2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Combining the experiences of the instructor, teaching assistant, former student, and outside knowledge, we utilized participatory action research and the application of entrepreneurial mindset to improve the sense of belonging for all students in a difficult lab course. The biomedical instrumentation lab course is required for all undergraduate bioengineering majors and is a technical elective for several other engineering majors at a large public university in the Midwest United States. The course content has been challenging for many students. Additionally, some students have noted other challenges in the lab e.g., reading labels on parts, lights, and lab bench layout. The goal of this project is to reduce these challenges with both the content, the space, and the supplies.

In the first phase of the project, the research team used methods from Universal Design for Learning (UDL), human centered design, and entrepreneurial minded learning to evaluate the laboratory space and course materials and generate ideas for improvement. Several ideas were investigated further for feasibility. In the second phase of the project, a few of these ideas were implemented in the course and feedback was solicited from current students. This paper will discuss the brainstorming process and outcomes as well as the recommendations for implementation.