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Active and Cooperative Learning Activities for an Introductory Biomaterials Course

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Conference

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Vancouver, BC

Publication Date

June 26, 2011

Start Date

June 26, 2011

End Date

June 29, 2011

ISSN

2153-5965

Conference Session

BME Courses and Learning Activities

Tagged Division

Biomedical

Page Count

16

Page Numbers

22.135.1 - 22.135.16

DOI

10.18260/1-2--17416

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/17416

Download Count

908

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Paper Authors

biography

Jennifer Vernengo Rowan University

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Jennifer Vernengo is an Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering at Rowan University. Jennifer received her Ph.D. from Drexel University in 2007. She began work as a materials scientist at Synthes Biomaterials, then joined Drexel University College of Medicine as postdoc in 2009. Jennifer two published research papers and one patent in the area of injectable biomaterials for orthopedic tissue replacement and repair. She is particularly interested in developing innovative approaches to biomedical engineering education.

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Abstract

Active and Cooperative Learning Activities for An Introductory Biomaterials CourseThis paper presents a Rowan University initiative to incorporate biomaterials education into itscurriculum. Biomaterials is a relatively new interdisciplinary field within ChemicalEngineering. Because of the increasing prevalence of muscoskeletal, cardiovascular, andneurodegenerative diseases, there is a necessity to engineer biomaterials that can be used to treatthese painful and debilitating disorders. The overall objective of this initiative is to teach ourstudents concepts in research, development, and clinical application of biomaterials. Recently,educators have been developing active and cooperative learning activities within the frameworkof pedagogical theories such as the Felder-Soloman Learning Styles, the Kolb ExperientialLearning Cycle, and Bloom’s Taxonomy. We used a similar approach to the development ofeducational activities within the area of biomaterials. In this paper, we describe this active andcooperative approach to biomaterials education, which can be adapted by other institutions andfor a range of class sizes. Reverse engineering of biomedical devices, case studies on materialsin medicine, and a laboratory activity in hydrogel characterization are described. Each activitypossesses elements which appeal to a range of learning styles described by Felder and Soloman,incorporates the four phases of learning described by Kolb, and utilizes the higher levels ofBloom’s Taxonomy. By utilizing this approach to developing these activities, we aim topromote more efficient learning than a traditional, straight lecturing approach. A summary ofour student evaluations provides evidence of the effectiveness of these classroom activities. 

Vernengo, J. (2011, June), Active and Cooperative Learning Activities for an Introductory Biomaterials Course Paper presented at 2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Vancouver, BC. 10.18260/1-2--17416

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