{"170651":{"#nid":"170651","#data":{"type":"news","title":"BME Freshmen Take On Real-World Problems","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMany believe the H5N1 virus \u2014 bird flu \u2014 is one of the deadliest viruses known to man, and a Dutch scientist has created a mutant form of the virus that can easily spread from person to person. He wants to publish his findings in an international scientific journal. \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOpinions are divided on whether to allow this. Some warn that the information could be used for bioterrorism, while others argue that it could be used to develop new vaccines and drugs to fight dangerous viruses.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EImagine that you\u2019ve been asked to consider this scenario and determine what impact publishing the work will have on the world. Now imagine that you\u2019re only a freshman in college. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWelcome to the course \u201cProblems in Biomedical Engineering,\u201d which all freshmen in Georgia Tech\u2019s Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) are required to take. During the course, students analyze and respond to scenarios just like this one. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMy intention was to have them try on the identity of a biomedical engineer,\u201d said Wendy Newstetter, who helped develop the curriculum and is now director of educational research and innovation for the College of Engineering. \u201cThe goal is to empower students to become agents of their own learning, who are fearless in the face of a complex problem.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen BME created the course in 2000, it was one of the first engineering programs in the country to integrate problem-based learning \u2014 which has its origins in medical education \u2014 into a curriculum, Newstetter added. (The department received a\u0026nbsp;2013 Regents\u2019\u0026nbsp;Teaching Excellence Award for its design and implementation\u0026nbsp;of a problem-focused curriculum.)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStudents are divided into teams of eight and are given three problems to analyze over the course of the semester. Problems can stem from newspaper headlines or a presentation that one of the BME faculty members recently attended at a conference.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe scenarios we give these students are difficult to work through,\u201d Newstetter said. \u201cBut their fear of dealing with these complex issues diminishes as they become more familiar with the problem-solving process.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAt the end of each four-and-a-half-week problem cycle, teams come to a resolution that two team members present to the class. Although the nature of the problems changes from semester to semester, the learning outcomes remain the same and include the following: tackle a complex real-world problem, conduct self-directed inquiry, demonstrate effective group skills and communicate solutions to problems.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to the problem-solving focus of the course, another unique component is that the facilitator-to-student ratio is 8-to-1. Facilitators can include faculty members, post doctoral students or graduate students.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cUsually, senior faculty members don\u2019t engage much with freshmen students,\u201d Newstetter said. \u201cThis approach provides students with an opportunity to engage with BME faculty on a personal level, which leads to a number of them continuing on to do undergraduate research throughout their time at Tech.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESince the BME course launched, Newstetter has worked with various units including the School of Aerospace Engineering and the School of Public Policy to integrate problem-based learning into other curricula. (The Whistle will be featuring articles on some of the other problem-based courses at Tech in future issues.)\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor more information, contact \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:wendy@bme.gatech.edu\u0022\u003ENewstetter\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMany believe the H5N1 virus \u2014 bird flu \u2014 is one of the deadliest viruses known to man, and a Dutch scientist has created a mutant form of the virus that can easily spread from person to person. He wants to publish his findings in an international scientific journal.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Many believe the H5N1 virus \u2014 bird flu \u2014 is one of the deadliest viruses known to man, and a Dutch scientist has created a mutant form of the virus that can easily spread from person to person. He wants to publish his findings in an international sci"}],"uid":"27445","created_gmt":"2012-11-12 15:26:52","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:13:10","author":"Amelia Pavlik","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-11-12T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2012-11-12T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"169921":{"id":"169921","type":"image","title":"Problems in Biomedical Engineering","body":null,"created":"1449178978","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:42:58","changed":"1475894809","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:46:49","alt":"Problems in Biomedical Engineering","file":{"fid":"195694","name":"problem_based_learning.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/problem_based_learning_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/problem_based_learning_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":462025,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/problem_based_learning_0.jpg?itok=iMD2_gjo"}}},"media_ids":["169921"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.bme.gatech.edu\/","title":"Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering"}],"groups":[{"id":"1259","name":"Whistle"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"594","name":"college of engineering"},{"id":"14219","name":"Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering"},{"id":"96","name":"freshmen"},{"id":"50061","name":"problem-based learning"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:amelia.pavlik@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EAmelia Pavlik\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EInstitute Communications\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-385-4142\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}