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Experiential Learning in Biomedical Engineering Education Using Wearable Devices: A Case Study in a Biomedical Signals and Systems Analysis Course

2022 , Montesinos, Luis , Santos-Diaz, Alejandro , Salinas-Navarro, David Ernesto , Cendejas-Zaragoza, Leopoldo

Biomedical engineering (BME) is one of the fastest-growing engineering fields worldwide. BME professionals are extensively employed in the health technology and healthcare industries. Hence, their education must prepare them to face the challenge of a rapidly evolving technological environment. Biomedical signals and systems analysis is essential to BME undergraduate education. Unfortunately, students often underestimate the importance of their courses as they do not perceive these courses’ practical applications in their future professional practice. In this study, we propose using blended learning spaces to develop new learning experiences in the context of a biomedical signals and systems analysis course to enhance students’ motivation and interest and the relevance of the materials learned. We created a learning experience based on wearable devices and cloud-based collaborative development environments such that the students turned daily-life scenarios into experiential learning spaces. Overall, our results suggest a positive impact on the students’ perceptions of their learning experience concerning relevance, motivation, and interest. Namely, the evidence shows a reduction in the variability of such perceptions. However, further research must confirm this potential impact. This confirmation is required given the monetary and time investment this pedagogical approach would require if it were to be implemented at a larger scale. ©MDPI, The authors.

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Implementing a challenge-based learning experience in a bioinstrumentation blended course

2024 , Santos-Díaz, Alejandro , Montesinos, Luis , Barrera-Esparza, María , Perez-Desentis, Maria del Mar , Salinas-Navarro, David Ernesto

Background: Bioinstrumentation is essential to biomedical engineering (BME) undergraduate education and professional practice. Several strategies have been suggested to provide BME students with hands-on experiences throughout the curriculum, promoting their preparedness to pursue careers in industry and academia while increasing their learning and engagement. This paper describes the implementation of challenge-based learning (CBL) in an undergraduate bioinstrumentation blended course over the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: The CBL experience was implemented in a third-year bioinstrumentation course from the BME program at Tecnologico de Monterrey. Thirty-nine students enrolled in two sections formed fourteen teams that tackled blended learning activities, including online communication, lab experiments, and in-person CBL activities. Regarding the latter, students were challenged to design, prototype, and test a respiratory or cardiac gating device for radiotherapy. An institutional student opinion survey was used to assess the success of our CBL implementation. Results: Student responses to the end-of-term survey showed that they strongly agreed that this course challenged them to learn new concepts and develop new skills. Furthermore, they rated the student-lecturer interaction very positively despite the blended format. Overall, students assessed their learning experience positively. However, implementing this CBL experience required a substantial time increase in planning, student tutoring, and constant communication between lecturers and the industry partner. Conclusion: This work provides an effective instance of CBL for BME education to improve students’ learning experience despite decreased resource efficiency. Our claim is supported by the student’s performance and the positive feedback from our industrial partner. © The authors, BMC Medical Education.

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Using Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools to Explain and Enhance Experiential Learning for Authentic Assessment

2024 , Salinas-Navarro, David Ernesto , Vilalta-Perdomo, Eliseo , Michel-Villarreal, Rosario , Montesinos, Luis

The emergence of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) requires innovative educational environments to leverage this technology effectively to address concerns like academic integrity, plagiarism, and others. Additionally, higher education needs effective pedagogies to achieve intended learning outcomes. This emphasizes the need to redesign active learning experiences in the GenAI era. Authentic assessment and experiential learning are two possible meaningful alternatives in this context. Accordingly, this article investigates how GenAI can enhance teaching and learning by constructively addressing study situations beyond conventional learning approaches and cultivating high-order skills and knowledge acquisition. This study employs thing ethnography to examine GenAI tools’ integration with authentic assessment and experiential learning and explore implementation alternatives. The results reveal insights into creating human-centered and GenAI-enhanced learning experiences within a constructive alignment. Specific examples are also provided to guide their implementation. Our contributions extend beyond the traditional use of GenAI tools as mere agents-to-write or agents-to-answer questions to become agents-to-support experiential learning for authentic assessment. These findings underscore the transformative role of GenAI tools in enhancing teaching and learning efficacy and effectiveness. The limitations in treating GenAI tools as subjects in thing ethnography are acknowledged, with potential for future implementation evaluation. ©The authors, MDPI.

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Transdisciplinary experiential learning in biomedical engineering education for healthcare systems improvement

2023 , Montesinos, Luis , Salinas-Navarro, David Ernesto , Santos-Diaz, Alejandro

Background: The growing demand for more efficient, timely, and safer health services, together with insufficient resources, put unprecedented pressure on health systems worldwide. This challenge has motivated the application of principles and tools of operations management and lean systems to healthcare processes to maximize value while reducing waste. Consequently, there is an increasing need for professionals with the appropriate clinical experience and skills in systems and process engineering. Given their multidisciplinary education and training, biomedical engineering professionals are likely among the most suitable to assume this role. In this context, biomedical engineering education must prepare students for a transdisciplinary professional role by including concepts, methods, and tools that commonly belong to industrial engineering. This work aims to create relevant learning experiences for biomedical engineering education to expand transdisciplinary knowledge and skills in students to improve and optimize hospital and healthcare care processes. Methods: Healthcare processes were translated into specific learning experiences using the Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation (ADDIE) model. This model allowed us to systematically identify the context where learning experiences were expected to occur, the new concepts and skills to be developed through these experiences, the stages of the student’s learning journey, the resources required to implement the learning experiences, and the assessment and evaluation methods. The learning journey was structured around Kolb’s experiential learning cycle, which considers four stages: concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation. Data on the student’s learning and experience were collected through formative and summative assessments and a student opinion survey. Results: The proposed learning experiences were implemented in a 16-week elective course on hospital management for last-year biomedical engineering undergraduate students. Students engaged in analyzing and redesigning healthcare operations for improvement and optimization. Namely, students observed a relevant healthcare process, identified a problem, and defined an improvement and deployment plan. These activities were carried out using tools drawn from industrial engineering, which expanded their traditional professional role. The fieldwork occurred in two large hospitals and a university medical service in Mexico. A transdisciplinary teaching team designed and implemented these learning experiences. Conclusions : This teaching-learning experience benefited students and faculty concerning public participation, transdisciplinarity, and situated learning. However, the time devoted to the proposed learning experience represented a challenge. ©The authors, BMC Medical Education.

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Experiential Learning for Sustainability in Supply Chain Management Education

2022 , Salinas-Navarro, David Ernesto , Mejia-Argueta, Christopher , Montesinos, Luis , Rodriguez-Calvo, Ericka Z.

This work is about sustainability-related learning experiences for the discipline of supply chain management (SCM) in Higher Education. It arises from the need to motivate students with relevant and interesting activities to improve their learning performance. Higher Education must respond to dynamic demands to keep impactful topics for students, organizations, and society over time. This work addresses the relevance of contemporary challenges in real-world SCM situations concerning Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It also provides an actionable framework integrating experiential learning ideas, the ADDIE model for instructional design, the Triple Bottom Line for sustainability, the continuous improvement cycle, and the SDGs into an SCM model. In a case study, the article illustrates the use of this framework for instructional design in a learning experience from an undergraduate course in an Industrial and Systems Engineering program. The application describes the impact of food ecosystems on cities and communities during the COVID-19 crisis. The results suggest positive attainment levels in students’ learning outcomes and highly favorable opinions regarding learning relevance, interest, motivation, and the recommendation of the course. Therefore, this work contributes to SCM education by including sustainability-related challenges and disciplinary topics in novel instructional designs that will actively prepare future professionals and decision-makers. ©The authors, MDPI.

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Expanding the Concept of Learning Space in Biomedical Engineering Education using Wearable Devices and Cloud-based Collaborative Programming Environments

2023 , Montesinos, Luis , Santos-Diaz, Alejandro , Salinas-Navarro, David Ernesto , Cendejas-Zaragoza, Leopoldo

Biomedical engineering undergraduate students often underestimate the relevance of their courses as they hardly perceive their practical application in future professional development, resulting in a lack of interest, motivation, and engagement. This issue may be addressed by implementing practical or “hands-on” learning experiences that allow students to construct their knowledge and apply skills in real-world scenarios. This work proposes to create learning experiences supported by blended learning spaces, including traditional classrooms for direct instruction, daily-life scenarios for experiential learning enabled by wearable devices, and cloudbased programming environments for online collaborative work. The learning experience presented was implemented in a biomedical signals and systems course. Students used health wearables to record their physiological and behavioral signals in everyday scenarios and Google Collaboratory notebooks to analyze the collected data. The survey results applied to students suggest that technology-enabled blended learning spaces positively impact students’ perception of their learning experience. However, other potential benefits in learning derived from the use of technologies, such as increased student engagement and motivation and improved learning outcomes, require further investigation. This is particularly relevant given the monetary investment that scaling up this pedagogical approach would need. ©The authors, IEEE.

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Designing experiential learning activities with generative artificial intelligence tools for authentic assessment

2024 , Salinas-Navarro, David Ernesto , Vilalta-Perdomo, Eliseo , Michel-Villarreal, Rosario , Montesinos, Luis

Purpose: This article investigates the application of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in experiential learning for authentic assessment in higher education. Recognized for its human-like content generation, GenAI has garnered widespread interest, raising concerns regarding its reliability, ethical considerations and overall impact. The purpose of this study is to explore the transformative capabilities and limitations of GenAI for experiential learning. Design/methodology/approach: The study uses “thing ethnography” and “incremental prompting” to delve into the perspectives of ChatGPT 3.5, a prominent GenAI model. Through semi-structured interviews, the research prompts ChatGPT 3.5 on critical aspects such as conceptual clarity, integration of GenAI in educational settings and practical applications within the context of authentic assessment. The design examines GenAI’s potential contributions to reflective thinking, hands-on learning and genuine assessments, emphasizing the importance of responsible use. Findings: The findings underscore GenAI’s potential to enhance experiential learning in higher education. Specifically, the research highlights GenAI’s capacity to contribute to reflective thinking, hands-on learning experiences and the facilitation of genuine assessments. Notably, the study emphasizes the significance of responsible use in harnessing the capabilities of GenAI for educational purposes. Originality/value: This research showcases the application of GenAI in operations management education, specifically within lean health care. The study offers insights into its capabilities by exploring the practical implications of GenAI in a specific educational domain through thing ethnography and incremental prompting. Additionally, the article proposes future research directions, contributing to the originality of the work and opening avenues for further exploration in the integration of GenAI in education. ©The authors, Emerald Group Publishing.