Teaching Principles of Biomaterials to Undergraduate Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic with At-Home Laboratory Experiments

Panebianco, Christopher J.

doi:10.18260/2-1-370.660-125552

Cited by 6 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Pre/post-tests demonstrated that students experienced significant learning gains of 33 percentage points from completing this IBL mechanobiology module. These learning gains were consistent with published bioengineering educational modules that found learning gains of about 50 percentage points for freshman engineering students [ 46 , 55 ], 15 percentage points for senior engineering students [ 10 ], and 15–30 percentage points for classes with mixed undergraduate students [ 12 , 13 ]. Since our cohort contained students from all undergraduate levels, we expected our learning gains to be within this range.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

“…In the first portion of the activity, students tested how the concentration of agar in pre-crosslinked polymer solutions would impact the compressive properties of resultant physically entangled hydrogels. To do this, we adapted a previously described method for students to conduct at-home compressive testing of gelatin hydrogels [ 12 ]. First, students calculated the volumes of agar and LB broth required to make 100 mL hydrogel cubes with 0.75–3% agar.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This pre/post-test length was chosen so that it could assess comprehension of multiple learning objectives without being repetitive and placing extra burden on students participating in this voluntary study. Furthermore, assessments of a similar length have been used to assess the learning gains resulting from similar biomedical engineering education modules [ 10 , 12 , 13 , 46 ]. Pre-tests were administered on the first day of the module, prior to the start of the pre-activity exercise.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Adjusting to Your Surroundings: An Inquiry-Based Learning Module to Teach Principles of Mechanobiology for Regenerative Medicine

Panebianco,

Nijsure,

Berlew

et al. 2023

Biomed Eng Education

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Mechanobiology is an interdisciplinary field that aims to understand how physical forces impact biological systems. Enhancing our knowledge of mechanobiology has become increasingly important for understanding human disease and developing novel therapeutics. There is a societal need to teach diverse students principles of mechanobiology so that we may collectively expand our knowledge of this subject and apply new principles to improving human health. Toward this goal, we designed, implemented, and evaluated a hands-on, inquiry-based learning (IBL) module to teach students principles of cell–biomaterial interactions. This module was designed to be hosted in two 3-h sessions, over two consecutive days. During this time, students learned how to synthesize and mechanically test biomaterials, culture bacteria cells, and assess effects of matrix stiffness on bacteria cell proliferation. Among the 73 students who registered to participate in our IBL mechanobiology module, 40 students completed both days and participated in this study. A vast majority of the participants were considered underrepresented minority (URM) students based on race/ethnicity. Using pre/post-tests, we found that students experienced significant learning gains of 33 percentage points from completing our IBL mechanobiology module. In addition to gaining knowledge of mechanobiology, validated pre/post-surveys showed that students also experienced significant improvements in scientific literacy. Instructors may use this module as described, increase the complexity for an undergraduate classroom assignment, or make the module less complex for K-12 outreach. As presented, this IBL mechanobiology module effectively teaches diverse students principles of mechanobiology and scientific inquiry. Deploying this module, and similar IBL modules, may help advance the next generation of mechanobiologists.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Adjusting to Your Surroundings: An Inquiry-Based Learning Module to Teach Principles of Mechanobiology for Regenerative Medicine

Panebianco,

Nijsure,

Berlew

et al. 2023

Biomed Eng Education

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“…27,33,41,43 To help address these gaps, the authors previously partnered with the Young Eisner Scholars, a program designed to empower middle and high school students from underserved communities, to adapt an undergraduate-level, at-home inquiry-based learning module for middle school outreach. 34,35 The authors hypothesize that this IBL bioadhesives module can be similarly adapted to an outreach activity for middle and high school students. For an in-person middle or high school student outreach activity, instructors should provide supervision when using the GTA crosslinker and use the experience as an opportunity to teach about chemical safety.…”

Section: Diversity Equity and Inclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teaching Tissue Repair Through an Inquiry-Based Learning Bioadhesives Module

Panebianco

Dutta

Frost

et al. 2022

Biomed Eng Education

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Bioadhesives are an important class of biomaterials for wound healing, hemostasis, and tissue repair. To develop the next generation of bioadhesives, there is a societal need to teach trainees about their design, engineering, and testing. This study designed, implemented, and evaluated a hands-on, inquiry-based learning (IBL) module to teach bioadhesives to undergraduate, master's, and PhD/postdoctoral trainees. Approximately 30 trainees across three international institutions participated in this IBL bioadhesives module, which was designed to last approximately 3 h. This IBL module was designed to teach trainees about how bioadhesives are used for tissue repair, how to engineer bioadhesives for different biomedical applications, and how to assess the efficacy of bioadhesives. The IBL bioadhesives module resulted in significant learning gains for all cohorts; whereby, trainees scored an average of 45.5% on the pre-test assessment and 69.0% on the post-test assessment. The undergraduate cohort experienced the greatest learning gains of 34.2 points, which was expected since they had the least theoretical and applied knowledge about bioadhesives. Validated pre/post-survey assessments showed that trainees also experienced significant improvements in scientific literacy from completing this module. Similar to the pre/post-test, improvements in scientific literacy were most significant for the undergraduate cohort since they had the least amount of experience with scientific inquiry. Instructors can use this module, as described, to introduce undergrad-uate, master's, and PhD/postdoctoral trainees to principles of bioadhesives.

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“…The Covid-19 pandemic restricted students' access to laboratories and research facilities, and most field trips and excursions had been cancelled. HEI providers sought alternative strategies to prepare students for a successful post-graduation career, including access to interactive online lab sessions, the introduction of lab or field virtual simulations, and lab/field activities to be conducted at home with any required material sent by post to all participating students [7][8][9][10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Learn!Bio- A time-limited cross-sectional study on biosciences students’ pathway to resilience during and post the Covid-19 pandemic at an UK university from 2020-2023 and insights into future teaching approaches

Andrews,

Stoneley,

Eckl

2024

Preprint

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Higher education in biosciences is significantly informed by hands-on field trips and practical laboratory skills-training. With the first Covid-19 national lock-down in England in March 2020, on-campus education at higher education institutions was swiftly moved to alternative provisions, including online only options, a mix of synchronous or asynchronous blended, or hybrid adaptions. Students enrolled on an undergraduate bioscience programme have been faced with unprecedented changes and interruptions to their education. This study aimed to evaluate bioscience students' ability to adjust to a fast-evolving learning environment and to capture students' journey building up resilience and graduate attributes. Bioscience undergraduate students in years 1-3 at the biology department at a Northwest English university participated in this anonymous, cross-sectional, mixed-method study with open and closed questions evaluating their perception and feedback to remote and blended learning provisions during the Covid-19 pandemic and post pandemic learning capturing academic years 2019/20 to 2022/23. The Covid-19 pandemic and the consequent restriction of personal social interaction resulted in an significant decrease in the mental wellbeing of undergraduate bioscience students in this study, cumulating in poor or very poor self-rating of wellbeing in spring 2021; while at the same time students showed evidence of advanced adaption to the new learning and social environment by acquisition of additional technical, social and professional graduate-level skills, indicative of an, albeit unconscious, transition to resilience. Post pandemic, bioscience students worry about the increased living costs and are strongly in favour of a mixture of face-to-face and blended learning approaches. Our results show that bioscience students can experience poor mental health while developing resilience, indicating tailored support can aid students' resilience performance. Students have adjusted with ease to digital teaching provisions and expect higher education institutions continue to offer both, face-to-face, and blended teaching, reducing the burden on students' significantly risen living costs.

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Teaching Principles of Biomaterials to Undergraduate Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic with At-Home Laboratory Experiments

Abstract: Cooper Union specializing in drug delivery, wound healing, and developing new polymeric biomaterials. At Cooper, she teaches courses in Materials Science, Biomaterials, and Drug Delivery. She earned her BS in Chemical Engineering from

Cited by 6 publications

References 39 publications

Adjusting to Your Surroundings: An Inquiry-Based Learning Module to Teach Principles of Mechanobiology for Regenerative Medicine

Adjusting to Your Surroundings: An Inquiry-Based Learning Module to Teach Principles of Mechanobiology for Regenerative Medicine

Teaching Tissue Repair Through an Inquiry-Based Learning Bioadhesives Module

Learn!Bio- A time-limited cross-sectional study on biosciences students’ pathway to resilience during and post the Covid-19 pandemic at an UK university from 2020-2023 and insights into future teaching approaches

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