Teaching an Introductory Course in Human Factors Engineering: A Successful Learning Experience

Abstract

The ideal structure for an introductory human factors engineering course has received widespread interest. A common issue involves the need to supply students with hands-on experience in design and applications. Such experience was provided by a recently revised course at the United States Air Force Academy. Course objectives stressed critical thinking through collaborative and interactive learning. Material was taught at a general conceptual level, and in-class exercises were extensively incorporated. To facilitate hands-on learning and critical thinking, the course was structured around a series of design projects, performed both individually and in groups. To measure success, standardized student critique data were collected and compared with the previous year. Results showed strong student agreement in the belief that the course stimulated both human factors knowledge and thinking skills. In addition, there was a significant increase in overall student evaluations from the previous year. These findings appear to validate the use of hands-on collaborative learning to augment the teaching of human factors concepts and theory.

Using magic to throw light on tricky healthcare systems: Patient safety problem solving

“…One can set out to combat inadvertent illusions in healthcare by studying how magicians accomplish illusion and by using HFE to dispel trickery. Mastery of simple magic tricks may serve as an effective educational strategy to persuade HCWs to apply their keen perception to identify illusions using basic HFE tools such as usability testing (Shapiro and Fox, 2001; Sojourner, Aretz, & Vance, 1993). Making the case for hiring HFE experts either as full‐time staff or under contract for specific project work can be argued by HCWs equipped with the evidence from cognitive science and neuroscience.…”

Human factors and ergonomics in patient safety curriculum

“…The sessions include epidemiological data establishing the scope of the problem (Bates et al, 1995; Brennan et al, 1991; Kohn, Corrigan, & Donaldson, 2000; Schimmel, 2003; Steel et al, 1981), basic concepts of HFE (Sojourner, Aretz, & Vance, 1993); engineering and safety terminology; and patient safety problem‐solving strategies. Attendees apply engineering methods such as usability testing (Anderson, Gosbee, Bessesen, & Williams, 2010; Gosbee & Anderson, 2003), heuristic evaluation, and redesign to medical devices and health care systems — taking a hands‐on approach (Williams, 2005) to fixing patient safety issues.…”

Human factors engineering design demonstrations can enlighten your RCA team

“…To address this, some introductory courses in HFE have many interactive exercises with tangible items. 5 In addition, HFE experts have proposed that demonstrations and exercises are crucial to introducing the theory and practice of HFE. 6 7 Finally, biomedical engineers and healthcare providers have documented the importance of HFE practice and learning in healthcare organizations and medical schools.…”