Students as signal sources in the Biomedical Engineering Laboratory

Laboratory courses are used throughout Biomedical Engineering curriculum to give students hands-on, practical experience in scientific, computing and engineering methods. Interest in student-driven, inquiry-based labs has resulted in the availability of new teaching equipment for the exploration of biological systems and physiological processes. The movement to student-driven, inquiry-based labs is rooted in the belief that students will improve their critical thinking skills, achieve a greater understanding of processes explored in the lab and experience reduced frustration when gathering data. New teaching equipment allows for relatively easy collection of real-time physiological data: ECG, EEG, EMG, EOG (eye movement), pulse, skin temperature, respiration (flow and volume), limb and joint motion (distance, velocity and acceleration), electrodermal activity and response, muscle strength. New teaching equipment can aid the transition from instructor-dictated to student-driven laboratories. As students collect data directly from their own bodies, the process therein will stimulate their curiosity and give them more control over their own learning by allowing them to test and retest to more fully understand the steps involved in scientific inquiry. Student-driven laboratory settings can increase student understanding of biomedical engineering principles as well as increase student appreciation of the scientific process.