"The Physics of Life," an undergraduate general education biophysics course

Abstract

Improving the scientific literacy of non-scientists is an important goal, both because of the ever-increasing impact of science and technology on our lives, and because understanding science enriches our experience of the natural world. One route to improving scientific literacy is via general education undergraduate courses -- i.e. courses intended for students not majoring in the sciences or engineering -- which in many cases provide these students' last formal exposure to science. I describe here a course on biophysics for non-science-major undergraduates recently developed at the University of Oregon (Eugene, OR, USA). Biophysics, I claim, is a particularly useful vehicle for addressing scientific literacy. It involves important and general scientific concepts, demonstrates connections between basic science and tangible, familiar phenomena related to health and disease, and illustrates that scientific insights develop by applying tools and perspectives from disparate fields in creative ways. In addition, biophysics highlights the far-reaching impact of physics research. I describe the general design of this course, which spans both macroscopic and microscopic topics, and the specific content of a few of its modules. I also describe evidence-based pedagogical approaches adopted in teaching the course, and aspects of its enrollment and evaluation.