Kathleen A. Hinko

Bridging physics and biology teaching through modeling

As the frontiers of biology become increasingly interdisciplinary, the physics education community has engaged in ongoing efforts to make physics classes more relevant to life science majors. These efforts are complicated by the many apparent differences between these fields, including the types of systems that each studies, the behavior of those systems, the kinds of measurements that each makes, and the role of mathematics in each field. Nonetheless, physics and biology are both sciences that rely on observations and measurements to construct models of the natural world. In this article, we propose that efforts to bridge the teaching of these two disciplines must emphasize shared scientific practices, particularly scientific modeling. We define modeling using language common to both disciplines and highlight how an understanding of the modeling process can help reconcile apparent differences between the teaching of physics and biology. We elaborate on how models can be used for explanatory, predictive, and functional purposes and present common models from each discipline demonstrating key modeling principles. By framing interdisciplinary teaching in the context of modeling, we aim to bridge physics and biology teaching and to equip students with modeling competencies applicable in any scientific discipline.As the frontiers of biology become increasingly interdisciplinary, the physics education community has engaged in ongoing efforts to make physics classes more relevant to life science majors. These efforts are complicated by the many apparent differences between these fields, including the types of systems that each studies, the behavior of those systems, the kinds of measurements that each makes, and the role of mathematics in each field. Nonetheless, physics and biology are both sciences that rely on observations and measurements to construct models of the natural world. In this article, we propose that efforts to bridge the teaching of these two disciplines must emphasize shared scientific practices, particularly scientific modeling. We define modeling using language common to both disciplines and highlight how an understanding of the modeling process can help reconcile apparent differences between the teaching of physics and biology. We elaborate on how models can be used for explanatory, predictive, ...

Impacting university physics students through participation in informal science

Informal education programs organized by university physics departments are a popular means of reaching out to communities and satisfying grant requirements. The outcomes of these programs are often described in terms of broader impacts on the community. Comparatively little attention, however, has been paid to the influence of such programs on those students facilitating the informal science programs. Through Partnerships for Informal Science Education in the Community (PISEC) at the University of Colorado Boulder, undergraduate and graduate physics students coach elementary and middle school children during an inquiry-based science afterschool program. As part of their participation in PISEC, university students complete preparation in pedagogy, communication and diversity, engage with children on a weekly basis and provide regular feedback about the program. We present findings that indicate these experiences improve the ability of university students to communicate in everyday language and positively ...

The Effect of Explicit Preparation in Pedagogical Modes for Informal Physics Educators

Participation in informal education programs has been demonstrated to increase volunteers’ ability to communicate science and to affect their motivation for continued participation. Recently, it was reported that volunteers tend to engage with students in one of three distinct pedagogical modes, of which they may or may not be aware. As a preliminary step in the investigation of these modes and their effect on instructor manner and efficacy, we have implemented a module on the modes in the basic training given to all volunteers of the Partnerships for Informal Science Education in the Community program prior to the semester. Using preand post-surveys, we have characterized the shifts in their perception of the modes and compared them to semesters prior to the implementation of the training. We find a significant, immediate shift in volunteers’ perceptions and here detail these findings as well as potential pathways for further study.

Understanding connections between physics and racial identities through recognition and relational resources

While there are programmatic efforts to support representation of students from underrepresented groups, as well as studies on student identity, little has been done to link the two. We utilize a framework that combines a racialized identity framework [1] and a physics identity framework [2], in order to understand how identity in physics is impacted by cultural and racial identities. In particular we focus on two dimensions: relational resources [1], which are the relationships that increase one’s connection to a practice, and recognition [2], which is recognition as being a good physics student. We operationalize these concepts by analyzing interviews with physicists at the undergraduate student level and beyond. We demonstrate that the constructs of recognition and relational resources overlap through the careful examination of the experiences of two physicists, one who is a black woman and one who is a white man. We discuss early findings that suggest key differences in the role that identity plays in the experiences of physicists of different backgrounds.

University physics students’ motivations and experiences in informal physics programs

Substantial resources are directed toward public engagement by the physics community, but there is still much to understand about physicists’ initial motivation for involvement, their experiences and their reasons for sustained participation. We use motivation theory as a lens to investigate the factors that contribute to physics students’ decisions to participate in informal science programs. We conducted surveys and interviews with university students that volunteered in an afterschool physics program for K-12 students. Interviews were analyzed using content analysis. Findings indicate that previous participation in informal activities, attitudes towards engaging with the community, and recognition from peers are common themes in university students’ initial reasons for involvement. The emergent themes of a positive experience and the enjoyment of sharing physics are related to students’ persistence in the program.

Pathways to STEM: Understanding Identity of Adult Physicists through Narrative Analysis

In order to characterize how individuals make sense of their physics and racial identities and intersections of these identities, four university graduate students were interviewed about their own pathways into the field. To analyze these interviews, we utilize a narrative inquiry process combined with Nasir’s (2011) framework of racialized identity resources. These interviews are analyzed in a two-step process: 1) to understand how participants make sense of their journey into physics, and 2) to investigate how their stories connect to race and gender. We find that the way these graduates talk about their pathways draws from common discourses around race and gender in STEM and provides information about what resources were most influential along their way. PACS: 01.40.Fk; 01.30.Cc

Promoting children’s agency and communication skills in an informal science program

The Partnerships for Informal Science Education in the Community (PISEC) program at the University of Colorado Boulder brings together university and community institutions to create an environment where K-12 students join with university educators to engage in inquiry-based scientific practices after school. In our original framing, these afterschool activities were developed to reinforce the traditional learning goals of the classroom, including mastering scientific content, skills and processes. Recently, the primary focus of the PISEC curriculum has been shifted towards the development of students’ scientific identity, an explicit objective of informal learning environments. The new curriculum offers students more activity choices, affords opportunities for scientific drawings and descriptions, and provides incentive for students to design their own experiments. We have analyzed student science notebooks from both old and new curricula and find that with the redesigned curriculum, students exhibit inc...