R. Lunk Elon University 100 Campus Drive Elon, NC 27244 |
| Co-Author(s) and Co-Presenter(s) |
Anna E. Lewis, Elon University Robert Beichner, North Carolina State University |
