This project is implementing active, experiential- based learning to improve the education of biomedical engineers at Tulane University. Undergraduate curricular modifications are based upon Kolb's learning cycle, which encourages peer interactions, engages multiple learning styles, and promotes a deep understanding of course material. The project encompasses the entire learning cycle within a large set of basic- to- advanced undergraduate biomedical engineering courses, thereby increasing students' capacity to learn complex, interdisciplinary biomedical engineering material.
Classroom and laboratory instruction are linked through eight new or substantially- revised courses that span the undergraduate curriculum. These courses combine theory with bench- top and computational laboratory experiences so as to build students' intuition of physical and physiological processes. In addition, a core set of courses that "bridge" from science, math and engineering fundamentals to biomedical engineering applications has been developed to foster the progression from the study of traditional engineering to that of Biomedical Engineering.
