Louisville, Kentucky
June 20, 2010
June 20, 2010
June 23, 2010
2153-5965
7
15.1234.1 - 15.1234.7
10.18260/1-2--16887
https://peer.asee.org/16887
489
Kingsley Reeves is an Assistant Professor at the University of South Florida in the Industrial and Management Systems Engineering Department. In addition to engineering education, his core research interest centers on the creation of value across the extended supply chain. His current research focus is on inter-organizational and intra-organizational collaboration within the healthcare supply chain.
Susana K. Lai-Yuen is an Assistant Professor of Industrial & Management Systems Engineering at the University of South Florida. She received her Ph.D., M.S., and B.S. (Summa Cum Laude) degrees in Industrial Engineering from North Carolina State University. Her research interests include computer-aided design (CAD), computer-aided molecular design (CAMD), human-computer haptic interfaces, computational geometry for design and manufacturing, and engineering education. She is the director of the Virtual Manufacturing and Design Laboratory for Medical Devices (VirtualMD Lab) at USF.
The Impact of Active Learning and Social Relevance on Product Design and Manufacturing Courses
Abstract
This paper presents the research work of a NSF CCLI project for analyzing the impact of medical device-related active learning pedagogies in two courses within the engineering curriculum: New Product Development and Manufacturing Processes. The main focus of the study is on the impact of these approaches on students’ engagement and conceptual understanding of course material. A project-based learning (PBL) approach was incorporated into both courses through real medical device projects to provide students with hands-on experiences on the challenges of medical device design and development. The courses were enhanced to provide a combination of lectures on theoretical concepts and hands-on sessions focused on the medical device project to help students through the learning process and the realization of their projects. Project assessment included the expert opinion of local industry practitioners who interacted directly with the students. Analysis of the results of this approach is presented. This paper focuses on preliminary results relevant to the New Product Development course.
1. Introduction
The medical device and equipment industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the world. The U.S. is the largest medical device market and is the global leader of the medical device and technology industry. Medical devices are important for the diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment of disease, and for the compensation for an injury or handicap. The increasing life expectancy and the search for better health care and preventive therapies have influenced the demand growth for medical devices. To remain competitive in the global market, medical device manufacturers need highly qualified engineers to develop innovative and functional products.
Undergraduate engineering students are often taught theoretical concepts without having the opportunity to actually apply these concepts in a real-world context. The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) made the following two recommendations that are relevant to academic institutions: (1) academic institutions should take the steps to cultivate U.S. student interest, and aptitude for careers in engineering, and (2) academic institutions should develop and implement innovative curricula that address the engineering needs of the nation, but do not compromise the teaching of fundamental engineering principles 1.
Active learning approaches are essential for students to think about what they are learning and to increase their engagement, retention of material, and conceptual understanding. Active learning can be defined as any instructional method introduced into the classroom that engages students in the learning process 2. Research in the adoption of active learning techniques in engineering courses has demonstrated benefits to student learning outcomes 2-5. Along with active learning, problem-based learning (PBL) is an instructional method where relevant problems are presented at the beginning of the course to provide the context and motivation for learning 2. Through a
Reeves, K., & Lai-Yuen, S. (2010, June), The Impact Of Active Learning And Social Relevance On Product Design And Manufacturing Courses Paper presented at 2010 Annual Conference & Exposition, Louisville, Kentucky. 10.18260/1-2--16887
ASEE holds the copyright on this document. It may be read by the public free of charge. Authors may archive their work on personal websites or in institutional repositories with the following citation: © 2010 American Society for Engineering Education. Other scholars may excerpt or quote from these materials with the same citation. When excerpting or quoting from Conference Proceedings, authors should, in addition to noting the ASEE copyright, list all the original authors and their institutions and name the host city of the conference. - Last updated April 1, 2015