2004 Workshop Program Summary

            After completing organizational details and getting-to-know-you activities, the workshop began with an overview of the educational research that supports the style in which the high school biomedical engineering curriculum was designed.  This overview included a review of John Bransford’s book, How People Learn, and details on the Legacy Cycle method of instruction.  A summary of all of the high school modules written was provided to give participants an idea about the various ways that one can incorporate biomedical engineering into the high school classroom.

            The teachers then participated in the Electrocardiogram Mosaic as a student would.  The grand challenge of this mosaic is, “Suppose one of your teachers visits his doctor and, as a part of a routine exam, he has his electrocardiogram (ECG) measured.  The results are shown below.  Should your teacher be concerned about these results?”

            The teachers generated ideas about what they already knew that was relevant, what they knew but needed a refresher on, and what they thought they should learn about in order to answer the question.  After organizing their collective thoughts, we began a challenge of “How does the heart beat and why?”  The physics teachers in the group learned rapidly about cardiac anatomy and physiology.  All teachers learned about the intrinsic conduction system of the heart, particularly at the cellular level where action potentials create the flow of electricity.  The teachers completed the student assignment of designing an artificial heart.

            With a basic understanding of the heart completed, the teachers spent the second day of the workshop answering the second challenge question, “What does an ECG measure?  What information is reflected on the normal ECG?”  Biology teachers learned about electric fields, and all teachers completed an electric field mapping lab.  This lab was then linked with the electric dipole in the heart and the heart vector.  All of the teachers learned about Einthoven’s triangle and the normal timing and voltages of the ECG.  The day culminated with the teachers recording, printing, and analyzing their own Electrocardiograms.

            Day two of the workshop ended with completion of the ECG lab and review of some student work.  The teachers then began the final challenge question, “How can the ECG reflect abnormalities of the heart structure and rhythm?”  Each teacher or teacher pair chose an ECG abnormality from a list provided.  They researched the abnormality on-line and in textbooks.  After an hour, the teachers presented their abnormality to the others.  At this point, we worked as a group to answer the grand challenge posed on Day one. 

            Workshop participants began Day three completing the module post-test as the students would and discussing the results.  We reviewed the mosaic and discussed its implementation in their classrooms.  The teachers also had the opportunity to discuss the work with a recent high school graduate who had completed the ECG mosaic in the Spring of 2004.

            The workshop participants then participated in the Optics/LASIK Mosaic as a student would.  The grand challenge of this mosaic is, “Your baby brother has broken your mom's glasses (for far-sightedness) for the umpteenth time. She is fed up and would like to consider what she can do so that she never has to deal with them ever again. (She cannot wear contacts!). She looks to her smart kid – you - to help her. So what is her best option? How does it work? Is it safe?"

            The teachers generated ideas about what they already knew that was relevant, what they knew but needed a refresher on, and what they thought they should learn about in order to answer the question.  After organizing their collective thoughts, we began a challenge of “How do you see?"  We reviewed the eye's anatomy and physiology.  We discussed refraction and the lensmaker's equation.  Teachers did extensive work with ray tracings and built microscopes from scratch using lenses found in a box of unlabeled lenses.

            The teachers then moved on to the second challenge of "What happens in someone's eye when they become either near-sighted or far-sighted?"  We discussed hyperopia and myopia and worked with a functional eye model.  Finally, teachers concluded this mosaic by addressing the challenge question, "What types of corrective surgery are presently available?  Which is the preferred surgery for most patients and why?  How does that surgery work"  Teachers spent time learning about the LASIK procedure and learning some about how lasers work.

            Day five included workshop evaluation and wrap-up.  The majority of the day, however, was spent letting the teachers design new legacy cycle curricula.  Each teacher or teacher pair determined a section of their curriculum that they wanted to revise.  They spent the day designing a challenge question and supporting curriculum with assistance from workshop leaders.  Teachers designed curriculum with a broad range of topics including the following:

                        Urinalysis Mosaic

      Automobiles, Energy & the Environment Mosaic

      Ecology Mosaic

Comments by Participants through the Workshop

"I am so excited about all of these new ideas!  The Optics and ECG mosaics are great interdisciplinary units and just inherently fascinating.'

"I am really excited to refocus my anatomy curriculum and also apply the Legacy Cycle to other courses I teach." 

"It is exciting to be part of a national research product that is innovating science education and truly challenging and engaging students."

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