The role of introductory physics for life sciences in supporting students to use physical models flexibly

An important goal of introductory physics for the life sciences (IPLS) is for those students to be prepared to use physics to model and analyze biological situations in their future studies and careers. Here we report our findings on life science students' ability to carry out a sophisticated biological modeling task at the end of first-semester introductory physics, some in a standard course (N = 34), and some in an IPLS course (N = 61), both taught with active learning and covering the same core physics concepts. We found that the IPLS students were dramatically more successful at building a model combining multiple ideas they had not previously seen combined, and at making complex decisions about how to apply an equation to a particular physical situation, although both groups displayed similar success at solving simpler problems. Both groups identified and applied simple models that they had previously used in very similar contexts, and executed calculations, at statistically indistinguishable rates. Further study is needed to determine whether IPLS students are more expert problem-solvers in general or solely in biological settings.