ATTACK OF THE ICE ALIENS

A TRANSDISCIPLINARY PHYSICS LESSON

Abstract

While a deep understanding of physics is essential, a productive physicist also exhibits mastery of mathematics and computer science. Accordingly, students benefit from instruction that seamlessly integrates multiple disciplinary practices. One body of research holds that the more the investigative problem transcends disciplinary lines, the higher its educational value. This study’s curriculum design explores the hypothesis that students engaged in a lesson that transcends disciplines will experience a higher level of learning. The setting of this transdisciplinary lesson is a forensics investigation to determine the time of death of a hypothetical Ice Alien. The assessment was designed to be in the same spirit as the lesson. The research team measured the students pre- and post-ability to think abstractly about the problem and to generalize its solution to other problem situations. Most students showed some indication they had learned to think about the problem at a higher level, some, in general terms, and some were able to encapsulate the general problem situation or process into an abstract object that they then applied to a novel problem situation.