Improving Student Outcomes Through Transdisciplinary Curriculum Design in Biomedical Engineering

The boundaries between traditional engineering disciplines are breaking down.It is increasingly important for engineering students to be equipped with the ability to integrate complex concepts across disciplines to tackle real world problems.Biomedical engineering is a discipline that marries concepts from mechanical, electrical, and chemical engineering, as well as computer science to develop technologies that improve human health.Most existing biomedical engineering curricula, however, do not reflect this transdisciplinary integration.These concepts are typically introduced to students in separate subjects with minimal or no cross-curricular references. PURPOSE OR GOALPrior to 2021, the undergraduate Bioengineering Systems Majojr at the University of Melbourne featured a traditional structure with engineering mechanics, electrical engineering, chemical engineering and programming concepts sequestered into separate subjects.This has unintentionally resulted in students over-compartmentalising these concepts: they are often unable to appreciate how the different pieces fit together synergistically to form a coherent whole.To tackle this issue, we launched a curriculum redesign project centred around the student-led collaborative design of a bionic limb.This redesign has allowed us to link four core subjects across the major, covering key concepts in programming and modelling, biomechanics, electronics, and the engineering design process. APPROACH OR METHODOLOGY/METHODSA design-based research methodology was applied to form a team consisting of academics, educational technology researchers, and technology designers.We followed a four-stage iterative model involving: (i) initial problem analysis and identification of design principles; (ii) the prototyping of curriculum design solutions; (iii) evaluation and iterative redesign; (iv) and the refinement and sharing of design principles.This led to the design of a prototype bionic limb and associated teaching and learning materials that we have launched in two of our core subjects to date.This paper describes our progress and reflections to date. ACTUAL OR ANTICIPATED OUTCOMESWhile this curriculum design project is still in progress, we envision that it will reduce the degree to which our students tend to compartmentalise taught concepts.We believe that this will improve our students' abilities to recognise and harness the connectionsboth obvious and not-so-obviousbetween different discipline areas, equipping them to push the boundaries of science and technology as more confident, job-ready biomedical engineers. CONCLUSIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS/SUMMARYWe illustrate the application of a design-based research approach in the creation of a transdisciplinary curriculum revolving around the collaborative student-led design of a bionic limb.Progress to date involves interventions in two subjects, with positive student feedback.