Georgia Institute of Technology

Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering

BMED 1300: Problems in Biomedical Engineering
Spring 2015
FACULTY:
Dr. Barbara Fasse (Course Director), Dr. Julie Babensee, Dr. Thomas Barker, Dr. Paul
Benkeser, Dr. Ed Botchway, Dr. Candace Fleischer, Dr. Linda Harley, Dr. Yonggang Ke,
Dr. Gabriel Kwong, Dr. Joe LeDoux, Dr. Johannes Leisen, Dr. Kathleen McNeeley, Dr.
Bala Pai, Academic Advisor Kim Paige, Dr. Sheng Tong, Dr. Cheng Zhu
PREREQUISITE: BMED1000
COURSE OBJECTIVES: Biomedical engineers work on some of the most exciting but
intractable problems in the biosciences and medicine. Stem cell research, nanomedicine, neural prosthetics and genetic engineering are some of the emerging
research areas to which biomedical engineers have turned their considerable tools and
talents. But what is it like to work on and solve a complex problem that demands
bioscience understanding and engineering analysis? How are these problems different
from the ones that a doctor addresses? How does an engineer solve a problem in a way
that differs from a doctor or a bio-scientist? How can a team be essential in tacking such
problems? What types of activities are critical in moving from a problem statement to a
technical report on the solution?
In this introductory BME course, you will have the opportunity to experience the world of
biomedical engineering by tackling three different but current problems relevant to
biomedical engineering. You will do this with seven or eight other team members and a
faculty facilitator who will guide the problem solving process without giving you answers.
For each problem with your team, you will develop a seven-minute presentation and a
report. Scoring sheets for the presentations and the reports will appear on T-square as
each problem is assigned. In addition we provide guidelines for writing each report. If
you use these resources carefully, you will be successful in completing these
assignments. (See course schedule for dates for each deliverable).
You will need your team because the problems are complex enough to require many
minds and hands to reach a solution in a short amount of time. To be successful in this
course, you will need to become a self-directed learner eager to extend your knowledge
through systematic inquiry. You will be spending a lot of time out of class finding the
most reliable, up-to-date and relevant information needed to solve the problem. The
problems are designed to help you deepen and broaden your conceptual base in the life
sciences and engineering. You will need to work on your team skills through developing
communication and interpersonal capabilities. What you learn in this course will be
foundational to the curriculum you will follow for the next three years and for the rest of
your professional career.

Syllabus-BMED1300 Spring 2015-B.B.Fasse

By the end of this course, students will be able to successfully address and
utilize the following skills:
1. INQUIRY SKILLS: Undertake targeted inquiry designed to identify the most relevant,
reliable and up-to-date sources; use databases to find peer reviewed journal articles;
evaluate the quality of sources; develop and use the EndNote bibliographic
application.
2. KNOWLEDGE-BUILDING SKILLS: Identify/define knowledge gaps and utilize
enhanced inquiry skills to address them; develop and ask probing questions; search
for/develop deep principles for organizing new knowledge; work with the team to
teach and learn.
3. PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS: Define the problem to be solved; break problem into
components; utilize white boards to represent ideas; apply inquiry results to the
problem; develop models and hypotheses.
4. TEAM SKILLS: Actively listen to team members and clearly communicate ideas;
offer support and encouragement, monitor group process and make suggestions for
positive change; assume leadership and encourage leadership across the group.
COURSE MATERIALS:
There are no required textbooks for this course.
However, you can expect to pay approximately $25 for equipment for one of the
problems. A paper-pencil notebook is required for taking notes during the Monday
lectures and team meetings.
ASSESSMENT:
Participation assessment in BMED1300 is different from that found in most other
courses (35% faculty assessment + 10% peer-assessment). Based on observations of
your work in the in-class and out-of-class group meetings, the quality of your research,
and the development of your team skills, your facilitator and teammates will assess you
in four areas: inquiry skills, knowledge building skills, problem-solving skills, and team
skills. The assessment rubric with detailed description of behaviors and practices
associated with competency and grades in each category is posted on tsquare for your
constant reference as well as being provided in hardcopy on the first day of classes and
repeatedly emphasized throughout the course in Monday lecture slides. You should
consistently use it throughout the semester to monitor your own skill development and,
thus, progress.
GRADING:
Attendance at all group sessions, presentations and lectures is essential to success in
this course. If you are late by more than 15 minutes, you are considered absent. After
three (3) unexcused absences from any combination of lecture and the T/Th group
sessions, each additional absence will lower your grade one full letter. Failure to attend
the Monday lectures will negatively impact your graderoll will be taken. Excused
absences will require documentation. Use of electronic devices is prohibited in the
Monday lecture setting. Use of electronic devices during Tues/Thurs class for off-task
activity (texting, excessive web-surfing, etc.) that distracts you or others from
engagement with the team or the work is grounds for being marked absent.

Syllabus-BMED1300 Spring 2015-B.B.Fasse

Methods of assessment:

Inquiry/work history: You are expected to maintain an Annotated Inquiry Log (AIL)
chronicling the work you are doing outside the group meetings that ill inform the
work that you during team meetings. This will be an ongoing record throughout each
problem, with time-stamped entries, that will include all sources you are using to
solve the problem as well as the ideas, questions, and knowledge generated by
each. Like a scientists lab journal or engineers design notebook, it should provide a
history of the development of your knowledge, ideas, and problem solving, in real
time, as you move toward a product. It should be well organized and easy to
understand so that your teammates can use it as a collective resource and so that
your facilitator is updated on your contributions to the group. It will be graded
approximately every two weeks but, because you are constantly evolving this log,
the assessment may be unannounced to help you develop the practice of
consistently recording your inquiry efforts. (Directions and the grading rubric for the
Annotated Inquiry Log will be provided and are posted on T-Square).
Post-problem self/peer evaluation: You will evaluate yourself and your teammates in
a face-to-face reflective session after each problem. You will identify what you and
your associates have done well and where improvement is required. This session is
very important for you to get feedback from your peers and for you to voice
productive opinions about the teams progress and success.
Written reports and oral presentations: Each student is required to make a formal
problem solution presentation and participate in the writing of the reports. These will
be used to evaluate the progress you are making in the areas of expression,
organization and clarity in oral and written communication. Guidelines and rubrics
are provided on tsquare. These assignments are submitted by uploading to TSquare. Deadlines for submission are absolutefailure to make the deadline
results in a grade of 0.
Mid-term facilitator meeting: Every student will meet with his/her facilitator for an
individual mid-term evaluation to discuss progress and strategize for success.
Final written assessment: On the final day of Deadweek, you will turn in a written
evaluation of yourself and each team member reflecting a grade that you assign for
the term. Upload to T-Square.
Final exam: The final exam is designed to assess your ability to systematically
tackle a complex problem in a limited amount of time on your own. It is an essay
exam. Our exam will be Monday, April 27th, 2:50-5:40pm, please plan your schedule
accordingly.

Any assignment that is not submitted before the stated deadline will result in a grade of
0 and may have implications for other assignments that are related to the missed
deadline.

Syllabus-BMED1300 Spring 2015-B.B.Fasse

Grade Breakdown:
PBL group work (individual)
Annotated Inquiry Log (individual)
Written reports/presentations (team)
Peer Evaluations (individual)
Final exam (individual)

35%
20%
15%
15%
15%

TIME MANAGMENT:
Using the GMU and Cornell time management formulas (3-4
hrs/credit hour), success in this course will require an average of 12-16 hours of
preparation outside of class per week divided between your individual inquiry and your
teams independent meetings. (http://www.academictips.org/acad/timemanagement.html#1)
DEAD WEEK:
A team presentation and report will be due during Deadweek in
addition to your individual self- and peer-assessment. Your Annotated Inquiry Log (AIL)
homework assignment may be checked during the last week of classes (deadweek)
this is not additional work, it is a standing assignment spanning the semester from the
first week of the course through the last day.
FINAL GRADES: (no rounding up)
A: 100-90; B: 89-80; C: 79-70; D: 69-60
HONOR CODE:
Students are expected to be ethically responsible and to, thus,
abide by the GT Honor Code (www.honor.gatech.edu). Copying, cut-n-pasting, and/or
submitting any material, whole or fragments, taken from the work of another person
without giving credit through punctuation and citation is plagiarism. To avoid the
appearance and suspicion of impropriety, always use appropriate citations when
referring to the work of others in your own work (presentations, reports, AIL, notes, etc).
Signing the roll for another student, submitting a blank page or nonsense page where
work is collected as the roll, or leaving class after signing in (without making prior
arrangements with the instructor) will constitute an Honor Code violation. Any student
suspected of academic misconduct will be reported to the Office of the Dean of
Students.
BMED1300 is a collaborative environment of colleagues. Aggressionverbal or
physicaltoward another person or other disrespectful behavior will not be tolerated.
Any student suspected of acting aggressively or behaving disrespectfully toward
classmates, faculty, or property will be dismissed from class to report directly to the
Office of the Dean of Students.

Syllabus-BMED1300 Spring 2015-B.B.Fasse