Assistant Teaching Professor Bucknell University Milton, Pennsylvania, United States
Introduction: Incorporation of inquiry-based learning (IBL) into laboratory courses has been shown previously to be beneficial to biomedical engineering (BME) students. In IBL focused laboratory courses, students develop experimental procedures to answer open-ended questions relating to real-world applications of material. Additionally, project-based learning (PBL) has also been incorporated into engineering lab courses as it promotes student engagement and application of knowledge through completion of open-ended, typically design-based, projects. In this work, a biotransport laboratory course for senior BME students was adapted to include IBL experiences that built towards culminating PBL designs for mass and heat transfer modules. IBL experiences aimed to help students answer questions related to components of their design.
Materials and
Methods: This intervention was assessed through surveys completed at the end of each module and analysis of deliverables for the design projects and IBL experiences. The survey was designed to assess: 1). confidence with skills related to engineering design, making connections related to conceptual material, experimental design, experimental procedures, and computational modeling and 2). perceived applicability of, usefulness of, investment with, and control over lab experiments. Open response questions asked students to name the beneficial aspects of the course as well as aspects that could be improved going forward.
Results, Conclusions, and Discussions: A significantly significant (p < 0.005) relationship was found between confidence in lab skills and high perceptions of the lab class. Students indicated aspects of the IBL experiences as being beneficial to them, including the connection to real-life problems, open-endedness, and ability to visualize course concepts. Many of the aspects that could be improved going forward stemmed from the open-endedness of the design project. Students reported frustration at a lack of clear expectations and insufficient guidance. In future iterations, incremental deadlines for the design project are recommended for the opportunity to give feedback on stages of the design process. More explicit connections between IBL experiences and the design project could also help reduce student frustration.
