|
| ||||||||||||||||||
|
VaNTH ERC for Bioengineering Educational TechnologiesCenter Spearheads New Approaches to Biomedical Engineering EducationInvestigators at the VaNTH ERC, headquartered at Vanderbilt University, have developed 41 instructional modules aimed at presenting modern bioengineering to undergraduate and graduate students in the testbed courses of the VaNTH institutions and outreach partner universities. A total of 14 new bioengineering courses have been developed. A core partner institution in VaNTH, the University of Texas at Austin, has developed a new baccalaureate program at the undergraduate level in biomedical engineering (BME) in which the entire curriculum is based on VaNTH principles and concepts. A particularly good example of these educational advances is an introductory biomechanics course developed by Robert Roselli at Vanderbilt. The course has been transformed from a knowledge taxonomy-based learning environment to a "challenge-based" environment. Real-life challenges are provided that require students to determine which parts of the biomechanics taxonomy are relevant to the problem at hand. In most cases, the students have not previously learned all of the material necessary to meet the challenge. The challenge provides motivation for learning new material. Students work together on problems in the classroom. An electronic polling system is used periodically to pose questions on material covered recently, providing important feedback to both students and instructor. Many lectures are presented through a web-based course management system, so that students can access them at any time. Web-based home exercises that guide students through the most difficult concepts of the course were developed using specialized software developed using VaNTH's CAPE and eLMS software systems. These exercises provide immediate feedback to both students and the professor on students' accomplishments and difficulties. Such exercises will eventually replace traditional "homework." The challenge-driven approach will better prepare students for the workplace
and for life-long learning. Similar approaches have been applied to instruction
in biotechnology, systems physiology, design, bioinformatics, and signal
analysis. Experimental studies by VaNTH show that this method has a significant
effect on student achievement, especially in the synthesis of engineering
concepts to solve new problems. To learn more about this topic:
|
|
|
Dr. Robert Roselli of Vanderbilt teaches Learn More |
|
|
Home | All Achievements (listed by center) | Research Advances | Technology Transfer Achievements Education & Outreach Achievements | Related Information & Links | In the Media | Featured Achievement | Site Map Engineering Education & Centers Home | ERC Program Home | ERC Association Home Contact the ERC Achievements Showcase Webmaster. Last modified: February 18, 2005 |
|
