Writing and physics: an interdisciplinary approach

During the Fall 2000 and Fall 2001 semesters, a joint study was undertaken between the Physics and Literature Departments at American University. The study involved the linking of two introductory general education Liberal Arts courses: an introductory physics class for nonmajors and an introductory college writing class. One goal of the study was to provide more content-specific writing assignments within the college writing class by linking them to material being covered in the physics class. The writing assignments given in both classes formed the basis of the data collected during the study. Additional data was taken in Fall 2001 using the Force Concept Inventory (FCI), a nationally recognized assessment instrument to measure students' understanding of concepts in basic mechanics. The underlying questions behind the study involved the assessment of student learning in physics as well as in college writing. The primary research questions were: (1) could this course linkage serve to enhance the motivation Of Liberal Arts students to think more deeply and critically about the physics-specific content they were writing about in each class? and (2) if so, could this enhanced motivation be linked to increased student understanding? Within this paper, highlights of the curricula developed for the linked classes is provided along with results of the assessment of student learning.