Emphasizing Core Calculus Concepts Using Biomedical Applications To Engage, Mentor, And Retain Stem Students

With an increasing demand for biomedical and bioengineering professionals in the coming decades, educators are tasked with readying a greater number of STEM students who are able to apply mathematical concepts to critical health care decisions. In this work, we have developed a series of for-credit, applied learning modules that are being given in parallel to the freshman and sophomore calculus curriculum. These modules use creative inquiry and applied learning experiences to connect mathematical concepts with bioengineering and medical applications. We hypothesize that exposure and participation in the applied learning experiences outside of standard mathematics classes, will improve the students' performance and perceived appreciation for their math curriculum.The four module series is offered over a 2 year period to groups of up to 25 students, and emphasize mathematics and statistics relevant to four biomedical research areas 1) orthopaedics, 2) infectious diseases, 3) heat propagation in the human body, and 4) mammography and radiology. In class activities are complimented with biomedical facility field trips, greater access to professors and tutors outside of class, and audio-video tutorials. In this paper, the methods and results of module one are presented (orthopaedics, recently completed in the Fall 2011 semester with 3 students participating). Assessment of project outcomes consists of a formative and summative evaluation. When complete, pre and post surveys, follow-up surveys, and exit interviews will be used to assess the student's satisfaction with the modules, usefulness of the field-trips, and to gage student understanding of uses of mathematics in STEM fields. In addition, student's performance in current and future math courses and retention in STEM majors are being monitored from participation in modules until graduation.This scalable project utilizes a diverse set of faculty from the math and bioengineering departments. The project value to STEM goals are found in, 1) convincing students through applied learning experiences that mathematics is an important component of any research plan and indispensable to their career success, and (2) ensuring that these students do not falter in calculus and abandon their STEM goals. Outreach modules for K-12 are also being developed as part of student participation. This paper presents our developed methods and initial findings with the hopes of inspiring other institutions to adopt similar applied learning experiences for their STEM students.