Redesign of a BME Lab Class to Maintain Hands-on Experimentation Despite Remote Learning Constraints
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Biomedical Engineering Education ( 2020) https://doi.org/10.1007/s43683-020-00039-4
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Redesign of a BME Lab Class to Maintain Hands-on Experimentation Despite Remote Learning Constraints DAVID P. O’NEILL Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA (Received 28 June 2020; accepted 25 October 2020)
CHALLENGE STATEMENT
NOVEL INITIATIVE
The primary challenge was the redesign of a junioryear lab-based course, which ends a three-course sequence at a large private university, to function remotely while maintaining a hands-on experimental experience that would bring together skills developed in preceding courses of the sequence. Course learning objectives included statistical design of experiments, understanding how to obtain a good measurement (sensor characterization, propagation of error, etc.), and good laboratory practice (record keeping, reporting, etc.). The synoptic nature of the laboratories is central to the ethos of the course, whereby students develop an appreciation for the whole experimental procedure: hypothesis generation, statistical design, equipment specification, building, characterization, data collection, analysis, interpretation, and reflection. By covering all of these aspects, students develop a feeling of ownership, and this engagement is typically highlighted in course feedback. The Spring 2020 enrollment was 49 students participating remotely from 7 different time zones spanning 16 h, thus requiring asynchronous engagement. Further challenges arose from the university-wide change to P/F grading and consequent impact upon student motivation.
The novel initiative consisted of a multi-week laboratory project in the second half of the quarter, centered around implementing practical skills required to obtain and analyze good experimental data. The synoptic nature of the in-person course is considered valuable by both our students and their instructors of Senior Design as it demonstrates how skills and theory can be combined to conceive, implement, and analyze a full experimental investigation. Furthermore, Student–Equipment interactions1 are particularly valued by more advanced students.2 There are four pedagogical aspects to the novel initiative: course structure, equipment for remote labs, assessment, and social aspects to remote lab work.
Address correspondence to David P. O’Neill, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA. Electronic mail: [email protected]
Course Structure Each week of the lab project had a different experimental focus but followed a similar structure. The first week had a preliminary lab exercise to build and characterize a sensor system. The second and third weeks focused upon instrumentation and signal processing respectively. In the fourth week the preceding work was brought together through inquiry-led human experimentation. It was anticipated that the abrupt change halfway through the quarter from lectures and homework assignments to hands-on exp
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