A revolutionary age of science and technology is before us, where what was once a dream is now a reality. Imagine what our students will be able to develop if given this knowledge to ponder, simmer, and grow; empowered to envision future treatments of their own. I cannot think of a more relevant topic than bioengineering at this time. With this knowledge, I believe my students will be inspired to think in new ways, experimenting with ideas they can imagine without fear, free to think – exploring the possibilities, and possibly improve human health, but more importantly experience the freedom to think.
Organizing learning around the engineering process offers the best of instruction; team work, inquiry driven, engagement, discourse, direct feedback of learning through trial and error , application of the highest level styles of thinking (evaluating, analyzing, creating) as students use all that they know to problem solve through a collaborative process, to create an original, novel solution. The best of instruction and learning is in the process of the engineering.
In order for student to design their own immune cell, students will need to learn the functions of the immune system and the immune cells. The activities are designed to build knowledge in preparation for building super cells in the engineering design process.