How Plankton Swim: An Interdisciplinary Approach for Using Mathematics &amp; Physics to Understand the Biology of the Natural World

Clay, Tansy W.; Fox, Jennifer B.; Grünbaum, Daniel; Jumars, Peter A.

doi:10.2307/30163297

Cited by 4 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…2,3 The need for materials that help students make connections both between science courses and with other related disciplines has been recognized by students and instructors alike. [4][5][6][7][8] As a way to provide these opportunities, both researchers and practitioners have set out to develop assessments, 9,10 lessons, 6,11,12 tutorials, 13 and even whole courses [14][15][16] meant to help students integrate multiple disciplines such as chemistry, biology, physics, and mathematics. 17 Implementations of some of these materials have suggested that students who are exposed to multidisciplinary experiences exhibit a positive attitude and develop a greater interest in science than students who are not.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Students' use of chemistry core ideas to explain the structure and stability of DNA

Allred

Farias

Kararo

et al. 2020

Biochem Molecular Bio Educ

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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.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Students' use of chemistry core ideas to explain the structure and stability of DNA

Allred

Farias

Kararo

et al. 2020

Biochem Molecular Bio Educ

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“…Clay et al (2008) pointed out that students failed to transfer their knowledge from one subject area to another, on the basis of field tests of their interdisciplinary biology/physics lesson on plankton. Similar to their approach, our module encouraged students to connect a large-scale physical phenomenon (estuarine flow) to a biological concept (maintaining population) through a real-life problem (larval dispersal in an estuary).…”

Section: J J Jmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…For example, teachers can lead a follow-up discussion of human impacts on estuarine transport (e.g., how damming of rivers might interfere with river flow and the implications for larval transport). Alternatively, teachers could go more deeply into plankton biology by collecting plankton samples to illustrate diversity, by studying the morphology of plankton and understanding their lifehistory adaptations (see Clay et al, 2008), or by discussing how swimming behaviors such as vertical migration may affect dispersal patterns.…”

Section: J J Jmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Interdisciplinary Guided Inquiry on Estuarine Transport Using a Computer Model in High School Classrooms

Chan¹,

Yang

Maliska

et al. 2012

The American Biology Teacher

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The National Science Education Standards have highlighted the importance of active learning and reflection for contemporary scientific methods in K-12 classrooms, including the use of models. Computer modeling and visualization are tools that researchers employ in their scientific inquiry process, and often computer models are used in collaborative projects across disciplines. The goal of this project was to develop and field-test a module that used a computer model to teach marine sciences content in an applied, inquiry-based, and collaborative manner. Students used an estuarine transport model to explore the question of how circulation patterns affect planktonic organisms, demonstrating the interdisciplinary interaction of physics and biology. Our experience suggests that computer models, when used for inquiry, can help foster students' understanding of the nature of science and critical-thinking skills. emphasized the importance of providing students with authentic science experiences through active inquiry. They also highlighted the importance of using and understanding the nature of models as conceptual representations that are developed and tested. Computer models and simulations are important tools in modern scientific inquiry and are cornerstones of many interdisciplinary, collaborative projects. Therefore, introducing students to computer modeling is an important component of understanding modern scientific techniques.Interactive illustrations are now available for a variety of topics, such as molecular genetics (Marbach-Ad et al., 2008) and chemical bonds (Frailich et al., 2009). These computer modeling tools have been shown to significantly improve students' understanding of abstract ideas by making them more tangible (Harris et al., 2009). However, these examples represent only one of the diverse ways that scientists utilize computer models.Scientists conduct experiments with computer models to understand phenomena and to generate predictions. For instance, a circulation model of Chesapeake Bay helped scientists study variations in flow patterns (Li et al., 2005). This model also enabled scientists to test hypotheses regarding how changes in weather and/or land use would affect these flow patterns and how organisms are subsequently dispersed (North et al., 2010). Using computer models in an inquiry-based manner requires (1) understanding the concepts of variables and model limitations, (2) formulating testable hypotheses, (3) collecting and analyzing data (model output), and (4) drawing conclusions from the data (de Jong, 2006). Therefore, computer modeling can potentially equip students with scientific process skills essential to understanding scientific concepts.In addition to being a tool for scientific inquiry, computer models can also provide students the opportunity to work collaboratively and across disciplines. Working collaboratively and in an interdisciplinary manner are essential skills for scientists (Sung et al., 2003). To date, several guided-inquiry activities that utilize computer mod...

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“…Art-based science teaching can be an opportunity given to all learners who have different learning styles, such as kinesthetic, visual, and auditory. It reduces students' learning anxiety and stress, and learning science becomes fun and exciting (Clay et al 2008;Merten 2011;Morrison 2012). Therefore, interpretation of science through performing art might change the attitudes of learners toward both science and art (Furlan, Kitson, and Andes 2007;T€ urko guz and Yayla 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Enhancing Science Teaching through Performing Marbling Art Using Basic Solutions and Base Indicators

Çìl

Çelik

Maçın

et al. 2014

Science Activities: Classroom Projects and Curriculum Ideas

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How Plankton Swim: An Interdisciplinary Approach for Using Mathematics & Physics to Understand the Biology of the Natural World

Cited by 4 publications

References 0 publications

Students' use of chemistry core ideas to explain the structure and stability of DNA

Students' use of chemistry core ideas to explain the structure and stability of DNA

An Interdisciplinary Guided Inquiry on Estuarine Transport Using a Computer Model in High School Classrooms

Enhancing Science Teaching through Performing Marbling Art Using Basic Solutions and Base Indicators

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