Engineering as a profession faces the challenge of making the use of technology ubiquitous and transparent in society while at the same time raising young learners' interest and understanding of how technology works. Educational efforts in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (i.e., STEM disciplines) continue to grow in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade (P-12) as part of addressing this challenge. This article explores how engineering education can support acquisition of a wide range of knowledge and skills associated with comprehending and using STEM knowledge to accomplish real world problem solving through design, troubleshooting, and analysis activities. We present several promising instructional models for teaching engineering in P-12 classrooms as examples of how engineering can be integrated into the curriculum. While the introduction of engineering education into P-12 classrooms presents a number of opportunities for STEM learning, it also raises issues regarding teacher knowledge and professional development, and institutional challenges such as curricular standards and high-stakes assessments. These issues are considered briefly with respect to providing direction for future research and development on engineering in P-12.

Our objective was to establish normal ranges of left and right ventricular mass and function with cine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and to determine gender differences. Seventy-five healthy subjects (age range 8-55, mean 28 yr) were studied with cine MRI. Ten dogs were imaged for autopsy validation with a mean difference between actual and MRI-determined mass of 0.2 A +/- 8.4 g. Intraobserver and interobserver variability and interstudy variability were 5-6%. All parameters were significantly different between males and females except ejection fraction and the left ventricular mass to end-diastolic volume ratio. Agreement with published autopsy series, including gender differences, was excellent. This study presents normative MRI data that can be used for comparing individual patients and for further study of right and left ventricular interaction.

BACKGROUNDBetween 2000 and 2006 the Vanderbilt, Northwestern, Texas and Harvard/MIT Engineering Research Center (VaNTH/ERC) developed, tested, and implemented a set of educational innovations based largely on the ideas presented in the book How People Learn (HPL) and an instructional design known as the the STAR Legacy Cycle. The motivation for this study was to synthesize the results of this work. Published and unpublished experimental and quasi-experimental assessments were included in this synthesis. PURPOSE (HYPOTHESIS)The fundamental hypotheses tested were whether a set of modules involving challenge-based instruction and other course innovations, often involving advanced computer-based technologies, improved student performance in a variety of educational settings and student populations, and whether improvements could be achieved by instructors other than the developers of the innovations. DESIGN/METHODMeta-analysis of effects from thirty-three separate modules in five courses in bioengineering domains was undertaken, along with three case studies. RESULTSResults from the experimental (randomized) and stronger-quasi experimental studies revealed a weighted effect size of 0.655 ( p Ͻ 0.001). Studies using randomized designs produced smaller effects, and studies using measures of transfer and adaptive expertise to index outcomes produced larger effects. Analyses also revealed that the results can be replicated by instructors other than the developers of the modules, in a variety of student populations and educational settings, and at other institutions. CONCLUSIONSOverall, the challenge-based modules and other innovations have moderate overall effects on improved student performance. They can be implemented successively by other instructors in a variety of educational settings and student populations.

As the importance of the right ventricle in many diseases and conditions has been realized, the need for quantitative assessment of the motion and contraction of the right ventricular free wall (RVFW) has become apparent. This study applied the myocardial tagging magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique to the normal RVFW to elucidate normal heterogeneity in RV motion and contractile patterns. The RVFW was divided into three segments (inferior, mid and superior) in each of three slices (apical, mid and basal) to allow for a detailed analysis of the motion and contraction. Percent segmental shortening (PSS) was used to measure the amount of contraction, and a vector analysis was used to quantitate the trajectory of the RVFW through systole. PSS increased monotonically through time to an average across all segments of 12% in the basal slice, 14% in the mid-ventricular slice, and 16% in the apical slice of the heart. The trajectory of the RVFW was characterized by a wave of motion toward the septum and outflow tract. The data provided in this study provide a better understanding of normal RV kinematics and can serve as a comparison for disease states.

This study reports on a multiyear effort to create and evaluate cognitive-based curricular materials for secondary school science classrooms. A team of secondary teachers, educational researchers, and academic biomedical engineers developed a series of curriculum units that are based in biomedical engineering for secondary level students in physics and advanced biology classes. These units made use of an instructional design based upon recent cognitive science research called the Legacy Cycle. Over a 3-year period, comparison of student knowledge on written questions related to central concepts in physics and/or biology generally favored students who had worked with the experimental materials over students in control classrooms. In addition, experimental students were better able to solve applications type problems, as well as unit-specific near transfer problems.