An Integrated Approach To Design And Delivery Of Biomedical Engineering Course

The benefits of getting students to understand how a module's subject matter is relevant and can be applied to the real world is well appreciated. Not only will the motivation to learn be heightened, the learning that takes place will also be deeper. At the same time, if we can also succeed in getting learners to connect content between different modules in a meaningful and holistic way, then students will no longer see modules in silos, but as all parts of a meaningful whole. The perspective that students will have of the discipline of study will also be broadened.

This paper examines how we have revamped the teaching of the 3rd year Biomedical Engineering option of the EEE program in the Singapore Polytechnic by integrating the teaching of 3 existing modules. Unlike the traditional way of teaching each module separately, we sought to integrate them by using a series of scenario based case studies while at the same time preserving each module's aims and coverage. Each case study lasts 1 to 2 weeks in duration. In this time, students cover the subject area of the 3 targeted modules relevant to the case through a combination of lectures, independent group research work, presentations and laboratory sessions. The lab space was also redesigned into "clinics" to provide a more authentic learning experience for the students. This paper details the methodology used in designing this integrated program.