Constructing better teaching methods
A new teaching method introduced by a Texas A&M biomedical engineering faculty member may help students bridge complex subjects for health care innovation.
Dr. Shreya Raghavan presenting her findings at the American Society for Engineering Education conference.
Problem-solve like an engineer with the insight of a biologist — that is the interdisciplinary expectation biomedical engineering students must meet to create solutions that revolutionize health care. Yet, some students struggle to internalize the nature of the trade while learning through traditional teaching methods.
Dr. Shreya Raghavan, associate professor in the biomedical engineering department at Texas A&M University, has implemented a teaching approach in her Cancer Bioengineering course to prepare students for the real-life applications of healthcare solutions to bridge the gap between biological sciences and engineering.
Raghavan outlines her approach in an article published by the American Society for Engineering Education, describing how she uses social constructivism and inquiry-based learning methods in the classroom. Her findings describe how this approach enables students to analyze complex biological data through an engineering lens.
“Through their third year, students learn so much about biomedical engineering: materials, devices, imaging — all the core areas,” Raghavan said. “We should also offer things that go deeper into the real world. To bridge my real-world research with my teaching, I decided to teach a class on cancer, designed specifically for engineers.”
Raghavan’s class uses the framework of social constructivism, which proposes that knowledge is actively constructed through interactions with peers rather than through passive listening. To construct this knowledge, students are encouraged to take on the role of investigators through inquiry-based learning, with real-world, cutting-edge scientific and research data. Raghavan implements social constructivism in the classroom by leaning into students’ niche experiences and encouraging them to learn from one another while assessing research articles about cancer.
“When two trainees in my lab, Dr. Sabrina Reinthaler and Lucia Nash, worked together on a metastatic cancer project, they saw things differently and informed each other’s research questions,” Raghavan said. “Nash had an industry internship in immunology, and Sabrina had worked with mice in oncology. That part was interesting and what I tried to replicate in the class.”
Anirudh Madyastha, a former biomedical engineering student and current graduate student at Texas Tech University, took the course during his undergraduate studies. With a desire to pursue a career in medicine and oncology, Madyastha felt the class was an invaluable step toward his goals.
“The course helped us build an understanding of what’s new and up-and-coming in cancer medicine, things that will impact patients in five to ten years,” he said. “Learning about how research and testing behind these innovations are done gave us insight into the future of oncology and cancer medicine.”
Madyastha, who plans to attend medical school after serving as a teaching assistant at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine, said the curriculum prepared him for the challenges ahead.
“Part of the curriculum involved selecting literature in cancer bioengineering, analyzing the paper, identifying strengths and weaknesses, and giving a short presentation about it to classmates. This process of critically thinking about material and communicating it in an accessible way to people unfamiliar with it is extremely applicable as I prepare to be a TA for medical students,” Madyastha said.
Raghavan’s classroom initiatives are enabled by federal funding like the National Science Foundation CAREER Grant she received last year that supports early career faculty members’ research and helps advance their roles as academic role models. For future classes, she plans to continue embracing the social constructivist framework.
Through the course, Raghavan has seen her students grow in both communication and confidence.“My greatest takeaway is seeing those limiting beliefs about not being good at graphics, figure design or visualization fade away,” she said. “Watching students build this beautifully nuanced web of knowledge in cancer biology and oncology, identifying the strength of engineering tools in discovery and treatment has been so rewarding. I hope to continue to build on their enthusiasm and lean into their diverse experiences to teach cancer.”
