Collaboration of the organization and implementation of studio design classes between teaching aids and professors in biomedical engineering

Studio based learning is a learning by discovery technique that allows for students to comprehend theories through lectures and test them in a hands-on environment during the same session. At New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) Fundamentals of Engineering Design (BME FED-101) is an introductory course for freshmen which applies this method by emphasizing working in groups, communicating ideas, completing a project, and oral presentations - all necessary skills in today's competitive industry. The importance of teaching assistants (TA) has been recognized and been administered to provide incoming students a bridge with faculty and support as peer mentors. Initially, undergraduate teaching assistants are appointed traditional roles such as shadowing, assisting the professor and completing tasks, allowing for a healthy communication between the professor and the TAs and serving as a reliable feedback source. With guidance from faculty, the TAs begin to modify and build the course schedule and implement drastic changes to the curriculum such as the addition of MATLAB and Pro-Engineer (a prototype modeling software). Overall, the addition of undergraduate TAs to the FED course in the BME department at NJIT has been extremely successful, allowing the incoming students to gain valuable knowledge from their peers.