This study explored teachers' conceptualizations of integrated computational modeling in secondary physics by exposing twelve experienced physics teachers to programming and then analyzing interview responses. Responses revealed that teachers fell along a spectrum of disciplinary boundary-stretching mentalities. This paper presents a preliminary…

This research is a needs analysis study aimed at developing a curriculum based on an interdisciplinary context-based learning approach within the 10th-grade physics course, focusing on the electricity and magnetism unit. The research was designed according to the case study model and data were collected from expert, teacher, and student sample…

The use and understanding of mathematics is a crucial component of the physical sciences. Much work has been done in physics education research and science education more broadly to determine persistent difficulties with mathematics. This work has led to the development of numerous problem solving strategies aimed at helping learners approach…

In this study, to examine the change in individuals' critical thinking skills, a new unit was developed in which STEM was integrated. The outcomes of this 7th-grade unit were selected from related disciplines. During the learning process of the developed Force and Energy unit, it was aimed that individuals could make judgments by gaining critical…

This paper takes an institutional perspective on the topic of sustainability in order to analyse how this "idea" enters science teacher education through an interdisciplinary approach. It shows how the development and implementation of a course for Danish pre-service teachers was conditioned and constrained by a complex web of…

Helping students understand "chemical energy" is notoriously difficult. Many hold inconsistent ideas about what energy is, how and why it changes during the course of a chemical reaction, and how these changes are related to bond energies and reaction dynamics. There are (at least) three major sources for this problem: 1) the way biologists talk…

Emissions reductions targets for the UK set out in the Climate Change Act for the period to 2050 will only be achieved with significant changes to the built environment, which is currently estimated to account for 50% of the UK's carbon emissions. The socio-technological nature of Civil Engineering means that this field is uniquely placed to lead…

This paper reflects upon the development of a multidisciplinary lesson plan aimed at developing science skills for Physics and Astronomy, Geographical and Earth Sciences, and Chemistry students at a research intensive Scottish university. The lesson plan was co-developed with a small group of staff and undergraduate students from these…

The question "how to improve the interest of students to study physics" has been discussed in the author's previous papers too. Within the framework of the project, the author prepared various new interdisciplinary projects to demonstrate how inventions in physics are used in everyday life. Now, about one year later, the author found out…

Wesley College is a private, primarily undergraduate minority-serving institution located in the historic district of Dover, Delaware (DE). The College recently revised its baccalaureate biological chemistry program requirements to include a one-semester Physical Chemistry for the Life Sciences course and project-based experiential learning…

In this paper, a course on applied superconductivity is described. The course structure is outlined and the learning objectives and the learning activities are described. The teaching was multidisciplinary given by four departments each contributing with their expertise. Being applied superconductivity, the focus was on an application, which could…

This paper describes a three-year curriculum innovation project on teaching about climate change. The innovation for this study focused on a socio-critical approach towards teaching climate change in four different teaching domains (biology, chemistry, physics and politics). The teaching itself explicitly aimed at general educational objectives,…

In spite of numerous calls for action, e.g., Executive Office of the President (2010), there have been few efforts nationally to promote engineering education in the elementary grades. Of these, hardly any have targeted underrepresented populations (National Academy of Engineering, 2009, p. 74). The collaboration described in this paper is a…

Since society and science need interdisciplinary works, the interesting topic of chaos is chosen for interdisciplinary education in physics. The educational programme contains various university-level activities such as computer simulations, chaos experiment and team projects besides ordinary teaching. According to the participants, the programme…

Funded by innovative programs at the National Science Foundation and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Richmond faculty in biology, chemistry, mathematics, physics, and computer science teamed up to offer first- and second-year students the opportunity to contribute to vibrant, interdisciplinary research projects. The result was…