Bioinspiration as a method of problem‐based STEM education: A case study with a class structured around the COVID‐19 crisis

Abstract

Bioinspiration is a promising lens for biology instruction as it allows the instructor to focus on current issues, such as the COVID‐19 pandemic. From social distancing to oxygen stress, organisms have been tackling pandemic‐related problems for millions of years. What can we learn from such diverse adaptations in our own applications? This review uses a seminar course on the COVID‐19 crisis to illustrate bioinspiration as an approach to teaching biology content. At the start of the class, students mind‐mapped the entire problem; this range of subproblems was used to structure the biology content throughout the entire class. Students came to individual classes with a brainstormed list of biological systems that could serve as inspiration for a particular problem (e.g., absorptive leaves in response to the problem of toilet paper shortages). After exploration of relevant biology content, discussion returned to the focal problem. Students dug deeper into the literature in a group project on mask design and biological systems relevant to filtration and transparency. This class structure was an engaging way for students to learn principles from ecology, evolution, behavior, and physiology. Challenges with this course design revolved around the interdisciplinary and creative nature of the structure; for instance, the knowledge of the participants was often stretched by engineering details. While the present class was focused on the COVID‐19 crisis, a course structured through a bioinspired approach can be applied to other focal problems, or subject areas, giving instructors a powerful method to deliver interdisciplinary content in an integrated and inquiry‐driven way.

Conceptualization of Biomimicry in Engineering Context among Undergraduate and High School Students: An International Interdisciplinary Exploration

“…Similar to a handful of bioinspiration studies that call for interdisciplinary collaboration [ 65 , 66 , 67 ], this study also acknowledges the interdisciplinary nature of biomimicry. However, the interdisciplinarity present during our workshop is mainly between the engineering subjects, which are chemistry, material science, and mechanical engineering.…”

Current trends and developments in the application of digital tools and implementation of environmental awareness and sustainability in PBL-based STEM education: a dual systematic literature review

“…The case studies can be divided into three categories based on the level of digitalization their methods and tools used based on the SAMR model (Hamilton et al, 2016):  In some cases, there is no need to use technology further than to substitute or augment the already existing research and education tools to make the learning tools and the process more compatible with the younger generations (Maass et al, 2022;Rico et al, 2021;Songer and Ibarrola Recalde, 2021;Snell-Rood et al, 2021). It also makes research and education activities more easily conductive for technologically less developed institutions and communities (Gallay et al, 2021;Talley et al, 2021).…”

“…Other than formal education, some (n=3) studies introduced community science (Talley et al, 2021) or civic science (Gallay et al, 2021;Snell-Rood et al, 2021), especially so to compensate for the underrepresentation of participants in specific ethnic (Hispanic minorities in the State of California (Talley et al, 2021;Shay et al, 2020)) or socio-economic status (urban (Gallay et al, 2021) and foster students (Songer and Ibarrola Recalde, 2021)) status. The most probable general idea behind applying this approach was to elevate the socio-scientific status of these communities.…”

The project-based learning model and its contribution to life skills in biology learning: A systematic literature network analysis

“…Existing constraints must be reduced to maximise the potential results and teachers can be creative by combining several learning models and methods to reduce constraints and achieve the desired learning goals. PjBL learning begins with problem mapping by students in their environment based on the stimulus of questions given by the teacher so that student inspiration increases (Snell-Rood et al, 2021). Visualisation of study material is good for stimulating students' biology material concepts so that they will find it easier to find solutions to the problems (Fried et al, 2020).…”