A First Course to Expose Disparate Students to the BmE Field

This paper describes a sophomore biomedical engineering course that provided a qualitative survey of Biomedical Engineering and introduced ethical considerations to a disparate group of students from various engineering, science and business backgrounds. It was made available as a Science, Technology and Society (STS) elective for engineering and non-engineering students at Clarkson University. As an STS course, it examined the technological bases of innovations in medical technology and analyzed economic and ethical issues surrounding them. No textbook was assigned, nor handouts normally provided. The quality of each student’s note-taking was graded. Assessment of the course over the two years that it has been presented is discussed. Background In our small but research-intensive university with a strong engineering college, establishing a formal BmE department is not now feasible. However, given its strong commitment to interdisciplinary learning, two complementary Minors in Biomedical Engineering (for engineering students) and in Biomedical Science and Technology (for Arts and Sciences and Business students) were established that share many courses. To help recruit for the minors, an introductory course was needed to grab the students’ interest, especially of 1-semester sophomores but also students at other levels, for BmE. Given the disparate backgrounds and analytical skills of these students, such a course needed to be structured to provide enough engineering principles and examples to be of use to engineering majors, but not so esoteric as to be above the capabilities of other majors. The course was also designed for our University’s Common Experience requirement, for which students must select four courses that cover various Knowledge Areas, including a Science, Technology and Society (STS) area. STS courses must analyze relationships and conflicting cultural values among science, technology, and the health and welfare of humans. This course examined the technological bases of important innovations in medical technology and analyzes the economic and ethical issues surrounding them. It analyzed advances in biomedical engineering that have impacted human health. The first lectures of a set give an overview of the scientific and engineering principles of a particular advance. The last lectures of a set considered the societal and political responses to that advance, with particular emphasis on ethical issues, and with considerable participatory discussion of selected cases. Advances to aid people with disability were especially covered. Participants The sophomore BmE course (BR200) was taught in 2009, and additionally in 2010 when it was also designated as an STS course. There were no prerequisites for this course. Students were from engineering, business and bioscience majors, freshmen to seniors (See Table 1). This table illustrates the great disparity of engineering and science backgrounds that were in this introductory course. Sophomores and Juniors predominated, with more Juniors than Sophomores in 2010. In 2009, 78% of the class were engineering students. In 2010, it was 58%. The majority of engineering students in the class were from Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering. Seventeen students were fulfilling a requirement for the BmE/ BmS&T minor. Seven Honors students were in the class. One high school student took the course for college credit (and who incidentally had the highest score on her term paper 3 min slide presentation). Table 1: Demographics of Students in BR200 A matrix of class attendees by major (rows) and class year (columns) for Fall 2009 and 2010. Also noted are whether they were in the Honors program or had already signed up for the BmE or BS&T minor before taking the class. 2009 Snior Jnior Sphom re Feshm an H gh Shool E xcange T otal H oors? B m E /B m S& T ? 2010 Snior Jnior Sphom re Feshm an H gh Shool E xcange T otal H oors? B m E /B m S& T ? Biology 2 1 3 2 3 5 10 1 3 Biomolecular Sci 1 1 1 3 3 Business School 2 2 1 1 1 1 3 Aero E/ Mech E 2 2 6 10 1 3 2 10 1 13 2 2 Chem & BioMol E 3 2 1 6 4 4 2 6 2 1