Teaching Statistics Across the BME Curriculum
Track:
Curriculum and Course Design
Time:
11:00 – 11:45 am
Location:
President’s II
Presenters:
Wanda K. Neu, Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies, Biomedical Engineering,
Steve Wallace, Instructor, Biomedical Engineering
Session Information:
An effective Biomedical Engineering (BME) undergraduate curriculum must prepare its graduates to apply statistics to solve the problems at the interface of engineering and biology. In 2011, BME faculty voted to change the way statistics is taught to the BME majors. Instead of requiring all students to take “Probability and Statistics in Engineering” (STA 130), the statistical topics will be taught in a “distributed” way, by incorporating them into BME courses. Faculty in BME identified the most pertinent statistical topics, mapped the topics to the curriculum, and proposed the development of a BME Online Statistics Source (BOSS). Starting in the summer of 2012, Steve Wallace led a team of BME undergraduates to develop an online repository of statistical resources mapped to courses within the BME major. During the fall and spring semesters, the BOSS has been piloted with a new course (Quantitative Physiology with Biostatistical Applications) required of all BME sophomores, class of 2015 and beyond. The BOSS will be integrated into each BME course following the progression of the class of 2015. The presenters will discuss mapping statistics across the curriculum, the development of the BOSS, and the initial reactions of faculty and students to the BOSS.