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Biomedical Engineering in the High School Physics & Biology Classroom. Stacy S. Klein, Ph.D. Research Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University Biomedical Physics, Physics, and Math, University School of Nashville June 4, 2003. VaNTH Engineering Research Center.
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Biomedical Engineering in the High School Physics & Biology Classroom Stacy S. Klein, Ph.D. Research Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University Biomedical Physics, Physics, and Math, University School of Nashville June 4, 2003
VaNTH Engineering Research Center • http://www.vanth.org • NSF funded center for studying and improving biomedical engineering education • Cohort of Vanderbilt, Northwestern, UT-Austin, and Harvard-MIT • My work is part of the outreach effort and our RET program
Challenge Question • Designed to engage students • Frames the entire module or mosaic’s study • Relevant to students’ lives
Generate Ideas • Students generate their initial ideas and knowledge about how to answer the challenge question. • Usually this knowledge is shared with the class and compiled.
Multiple Perspectives • Students gain information from reading the perspectives of others (experts in the relevant field) • Expands students’ ideas and often points them in the right direction • Can be in the form of written statements, video, audio, etc.
Research and Revise • This stage is an organized collection of resources and meaningful learning activities. • Activities are ordered in such a fashion to build towards answering the challenge question. • Journal regularly about developing ideas
Test Your Mettle • Students engage in a set of activities that helps them explore the depth of their knowledge. • The goal is to create assessment situations that help them evaluate what they do not know so they can return to the "Research and Revise" section to learn more.
Go Public • Students progress to the "Go Public" stage after proving to themselves that they understand the content well enough to express a solution to the challenge. • This cyclical process of active research and reflection on the process provides an excellent opportunity for students to generate their own understanding of the content knowledge.
Goal • To develop curriculum modules that can be used in the traditional physics and biology classrooms that teach traditional topics in a biomedical engineering context. • The idea is that students will more actively engage in the classroom if they are driven by a challenge and the “need-to-know” material that they immediately apply.
Modules in Field Testing • Electrocardiogram • Medical Imaging / Ultrasound • Biomechanics of the Iron Cross • Swimming / Energy Systems of the Body • Biomechanics of Balance • LASIK / Optics • Hemodynamics
Field Studies 2001-2003 • 7 total experimental classrooms • 1 private high school • 2 public magnet schools • 2 public comprehensive schools • 12 total control classrooms • 1 private high school • 3 public magnet schools
Assessment • Control classrooms in same/comparable high school • Pre-tests • Very short • Assess basic knowledge • Post-tests • Repeats pre-test questions • Asks more in-depth questions (like traditional test) • Asks module specific questions
Electrocardiogram Mosaic • Grand Challenge: “Suppose one of your teachers visits his doctor and, as a part of a routine exam, he has his electrocardiogram (ECG) measured. The results are shown below. Should your teacher be concerned about these results?”
ECG Module Goals • Students will be able to identify the critical characteristics of an ECG trace and describe how these relate to the cycle of a beating heart. • Students will be able to explain how the heart generates electrical signals • Students will study electric dipoles and electric fields in a unique and interesting context. • Students will understand the cardiac cycle and intrinsic conduction system. • Students will learn cardiac anatomy.
Sample of Activities • Students design an artificial heart • Students record and analyze their own ECG • A crude ECG circuit is built • Students design a brochure for a patient who requires an ECG • Students learn to predict and interpret diseased ECGs
Other Facts • Lasts for approximately 4 weeks • Designed for use in Physics, Biology, and Anatomy & Physiology classrooms • Meets numerous national standards (AAAS, National Science Education Standards, etc.)
Medical Imaging Mosaic • Grand Challenge: “A medical student has palpated a foreign mass in a patient's abdomen. In order to determine the urgency of further medical procedures, the medical student would like to know if that mass is cancerous or not. The medical student would like to minimize the invasiveness of any testing procedures. How could the medical student accurately locate the center of the mass and know exactly where to insert a biopsy needle? Furthermore, could the student avoid using a biopsy needle at all?”
Imaging Module Goals • Describe the major features, strengths, and limitations of five major imaging modalities. • Students should understand basic properties of waves including frequency, wavelength, transverse vs. longitudinal, wave speed in different materials, the wave equation, power, intensity, decibels, Doppler effect, and interference. • Students should be able to explain how an ultrasound image is created. They should be able to describe how a sound wave is reflected, transmitted, and attenuated as it passes through a subject. • Describe the difference between cancerous and non-cancerous cells.
Sample of Activities • Students study cell structures to determine why/how imaging works • Students research and present different imaging modalities • Students perform wave tank labs to study waves • Students use the Vernier motion detector to study basic ultrasound • Students design an advance for medical imaging • Students use an ultrasound machine in class to locate “tumors” in a turkey
Other Facts • Last for 4-5 weeks fully completed • Designed for use in physics classrooms • Meets numerous national standards (AAAS, National Science Education Standards, etc.)
Swimming Module • Grand Challenge : “How can a swim team coach best determine the physical condition of his/her team throughout the season? How can he/she modify practices to best meet the needs of the individual swimmers? How can an individual swimmer chart his or her progress during the season? “
Swimming Module Goals • Understand specificity of athletic training • Understand the body's energy production systems • Understand the limitations of the energy production systems and the consequences of working beyond their capabilities • Design non-invasive tests to quantify peak swimming performance
Sample of Activities • Students research energy systems of the body • Students design non-invasive methods of measuring oxygen ventilation • Design a season-long method of determining physical fitness and appropriate practices for a swim team
Other Facts • Last 2-3 weeks • Designed for use in the Biology classroom • Meets numerous national standards (AAAS, National Science Education Standards, etc.)
Balance Module • Grand Challenge: “Your grandmother is recovering from a recent right hip injury, and she needs to learn how to use a cane to help her maintain her balance. In which hand should she use the cane and why?”
Balance Module Goals • Explain what is the Center of Gravity (COG) and why it is important to determine the center of gravity of an object. • Calculate the COG for simple and complex objects. • Construct a free body diagram. • Use Newton's Laws to mathematically analyze the free body diagram. • Calculate torques. • Understand equilibrium.
Sample of Activities • Students decide if the dancing man in a picture will fall over experientially and mathematically • Calculate the COG of an irregular shaped object • Calculate the COG of the forearm and the entire body
Other Facts • Lasts about three weeks • Designed for use in Physics classrooms • Meets numerous national standards (AAAS, National Science Education Standards, etc.)
Iron Cross Module • Challenge: “What muscle strength is needed for an athlete to hold these positions? “
Iron Cross Module Goals • Construct a free body diagram. • Use Newton's Laws to mathematically analyze the free body diagram. • Calculate torques. • Understand equilibrium. • Identify which muscles come into action when we perform various actions • Explain the difference between abductor and adductor muscles • Calculate muscle forces • Introduce muscle groups and equivalent forces
Sample of Activities • Research muscle groups found in the shoulder • Attempt iron cross position • Understand how muscles work on a joint
Other Facts • Lasts for 1.5 weeks • Designed for use in Physics classrooms • Meets numerous national standards (AAAS, National Science Education Standards, etc.)
