Laurie McNeil

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Physics & Astronomy

Pedagogical Methods Used

Peer Instruction / Think-Pair-Share, Collaborative problem-solving, Conceptually-oriented activities, Context-rich problems, Ranking tasks, Guided inquiry, SCALE-UP / studio / workshop physics, Tutorials, Just-in-time Teaching

Life Sciences Focus

I helped design, and intermittently teach, our two-semester introductory sequence of physics for life science majors.

Education Research and Pedagogy Expertise

I am not a PER person, but I make extensive use of techniques developed and validated through that research. I have led teams for course redesign to incorporate such techniques.

Describe the courses that you teach for life sciences students

Our introductory sequence for life science students is taught in lecture/studio mode. Each module (27 per semester) begins with a reading assignment and short quiz (JiTT) to prepare for an interactive lecture (PI/TPS). This is followed by a two-hour studio in which students work in groups on tutorials, mini experiments, conceptual tasks, collaborative problem solving, context-rich problems, ranking tasks, etc. A homework assignment of end-of-chapter problems completes the module.

What is your approach to teaching physics for life science students?

We focus our courses on physics topics with direct relevance to the life sciences, with students utilizing authentic biology data to explore concepts. The courses are "calculus lite," and incorporate simple numerical integration. The emphasis is on sense-making.