K-12 Educational
Outreach
K-12 students participate in curriculum developed
jointly between VaNTH researchers and K-12 teachers. These materials teach
bioengineering principles and methods in the context of the curriculum
requirements of K-12 life and physical science classes. Students are thus exposed to
bioengineering or biomedical engineering as career options much earlier in
their education. The challenge-based curriculum also encourages the
students to become actively involved in the learning process at this stage
in their educational careers.
VaNTH
initiated an RET (Research Experiences for Teachers) program in 2001, with
Chicago Public School System (CPS) and Nashville/Davidson County (Tennessee)
teachers collaborating with researchers at Northwestern and Vanderbilt. At
the Northwestern site, materials from I,Bio, which asks students to
redesign their school lunch to meet their body's energy needs, a core
concept in systems physiology, were piloted in the curriculum in 2000-2001.
Materials have since been evaluated and redesigned in an ongoing process. At
the Vanderbilt site, science teachers with advanced degrees worked together
with VaNTH researchers to develop five modules for use in their biology or
physics classes in the following topics: electrocardiogram, Iron Cross
(using the gymnastics to study forces and vectors), LASIK/optics, medical
imaging, balance, swimming and hemodynamics. The teacher/university team developed assessment
questions for each module, using a pre-post, experimental-control design.
At
Northwestern, an award allows students to design a curriculum unit around
the concept "designing an artificial limb". This unit has been tested in
several Chicago Public Schools science classes. The students will evaluate
the results and consider any redesign that may be necessary.
Researchers at University of Texas - Austin received an award to develop a
close relationship with the San Antonio USI, the Austin Independent school
District and pre-service teachers at University of Texas. These researchers
and teachers are developing and redesigning curriculum modules in
Biomechanics and Optics for use in high school classes.
At
Harvard/MIT Health Science and Technology Center, a student-led initiative
has resulted in the design and testing of a curriculum module called "Spacercise"
used in high school physiology classes. The module centers around the
enquiry into the effects of microgravity on physiological systems.
In
addition to curriculum development, VaNTH researchers are conducting
workshops for teachers to teach the concepts in HPL (How People Learn) and
designing challenge-based curriculum units that incorporate the principles
of HPL
|
*opens in new browser window