We describe a 4-yr project designing, teaching, and assessing an interdisciplinary algebra-based physics course for undergraduate biology students. We addressed the needs of this cohort through careful selection of topics and rich biological applications, while also attending to deeper pedagogical concerns (students’ conceptual understanding, epistemological stance, and ability to connect meaning and mathematics). The course provided biology/physics connections that students value, and their work indicated an ability to understand and integrate physics in biological contexts. We offer strategies, suggestions, and some cautionary tales for faculty contemplating or already engaged in similar endeavors.
