Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, STEM Transformation Institute, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, USA.
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA.
Biochem Mol Biol Educ. 2021 Jan;49(1):55-68. doi: 10.1002/bmb.21391. Epub 2020 Sep 9.
Students tend to think of their science courses as isolated and unrelated to each other, making it difficult for them to see connections across disciplines. In addition, many existing science assessments target rote memorization and algorithmic problem-solving skills. Here, we describe the development, implementation, and evaluation of an activity aimed to help students integrate knowledge across introductory chemistry and biology courses. The activity design and evaluation of students' responses were guided by the Framework for K-12 Science Education as the understanding of core ideas and crosscutting concepts and the development of scientific practices are essential for students at all levels. In this activity, students are asked to use their understanding of noncovalent interactions to explain (a) why the boiling point differs for two pure substances (chemistry phenomenon) and (b) why temperature and base pair composition affects the stability of DNA (biological phenomenon). The activity was implemented at two different institutions (N = 441) in both introductory chemistry and biology courses. Students' overall performance suggests that they can provide sophisticated responses that incorporate their understanding of noncovalent interactions and energy to explain the chemistry phenomenon, but have difficulties integrating the same knowledge to explain the biological phenomenon. Our findings reinforce the notion that students should be provided with opportunities in the classroom to purposefully practice and support the use and integration of knowledge from multiple disciplines. Students' evaluations of the activity indicated that they found it to be interesting and helpful for making connections across disciplines.
学生倾向于认为他们的科学课程是孤立的，彼此之间没有关联，这使得他们难以看到不同学科之间的联系。此外，许多现有的科学评估都针对死记硬背和算法解决问题的技能。在这里，我们描述了一项旨在帮助学生整合入门化学和生物学课程知识的活动的开发、实施和评估。该活动的设计和对学生反应的评估以 K-12 科学教育框架为指导，因为理解核心思想和跨学科概念以及发展科学实践对于所有层次的学生都是至关重要的。在这个活动中，学生被要求运用他们对非共价相互作用的理解来解释（a）为什么两种纯物质的沸点不同（化学现象），以及（b）为什么温度和碱基对组成会影响 DNA 的稳定性（生物现象）。该活动在两个不同的机构（N=441）的入门化学和生物学课程中实施。学生的整体表现表明，他们可以提供复杂的反应，将他们对非共价相互作用和能量的理解纳入其中，以解释化学现象，但在整合相同知识以解释生物现象方面存在困难。我们的发现强化了这样一种观点，即应该在课堂上为学生提供机会，有目的地练习和支持从多个学科中使用和整合知识。学生对该活动的评价表明，他们认为该活动很有趣，有助于建立不同学科之间的联系。
