EDUC 438

“When beauty is found in a mathematical derivation, it means we are understanding and beginning to like the subject” -Max E. Valentinuzzi Chapter five talks about the biological amplifier.  Sounds pretty exciting huh… well maybe more exciting for the electronics engineer.  In college, the topic of electrical circuits was hardly my favorite subject in introductory physics although I was able to get through it. The amplifier is a relatively simple concept at first glance because essentially, its application is used to make signals more detectable; although interpreting circuit diagrams and quantifying their values can be such a headache!  The math in chapter five made flipping each page progressively heavier until eventually reaching the final paragraph where Valentinuzzi shows concern for the reader who may be feeling “sick” after finishing the chapter.   I believe Valentinuzzi is saying that simply reading the text cannot furnish an understanding of ...

Chapters three and four deals primarily with physiological signals and the instrumentation used to detect them.  Much of biomedical engineering is concerned with detecting signals commonly produced inside the body and translating these signals to form visual representations of physiological processes.  Bioengineering has led to modern medical devices such as x-ray machines and MRI scanners thus revolutionizing the way clinicians diagnose and treat patients.  Bioengineering has brought medical practice out of the dark ages by transforming the hospital from a passive repository for sick people into a dynamic interdisciplinary sanctuary for patients who now have a real chance for recovery.    Unlike the previous chapter, chapters three and four are much easier for the novice to absorb−Valentinuzzi appears less concerned with referencing his own research and more involved in providing a general overview of signals and signal pick-up.  Although in chapte...

Chapter two introduces physiological systems and fills up about half the book, or just a little over 200 pages.  Much of chapter two is dedicated primarily to the cardiovascular system.  After reading chapter one, I was expecting to continue transacting with more analogies, historical accounts and comic relief.  Instead, the reader is forced to take an efferent stance to fully engage with the text.  This is no surprise because most science and engineering text books require higher-level involvement as they are meant to disseminate information.  I’m a little disappointed to have been enticed by such a flow-etic introduction, only to have been misled about the book’s overall tone.  Understanding the Human Machine – A Primer for Bioengineers , nonetheless provides a fountain of information I find to be useful in the study of bioengineering.  The text is interspersed with classroom discussion-questions, but most are open ended and require indepen...

When considering “engineering”, the notion of using math to build stuff probably comes to mind, e.g. “applied mathematics”.  But what does math have to do with science?  Personal experience in many undergraduate biology labs would often whisper that science can exist devoid of mathematics.  Even historical accounts of scientific discovery, such as Rosalind Franklin’s x-ray crystallography to discover the structure of DNA and Darwin’s exploration of the Galapagos Islands to develop the theory of evolution via descent with modification, has revealed a reality where truth can be conceptualized in the absence of mathematics. In some ways, it seems that math has even created a barrier to the practice of science−the gradual incorporation of math as a framework for scientific inquiry throughout the 20 th century has led to the stratification of science.  For example, there was a time when the practice of science was “traditionally open and democratic”; however, by the...

Having taught both high school and middle school students, teaching secondary education has allowed me to uncover compelling insights about teaching and learning. In college I wanted to be a medical doctor, so I completed a B.S. in Biology and a B.A. in Psychology.  I went on to finish an M.P.A. in Health Policy; although by then, I realized that clinical practice wasn’t something I was truly passionate about.  My graduate program helped me discover that what I really wanted to pursue is applied medical research and teach post-secondary education.     I thought it would be a good idea to gain teaching experience before starting a Ph.D. program, so I taught high school sports medicine and later middle school life science.  Teaching both high school and middle school secondary education has enabled me to recognize that the age of the student and his or her level of self-directed learning demonstrate a slight relationship.  For example, high school st...

Well, where to begin?  Today, October 23 is actually my brother Josh’s birthday and happens to be the deadline for starting my own blog!  Why the delay?  Well besides being a chronic procrastinator, this is my very first blog!  I never really considered the satisfaction you can derive from blogging because I’ve never been much of a computer person.  This may seem kind of odd for somebody growing up in the age of social media although computers never really appealed to me.  Maybe that’s because I was never really good with computers to begin with.  Neither were my parents.  When I was 16, my mom bought me my very first computer.  A week later it broke so mom took it to Ballios to get repaired.  I remember the technician asking my mom what was wrong with it.  She said, “I think it has a disease ”.  The technician was briefly puzzled but then quickly remarked, “oh you mean it has a virus ”.  I could tell that my mom was emba...