Ham Trevor, Cyrus Rezvanifar S, Thomas Vineet S, Amini Rouzbeh
Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325 e-mail: .
Mem. ASME Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325 e-mail: .
J Biomech Eng. 2018 Aug 1;140(8). doi: 10.1115/1.4040226.
Rapid advancements in the multidisciplinary field of biomedical engineering (BME) require competitive engineers with skill sets in a broad range of subjects including biology, physiology, mechanics, circuits, and programming. Accordingly, such a need should be reflected in the training of BME students. Among those skills, computer programming is an essential tool that is used in a wide variety of applications. In this paper, we have provided our experience in incorporating project-based learning, a promising approach in active learning, for teaching computer programming to BME students. We describe a low-cost method for using physical, hands-on computing that directly relates to BME. Additionally, we detail our efforts to teach multiple programming languages in one semester and provide a detailed analysis of the outcomes. We also provide basic materials for other instructors to adapt to fit their own needs.
