Discovery: a term-long inquiry-based biomedical engineering program delivered by graduate students with high school teachers

Design · All designs
Evidence · 2 claims (2 for) · 1 study (1 design), q3 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 2 claims rest on one study

Description

Discovery is "a term-long inquiry-focused learning model delivered by STEM graduate students in collaboration with high school teachers, in the context of biomedical engineering". Each 12-week term, entire class cohorts of Grade 11–12 students work in teams of 3–4 on projects modelled on an engineering capstone, iterating between classroom work and four visits to university teaching facilities, culminating in a research poster symposium. Deliverables include a background essay, client meeting, proposal, progress report, poster, and final presentation, assessed by high school teachers as 10–15% of the course grade.

Design Implications

Context

Requirements

• Collaboration between university trainees (3–6 lead instructors per term at ~1:8 mentor-to-student ratio) and high school teachers, with instructor training via a teaching workshop
• Students must be able to independently commute to campus for hands-on sessions (~40 min transit in this study)

Constraints

• Teachers may find the framework difficult to implement depending on resources and institutional support, particularly if post-secondary collaboration is inaccessible
• Subjects where experiments are logistically or financially simpler may be more feasible adoption routes

Target Learners

• Senior high school students (Grades 11–12) in university-preparatory science courses at non-specialized public schools, from diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds

Learning Goals

• Critical thinking and problem solving through inquiry
• Application of subject-specific biology, chemistry, and physics curriculum concepts to real-world biomedical engineering problems
• Familiarity with the scientific method and engineering design principles

Claims

• Discovery Grades Exceed Classroom Grades [+M]
• Discovery Survey Attitudes Comfort Pursuit [+M]

Related Designs

Examples

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Key Sources

• Davenport Huyer, L., Callaghan, N. I., Dicks, S., Scherer, E., Shukalyuk, A. I., Jou, M. & Kilkenny, D. (2020). Enhancing senior high school student engagement and academic performance using an inclusive and scalable inquiry-based program. npj Science of Learning 5:17. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-020-00076-2

Page metadata

Field	Value
type	design
id	discovery-bme-inquiry-program
title	Discovery: a term-long inquiry-based biomedical engineering program delivered by graduate students with high school teachers
description	Discovery is "a term-long inquiry-focused learning model delivered by STEM graduate students in collaboration with high school teachers, in the context of biomedical engineering".
status	review
generated	by process:settle-candidates on 2026-10-26
trust	unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
sources	1 — davenport-huyer-2020

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