Alejandra J. Magana

A Review of Simulators with Haptic Devices for Medical Training

Medical procedures often involve the use of the tactile sense to manipulate organs or tissues by using special tools. Doctors require extensive preparation in order to perform them successfully; for example, research shows that a minimum of 750 operations are needed to acquire sufficient experience to perform medical procedures correctly. Haptic devices have become an important training alternative and they have been considered to improve medical training because they let users interact with virtual environments by adding the sense of touch to the simulation. Previous articles in the field state that haptic devices enhance the learning of surgeons compared to current training environments used in medical schools (corpses, animals, or synthetic skin and organs). Consequently, virtual environments use haptic devices to improve realism. The goal of this paper is to provide a state of the art review of recent medical simulators that use haptic devices. In particular we focus on stitching, palpation, dental procedures, endoscopy, laparoscopy, and orthopaedics. These simulators are reviewed and compared from the viewpoint of used technology, the number of degrees of freedom, degrees of force feedback, perceived realism, immersion, and feedback provided to the user. In the conclusion, several observations per area and suggestions for future work are provided.

A Survey of Scholarly Literature Describing the Field of Bioinformatics Education and Bioinformatics Educational Research

This article provides an overview of the state of research in bioinformatics education in the years 1998 through 2013. It identifies current curricular approaches for integrating bioinformatics education, concepts and skills being taught, pedagogical approaches and methods of delivery, and educational research and evaluation results.

Learning strategies and multimedia techniques for scaffolding size and scale cognition

Size and scale cognition is a critical aptitude associated with reasoning with concepts and systems in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). However, the teaching and learning of concepts related to size and scale present major challenges because objects at certain scales are unable to be perceived by humans with the naked eye. A potential way to overcome this challenge could be by means of learning strategies coupled with multimedia learning. In this study we propose learning strategies, instantiated by multimedia are for learning tools that may result in improved learning of size and scale cognition based on the FS2C framework. This framework consists of five levels to characterize size and scale cognition and the cognitive processes supporting them. Participants of this quasi-experimental design included 224 undergraduate students who experienced one of three different multimedia for learning tools, and then were assessed through five tasks whose design was based on the FS2C framework. Results suggest that learning strategies prompting students to compare objects of different sizes, may increase their abilities in ordering and classifying objects. Having students to interact with a logarithmic scale may also have increased participant posttest performance scores in the numerical proportional and absolute measurement tasks. Finally, we propose that the use of multimedia for learning affordances like 3D interaction, zoom in and zoom out, and direct interaction with a scale metaphor may help students make explicit connections and become familiar with objects of different sizes and scales. Students increased their performance in most of the tasks associated with the FS2C framework.Significant increases in all groups occurred for the classifying and numerical proportional tasks.Significant increases occurred for the NS group in the ordering and measurement tasks.Significant increases occurred for the US group in the logical proportional and measurement tasks.Comparisons of objects seem to be beneficial when assisted by interactive features and visual aids.

Introducing Discipline-Based Computing in Undergraduate Engineering Education

This article investigates the effectiveness of a course employing a discipline-based computing approach. The research questions driving this study were: (1) Can experiences with discipline-based computing promote students’ acquisition and application of foundational computing concepts and procedures? (2) How do students perceive and experience the integration of discipline-based computing as relevant to their future career goals? (3) How do students perceive the structure of the class as useful and engaging for their learning? We used qualitative and quantitative research methods to approach the research questions. The population studied was 20 engineering undergraduates from Johns Hopkins University. Results of this study suggest that students performed proficiently in applying computing methods, procedures, and concepts to the solution of well-structured engineering problems. Results also suggest that student self-perceptions of their overall computing abilities and their abilities to specifically solve engineering problems shifted from low to high confidence. Students consistently found the course to be important and useful for their studies and their future careers. They also found the course to be of very high quality and identified the instructors and the teaching and feedback methods employed as very useful for their learning. Finally, students also described the course as very challenging compared with other courses in their own department and at the university in general.

Computational simulations as virtual laboratories for online engineering education: A case study in the field of thermoelectricity

Computational simulations, which are also expert tools, can be used as virtual laboratories for supporting inquiry‐based learning in engineering education. However, little is known of what are effective ways to implement them, particularly for online learning. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of computational simulations for student understanding of thermoelectric devices in an advanced online course. Learning gains, instructional support effect, and student perceptions about the course were investigated. Students significantly increased their understanding of thermoelectric devices concepts; however, they did not master the associated learning objectives. The instructional support materials in the form of guided assignments and exam practice did not have an effect on student learning gains. Thus, further research is needed to investigate what are effective ways to support learning of advanced topics with computational tools. On the other hand, student perceptions about the simulations were overall positive.

Motivation, Awareness, and Perceptions of Computational Science

To meet the urgent need for a well-prepared CS&E workforce, we must better understand how students perceive the field.

Modeling and simulation practices for a computational thinking-enabled engineering workforce

Computational thinking has been recognized as a collection of understandings and skills required for new generations of students not only proficient at using tools, but also at creating them and understanding the implication of their capabilities and limitations. This study proposes the combination of modeling and simulation practices along with disciplinary learning as a way to synergistically integrate and take advantage of computational thinking in engineering education. This paper first proposes a framework that identifies different audiences of computing and related computational thinking practices at the intersection of computer science and engineering. Then, based on a survey with 37 experts from industry and academia, this paper also suggests a series of modeling and simulation practices, methods, and tools for such audiences. Finally, this paper also reports experts’ identified challenges and opportunities for integrating modeling and simulation practices at the undergraduate level.

Published research on pre-college students’ and teachers’ nanoscale science, engineering, and technology learning

Abstract By the end of the first decade of the 21st century, it was clear that nanotechnology was emerging as one of the most promising and rapidly expanding fields of research and development worldwide. It would not be long before scientists, science educators, engineers, and policy makers began advocating for nanoscience, engineering, and technology (NSET) related concepts to be introduced in K-12 classrooms. Indeed, there has been a surge in the development of pre-college NSET-related education programs over the last decade, as well as millions in funding to support the creation of these programs. In an effort to characterize the state of research to date on pre-college students’ and teachers’ learning of NSET content knowledge and related practices, we have conducted a systematic review of the peer-reviewed, published research studies to answer the following questions: What NSET content knowledge and practices in a pre-college context have been examined in empirical learning studies? What do these studies tell us about the NSET content knowledge and practices that pre-college students and teachers are learning? Implications and recommendations for future research are also discussed.

Modeling and Simulation in Engineering Education: A Learning Progression

AbstractThis study used a Delphi technique to identify relevant modeling and simulation practices required in present-day workplace engineering. Participants consisted of 37 experts divided into tw...

Characterizing Engineering Learners’ Preferences for Active and Passive Learning Methods

This paper studies electrical engineering learners’ preferences for learning methods with various degrees of activity. Less active learning methods such as homework and peer reviews are investigated, as well as a newly introduced very active (constructive) learning method called “slectures,” and some others. The results suggest that graduate students’ perception of the usefulness of the activity increases with its level of activity. For undergraduate students, an increased perception of the usefulness of the activity was observed for lightly active but structured learning methods. Group-based analysis focusing on two types of learners, defined as “instructor-dependent” and “instructor-independent” according to their perception of the usefulness of the classroom lectures, was also performed. The results suggest that instructor-independent learners may benefit more from active learning methods than instructor-dependent learners. For example, instructor-independent undergraduate learners were found to perceive the homework assignment as being more useful than the lectures. Such a preference was not seen in the average group data. In fact, no learning method was found to be perceived as more useful than the lectures, on average. Thus this paper illustrates the pertinence of group-based data analysis.