Premium
Building Bridges: Addressing Real World Problems with Technology but without a Protocol using Design Instruction in a Physiology Lab
Author(s) -
Vaidyam Aditya,
Batts Jacob T,
Chan Hayley,
Pelaez Nancy
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.31.1_supplement.576.31
Subject(s) - modular design , computer science , autonomy , protocol (science) , the internet , work (physics) , multimedia , data science , world wide web , engineering , medicine , mechanical engineering , alternative medicine , pathology , political science , law , operating system
Research methods, physiology equipment, and undergraduate students have changed. The next generation of students readily use social networking tools to informally interact, and memorized knowledge has been devalued since the Internet is always available everywhere. Being able to search the Internet quickly, to find the right information, and to apply it in a lab course to the current culture is imperative to making instruction relevant to biomedical innovation. Unlike most physiology lab courses where students learn about technology (how instruments work, what each does) but with few opportunities to explore, here we describe technology use in a course where components were made available and students were encouraged to build and calibrate their own instruments for addressing a particular problem. Findings show benefits when modular components were used to bring theoretical knowledge closer to ‘real world’ applications with technology. Building their own instrument was more active than using an instrument. Given autonomy to solve problems in real‐life scenarios, the students experimentally tested their own solutions and critiqued how well design features may work. A gap between two ends of the spectrum for students who were learning about technology use was bridged by building from principles to the complex system of research methods done with new technology. Furthermore, time and other costs were a relevant concern when an idea was pitched to a client focused on innovation. In conclusion, the modular components now available for physiology research make it feasible to shift physiology lab courses toward designing and building from scratch an instrument to address a given problem instead of taking measurements to confirm existing knowledge. By doing this, students developed originality and confidence for achieving success collaboratively. Volunteers from other institutions are being recruited to pilot tools and rubrics to support and evaluate online team dialogue for this and other projects like this one. Support or Funding Information This work was supported in part by Purdue University Instructional Equipment Funding awards in 2014 and 2016.