2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Work in Progress: Development of a Teaching Module to Elicit Retention of Conceptual Learning in the Biomedical Engineering Discipline for High School Students

Presented at Biomedical Engineering Division (BED) Poster Session

Hands-on activities implemented in the classroom can be beneficial for students to reinforce their learning and concept retention [1]. In previous works, it has been demonstrated that high school students need guidance to learn new concepts in biomedical engineering courses, for example to help them navigate potential frustration during the learning processes [2]. For this reason, it is also important to carefully design hands-on activities to promote a positive interest and motivation in students to perform the activity and hence to learn from it [3] [4]. Teaching modules can be created to increase student learning in STEM concepts, using activities that students can enjoy while learning mathematical reasoning [5], suggesting that this can be used to promote conceptual learning and retention. Moreover, well-planned workshops can also help improve scientific skills, promoting a better understanding of STEM concepts [6]. This work hypothesizes that teaching modules that include hands-on activities can enhance concept retention in the BME field, by allowing students to learn and retain the concepts to later be able to apply them to a real-life application in BME.

Authors

Yareni P Lara-Rodríguez http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8996-1064 University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus [biography]

Yareni holds a mechanical engineer degree focused on manufacturing engineering from the Autonomous University of Nuevo Leon (UANL), Mexico. She has worked in the Applied Optimization Group at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (UPRM) as part of her research internship at the Department of Industrial Engineering. Afterwards, she earned a master’s degree in Materials and Manufacturing in the Department of Mechanical Engineering (INME) in the UPRM. Yareni commitment for an inclusive and diverse community in the campus led her to serve as Spokesperson in the International University Community at UPRM. Yareni has worked as an Instructor for the Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory, and of engineering courses, as Graphics Engineering and Introduction to Fluid Mechanics, in the Department of General Engineering at UPRM. Her interest in human biology, led her to serve as an instructor of the Biosensors and Biological Geometric Design courses, and as a research assistant in the Biocompatible Materials Research Group at UANL. She has been an instructor and teacher in STEM for almost a decade. Her professional career includes also being a quality engineer in the manufacturing processes for a biomedical devices' company in Puerto Rico. Currently, she is a doctoral candidate at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at UPRM, and her research focuses on Cellular Mechanobiology. She has participated in several events in Mexico, Puerto Rico and United States as a mentor and woman in STEM role to encourage young girls and women to pursue STEM careers.
Dr. Christopher Papadopoulos http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0259-7264 University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus [biography]

Christopher Papadopoulos is Professor of Engineering Sciences and Materials at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez (UPRM). He earned B.S. degrees in Civil Engineering and in Mathematics from Carnegie Mellon University (1993) and a Ph.D. in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics at Cornell University (1999). Prior to UPRM, Papadopoulos served on the faculty in the Department of Civil Engineering and Mechanics at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.

Papadopoulos has diverse interests in structural mechanics, sustainable construction materials (with emphasis in bamboo), engineering ethics, and engineering education. He is co-author of Lying by Approximation: The Truth about Finite Element Analysis, and after many years, he has finally (maybe) learned how to teach Statics, using an experiential and peer-based learning “studio” model. As part of the UPRM Sustainability Engineering initiative to develop a new bachelor’s degree and curricular sequence, Papadopoulos is PI of A New Paradigm for Sustainability Engineering: A Transdisciplinary, Learner-Centered, and Diversity-Focused Approach, funded by the NSF HSI program. Papadopoulos is active in the Mechanics (former Chair), Ethics, and LEES Divisions of ASEE, and is the co-president of the UPRM Institutional Committee for General Education. He enjoys biking, swimming, cooking, and eliminating disposable plastic.

Papadopoulos endeavors to orient his research and teaching activities around advancing, peace, social equity, justice, and human wellbeing. In the words of Roberto Clemente, anytime when you have the opportunity to make a difference in the world, and you don’t do it, then you are wasting your time on earth.

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 22, 2025, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 25, 2025

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