Using Environmental Science as a Motivational Tool to Teach Physics to Non-science Majors

A traditional physical science course was transformed into an environmental physical science course to teach physics to non-science majors. The objective of the new course was to improve the learning of basic physics principles by applying them to current issues of interest. A new curriculum was developed with new labs, homework assignments, worksheets, and interactive classroom learning techniques such as Peer Instruction (PI)1 and SCALE-UP.2 It was found that the new course showed an increase in students' class participation, attendance, and overall interest, with most rating their science experience as very positive.