Biological Engineering Education and the Biology Knowledge Explosion: Lessons from Biology Educators

Abstract

Biological engineering is an emerging discipline that integrates biological andengineering principles. Biological engineering education requires that students are equippedwith the skills and knowledge of both biology and engineering. The breadth and depth ofmodern biology makes it impossible to convey the entire knowledge base to undergraduatestudents. It is, therefore, essential that core biological concepts and skills be identified.Biologists have faced this challenge for the last thirty years, as the knowledge base of biologyhas exploded, and have designed undergraduate teaching programs that address this issue.Some of the skills emphasized in the biological sciences that are invaluable to biologicalengineers include analogic thinking and the ability to understand non-linear systems. Theacquisition of these skills complements the skills of deductive and analytical thinking, design,and problem-solving skills traditionally associated with engineering.<br><br>The objective of this study was to identify fundamental concepts and appropriate teachingmethods for biology instruction in a biological curriculum and examines the applicability of these to biological engineering. Different concepts may apply to programs with different biologicalengineering specializations. Options for the integration and teaching of biological skills toengineering students in both introductory biology classes and upper-level engineering classesare examined. One approach used by biology educators is to identify and teach the skillsemphasized in biology with examples from biology fundamentals. Another approach inundergraduate biology is the use of one or two core concepts as frameworks for teachingbiological skills. The combination of familiarity with biological fundamentals (taught in biologyclasses and revised, as necessary, in upper-level engineering classes) and the acquisition ofskills traditionally associated with biology, throughout the curriculum, should prepareengineering students for careers in biological engineering.