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

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 studied 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 the hands-on activities to promote a positive interest and motivation on students to perform it and hence to learn from it [3] [4]. Teaching modules where students can perform activities can be created to increase student learning in STEM concepts, using activities that students can enjoy and mathematical reasoning can be very beneficial [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.
Prof. Christopher Papadopoulos http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0259-7264 University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus [biography]

Christopher Papadopoulos is Professor in the Department of Engineering Sciences and Materials at the University of Puerto Rico, MayagÃ¼ez Campus (UPRM). He earned B.S. degrees in Civil Engineering and Mathematics from Carnegie Mellon University (1993) and

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

For those interested in:

engineering
Pre-College
1st Generation