Biomedical Sciences Courses Offered At WCHS
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By David [email protected]
Warsaw Community High School is in its third year of piloting the Project Lead The Way Biomedical Sciences program. The biomedical sciences program parallels the PLTW Engineering program.
Currently, WCHS offers three sequential biomedical sciences courses. Next school year, a fourth course is being added, according to teacher Terry Aukeman.
Aukeman teaches the second- and third-year courses, Human Body Systems and Medical Interventions respectively. The first-year course, Principles of the Biomedical Sciences, is taught by Steve Savage. Peggy Overmyer will pilot the fourth-year program, Biomedical Innovation, next year.
To teach one of the program's courses, a teacher has to take a two-week summer institute at IUPUI. After completion, the teacher receives a certificate of completion.
In Principles of the Biomedical Sciences course, students investigate the human body systems and various health conditions. In Human Body Systems, the students examine the interactions of body systems as they explore identity, communication, power, movement, protection and homeostasis.
Students investigate the variety of interventions involved in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease as they follow the lives of a fictitious family during the Medical Interventions course. In the final course, Biomedical Innovation, students apply their knowledge and skills to answer questions or solve problems related to the biomedical sciences.
Aukeman said the main way these courses differ from other courses are that the biomedical sciences courses are project-based learning. Students are given a problem or scenario and all the content they learned is wrapped up in that problem.
For example, he said, in the Human Body Systems course, the class took a look at forensic anthropology and how people can be identified by their bones. That was combined with an examination of DNA.
The courses also make use of modern technology and equipment. One such device students use is a spirometer, which is used for oxygen capture and lung capacity labs. It hooks into a computer and analyzes data students collect.
"This is a very high-tech course. All the courses are," said Aukeman. "The courses, overall, are more of an independent-type of course versus a teacher-focused course."
Students taking the biomedical courses enjoy the course and content, but they also have to be focused and stay on track, he said.
Helping provide technology for the courses are grant dollars. The K21 Health Foundation, Aukeman said, provided two grants over the past three years to help meet the course's costs.
WCHS was contacted by the Indiana Department of Education several years ago to be one of 16 pilot schools in Indiana for the program. A total of 50 to 60 schools across the country pilot the new courses every year.
Usually, Aukeman said, the students who take the biomedical sciences courses are "A" and "B" students, especially in math. Because of a large amount of interest in the courses, he said they had to have a cut-off point.
Students interested in the courses also have some interest in a medical career, Aukeman said. That can range from wanting to be an EMT to being a surgeon or medical researcher. As students go through each course, they can explore careers in the medical field more. If a student finds an area of interest, they then can find out more about a college, major or career that might include that particular area.
Aukeman sees the course as benefitting students in many different ways.
"It's important because students are learning critical thinking and problem-solving skills," he said. They learn not only how to work independently, but also collaboratively. He said they learn how to do research better.
As for the long term, Aukeman said, the program will continue to offer the same courses. However, they may be modified or tweaked along the way to be improved. Aukeman provides PLTW with feedback on his recommendations for changes and revisions, as do all the teachers.
Down the road, a junior high program may be introduced to lead the way into the high school program. There's already a junior high program for the engineering program, Aukeman said.
"I make changes every year," said Savage. "Each year we've added more equipment and done more projects. I think my main goal is to help the students learn to think independently. Although most of the students are very strong students, most of them are used to taking notes, memorizing them and taking multiple choice tests. Sometimes it's hard for students to adjust to change."
In the three years he's taught the PBS course, Savage said he's had only three students leave at semester. A couple left because of the difficulty level, but another left after realizing he wanted to focus on a different career path.
"I perceive my biggest objective is to help them think and develop their own ideas because science is changing so rapidly," Savage said. "An answer we think is 100 percent correct now may not be five years from now. In the medical field, you have to have confidence in your own thought process."[[In-content Ad]]Junior Kelli Singrey is one of Aukeman's students in his Human Body Systems class. Her mother has always worked in the mental health field, but Singrey never thought it was cool because it wasn't "science" enough for her. Her sophomore year, she thought she would go into pharmacy. However, when Aukeman's class started looking into neurology, Singrey found an area to her liking.
Students had to pick a grant proposal and she picked bipolar disorder. She looked into a study on how to "cure" the mental disorder. The more she got into it, the more she enjoyed it. This year, she applied for an internship at the Bowen Center and got in.
"We're really lucky to have this class because it prepares you for college," Singrey said.
Warsaw Community High School is in its third year of piloting the Project Lead The Way Biomedical Sciences program. The biomedical sciences program parallels the PLTW Engineering program.
Currently, WCHS offers three sequential biomedical sciences courses. Next school year, a fourth course is being added, according to teacher Terry Aukeman.
Aukeman teaches the second- and third-year courses, Human Body Systems and Medical Interventions respectively. The first-year course, Principles of the Biomedical Sciences, is taught by Steve Savage. Peggy Overmyer will pilot the fourth-year program, Biomedical Innovation, next year.
To teach one of the program's courses, a teacher has to take a two-week summer institute at IUPUI. After completion, the teacher receives a certificate of completion.
In Principles of the Biomedical Sciences course, students investigate the human body systems and various health conditions. In Human Body Systems, the students examine the interactions of body systems as they explore identity, communication, power, movement, protection and homeostasis.
Students investigate the variety of interventions involved in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease as they follow the lives of a fictitious family during the Medical Interventions course. In the final course, Biomedical Innovation, students apply their knowledge and skills to answer questions or solve problems related to the biomedical sciences.
Aukeman said the main way these courses differ from other courses are that the biomedical sciences courses are project-based learning. Students are given a problem or scenario and all the content they learned is wrapped up in that problem.
For example, he said, in the Human Body Systems course, the class took a look at forensic anthropology and how people can be identified by their bones. That was combined with an examination of DNA.
The courses also make use of modern technology and equipment. One such device students use is a spirometer, which is used for oxygen capture and lung capacity labs. It hooks into a computer and analyzes data students collect.
"This is a very high-tech course. All the courses are," said Aukeman. "The courses, overall, are more of an independent-type of course versus a teacher-focused course."
Students taking the biomedical courses enjoy the course and content, but they also have to be focused and stay on track, he said.
Helping provide technology for the courses are grant dollars. The K21 Health Foundation, Aukeman said, provided two grants over the past three years to help meet the course's costs.
WCHS was contacted by the Indiana Department of Education several years ago to be one of 16 pilot schools in Indiana for the program. A total of 50 to 60 schools across the country pilot the new courses every year.
Usually, Aukeman said, the students who take the biomedical sciences courses are "A" and "B" students, especially in math. Because of a large amount of interest in the courses, he said they had to have a cut-off point.
Students interested in the courses also have some interest in a medical career, Aukeman said. That can range from wanting to be an EMT to being a surgeon or medical researcher. As students go through each course, they can explore careers in the medical field more. If a student finds an area of interest, they then can find out more about a college, major or career that might include that particular area.
Aukeman sees the course as benefitting students in many different ways.
"It's important because students are learning critical thinking and problem-solving skills," he said. They learn not only how to work independently, but also collaboratively. He said they learn how to do research better.
As for the long term, Aukeman said, the program will continue to offer the same courses. However, they may be modified or tweaked along the way to be improved. Aukeman provides PLTW with feedback on his recommendations for changes and revisions, as do all the teachers.
Down the road, a junior high program may be introduced to lead the way into the high school program. There's already a junior high program for the engineering program, Aukeman said.
"I make changes every year," said Savage. "Each year we've added more equipment and done more projects. I think my main goal is to help the students learn to think independently. Although most of the students are very strong students, most of them are used to taking notes, memorizing them and taking multiple choice tests. Sometimes it's hard for students to adjust to change."
In the three years he's taught the PBS course, Savage said he's had only three students leave at semester. A couple left because of the difficulty level, but another left after realizing he wanted to focus on a different career path.
"I perceive my biggest objective is to help them think and develop their own ideas because science is changing so rapidly," Savage said. "An answer we think is 100 percent correct now may not be five years from now. In the medical field, you have to have confidence in your own thought process."[[In-content Ad]]Junior Kelli Singrey is one of Aukeman's students in his Human Body Systems class. Her mother has always worked in the mental health field, but Singrey never thought it was cool because it wasn't "science" enough for her. Her sophomore year, she thought she would go into pharmacy. However, when Aukeman's class started looking into neurology, Singrey found an area to her liking.
Students had to pick a grant proposal and she picked bipolar disorder. She looked into a study on how to "cure" the mental disorder. The more she got into it, the more she enjoyed it. This year, she applied for an internship at the Bowen Center and got in.
"We're really lucky to have this class because it prepares you for college," Singrey said.
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