In 2016, our biomedical engineering (BME) department created a new model of instructional change in which undergraduate BME curriculum is closely tied to the evolution of the field of BME, and in which faculty, staff, and students work
together to define and implement current content and best practices in teaching. Through an Iterative Instructional Design
Sequence, the department has implemented seven BME-in-Practice modules over two years. A total of 36 faculty, post
docs, doctoral candidates, master’s students, and fourth year students participated in creating one-credit BME-in-Practice
Modules exploring Tissue Engineering, Medical Device Development, Drug Development, Regulations, and Neural
Engineering. A subset of these post docs, graduate students and undergraduates (23) also participated in teaching teams of
two-three per Module and were responsible for teaching one of the BME-in-Practice Modules. Modules were designed to
be highly experiential where the majority of work could be completed in the classroom. A total of 50 unique undergraduates
elected to enroll in the seven Modules, 73.33% of which were women. Data collected over the first two years indicate that
Module students perceived significant learning outcomes and the Module teaching teams were successful in creating
student centered environments. Results suggest that this mechanism enables effective, rapid adaptation of BME
curriculum to meet the changing needs of BME students, while increasing student-centered engagement in the engineering
classroom. Findings also suggest that this approach is an example of an intentional curricular change that is particularly
impactful for women engineering students.
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This content will become publicly available on July 1, 2025
The IT-BME Project: Integrating Inclusive Teaching in Biomedical Engineering Through Faculty/Graduate Partnerships
To broaden efforts for improving diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in biomedical engineering (BME) education—a key area of emphasis is the integration of inclusive teaching practices. While BME faculty generally support these efforts, translating support into action remains challenging. This project aimed to address this need through a 3-phase inclusive teaching training, consisting of graduate students, faculty, and engineering education consultants. In Phase I, graduate students and faculty participated in a 6-week learning community on inclusive teaching (Foundational Learning). In Phase II, graduate students were paired with faculty to modify or develop new inclusive teaching materials to be integrated into a BME course (Experiential Learning). Phase III was the implementation of these materials. To assess Phases I & II, graduate student participants reflected on their experiences on the project. To assess Phase III, surveys were administered to students in IT-BME-affiliated courses as well as those taking other BME-related courses. Phases I & II: graduate students responded positively to the opportunity to engage in this inclusive teaching experiential learning opportunity. Phase III: survey results indicated that the incorporation of inclusive teaching practices in BME courses enhanced the student learning experience. The IT-BME project supported graduate students and faculty in learning about, creating, and implementing inclusive teaching practices in a collaborative and supportive environment. This project will serve to both train the next class of instructors and use their study of inclusive teaching concepts to facilitate the creation of ideas and materials that will benefit the BME curriculum and students.
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- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10533957
- Publisher / Repository:
- Biomedical Engineering Education
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Biomedical Engineering Education
- Volume:
- 4
- Issue:
- 2
- ISSN:
- 2730-5937
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 235 to 250
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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