Department of Chemistry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1322
Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry and STEM Transformation Institute, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199-2516.
CBE Life Sci Educ. 2018 Spring;17(1). doi: 10.1187/cbe.17-08-0169.
Despite the number of university students who take courses in multiple science disciplines, little is known about how they connect concepts between disciplines. Energy is a concept that underlies all scientific phenomena and, as such, provides an appropriate context in which to investigate student connections and misconnections across disciplines. In this study, university students concurrently enrolled in introductory chemistry and biology were interviewed to explore their perceptions of the integration of energy both within and across the disciplines, and how they attempted to accommodate and reconcile different disciplinary approaches to energy, to inform future, interdisciplinary course reform. Findings suggest that, while students believed energy to be important to the scientific world and to the disciplines of biology and chemistry, the extent to which it was seen as central to success in their courses varied. Differences were also apparent in students' descriptions of the molecular-level mechanisms by which energy transfer occurs. These findings reveal a disconnect between how energy is understood and used in introductory science course work and uncovers opportunities to make stronger connections across the disciplines. We recommend that instructors engage in interdisciplinary conversations and consider the perspectives and goals of other disciplines when teaching introductory science courses.
尽管有许多大学生学习多门科学学科的课程，但对于他们如何在学科之间建立概念联系知之甚少。能量是一个基础科学现象的概念，因此，它提供了一个适当的背景，可以调查学生在学科之间的联系和误解。在这项研究中，同时选修入门化学和生物学的大学生接受了采访，以探讨他们对能量在学科内和跨学科的整合的看法，以及他们如何试图适应和调和不同学科对能量的方法，为未来的跨学科课程改革提供信息。研究结果表明，尽管学生认为能量对科学世界、生物学和化学这两个学科都很重要，但他们认为能量对课程成功的重要程度有所不同。学生对能量传递的分子水平机制的描述也存在差异。这些发现揭示了在入门科学课程中对能量的理解和使用之间的脱节，并揭示了在学科之间建立更强联系的机会。我们建议教师进行跨学科对话，并在教授入门科学课程时考虑其他学科的观点和目标。
