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Biomedical Engineering Education

Biomedical Engineering Education - Poster Session D

Poster E10 - Human centered design education implementation study improves student community identity

Friday, October 25, 2024

3:30 PM – 4:30 PM EST

Location: Exhibit Hall E, F & G

Presenting Author(s)

Hannah Lee

Undergraduate Research Assistant
Duke University, United States
Amaris Huang (she/her/hers)

Undergraduate Researcher
Duke University
Niagara Falls, New York, United States

Co-Author(s)

Marissa M. Sims (she/her/hers)

Undergraduate Research Assistant
Duke University
Ney, Ohio, United States
RA

Radha Amin

Undergraduate Research Assistant
Duke University, United States
Kerry Eller (she/her/hers)

Graduate Research Assistant
Duke University Biomedical Engineering Department
Durham, North Carolina, United States
David Knudsen (he/him/his)

Associate Program Manager for Communication and Evaluation
Museum of Life and Science
Durham, North Carolina, United States

Last Author(s)

Megan Madonna, PhD

Assistant Research Professor
Duke University
Durham, North Carolina, United States

Primary Investigator(s)

Nirmala Ramanujam, PhD

Robert W. Carr Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Duke University, United States

Introduction: Human-centered engineering design processes can create innovative solutions to global challenges, such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). With the increased recognition of such ubiquitous and complex global issues, it requires developing and retaining creative problem-solvers to address these challenges. Young students from underrepresented backgrounds globally have the unique capacity to address these UD SDGs in their local communities, yet often lack the necessary resources and training. As a result, it is crucial to implement engineering education programs that employ students with the skillset, confidence, self-efficacy, and motivation to tackle these problems within their own community. Currently, there are few studies that explore how engineering education can impact community identity within K-12 education towards subsequent iteration upon existing curriculum. The Ignite initiative is an engineering curriculum developed by Duke University’s Center for Global Women’s Health Technologies, and integrates human-centered design (HCD), co-learning and critical pedagogy to promote positive science and community identities, and foster global awareness. Ignite collaborates with The Museum of Life and Science and pairs Duke undergraduate students, Ignite Trainers, with middle school students to teach HCD and prototyping skills to address specific community needs tied to the UN SDGs.

Materials and

Methods: We developed and implemented a foundational research study to evaluate the efficiency of Ignite’s HCD in improving community engagement and identity. Creating a mixed-methods study, we conducted a literature review to inform our theoretical framework of evaluating how Ignite impacts students' grit, self-efficacy, community and engineering/science identity scores (Figure 1). Our study consists of a series of literature-validated survey metrics, interview-guideline, and data collection logistics, which culminated into an IRB protocol submission. In February 2024, we implemented our proposed research study for the 2024 Ignite program where middle school mentees (n = 59) participated in 8-week long curriculums that address the Health (#3), Water (#6), or Light ( #7) UN SDGs. Project outcomes included final prototypes and presentations detailing their challenges and successes in the HCD process. Mentees completed pre- and post-program surveys with our metrics to collect student demographics and assess students’ attitudes within the HCD process. Specifically, our surveys consisted of a series of multiple choice questions that gauge participants’ knowledge on: (1) specific UN SDG, (2) attitudes towards science and community-problem-solving, and (3) grit, self-efficacy, and identity scores. Other observational data such as student engagement (eg. note taking, building prototypes or applying skills, etc.) and attendance information was collected. Finally, we conducted semi-structured interviews with mentees on the final Ignite presentation day. Statistical hypothesis was performed using Python and Excel to analyze all data. Thematic analysis was conducted on the mentees’ responses to our interviews. All research was performed under Duke University IRB protocol number 2021-0087.

Results, Conclusions, and Discussions:

Results: Our finalized preliminary study consisted of an electronic survey, interview guidelines, and rubrics to observe program engagement. After development of our study parameters, we gained IRB approval, after which we implemented our study with the Spring 2024 cohort through survey distribution and on-site observational data collection. Throughout the program, we tracked overall attendance rates to be over 84% across each session (n = 59). Within this year’s cohort, we observed a significant increase in average community-identity, grit and engineering-identity scores over the course of the program (p < 0.05). Through thematic analysis, we observed the following key emerging themes: (1) many mentees expressed that they learned about a problem in their community, and (2) mentees demonstrated confidence in the effectiveness of the engineering design process in addressing problems in their community.

Conclusions: After pilot implementation of the study, our foundational framework demonstrates potential for evaluating future engineering education curricular design, specifically in identifying programs’ impact in fostering community-identity. Utilizing descriptive statistical analysis, preliminary data analysis suggests that Ignite’s current model effectively improves student scores in community-identity, grit, and engineering-identity. Furthermore, the research study is scalable for future implementations of STEM outreach programs across various communities, extending the reach of Ignite’s long-term goal of empowering upward mobility across participants and mentors.

Discussion: Ignite, with its focus on human-centered engineering design, has demonstrated significant positive impacts on students' attitudes towards community-driven problem-solving and their STEM identity. The program's collaborative learning environment, coupled with its emphasis on real-world problem-solving, not only increases students' confidence and self-efficacy in STEM, but also instills a sense of responsibility towards addressing local and global challenges. These findings underscore the importance of incorporating human-centered engineering design principles into STEM education initiatives to empower the next generation of innovative problem-solvers and foster a deeper connection to their communities and the broader world.

Acknowledgements (Optional):