Markham Woods Center College in Lake Mary, FL was trying to find a program that will enchantment to the “multitude of abilities” amongst its college students and assist enhance the local weather and tradition of a divided faculty. Biomechatronics achieved each targets, says AP Dr. Eric Basilo.

By Eric Basilo

Have you ever ever needed to enhance your self however have been restricted to what your physique might deal with by itself?

Biomechatronics combines biology, mechanical engineering, and electronics to analysis and design therapeutic, assistive, and diagnostic units that may probably be used to compensate and finally change human physiological features.

The Biomechatronics program at Markham Woods Center College is open to all college students, and we imagine it is going to actually spark their curiosity in a number of of the highest paying and rising careers on the earth whereas getting ready them for highschool. It’s additionally serving to our college develop as a neighborhood of learners.

The expertise focuses on the interplay between human physiology and electromechanical units or programs to mimic the human physique. Thus it encompasses fields comparable to neuroscience and robotics. Know-how has introduced countless prospects, and biomechatronic units can change the performance of human organs and limbs.

How our program started

The biomechatronics initiative started as an thought to offer college students from all backgrounds a possibility to discover areas of examine that match the multitude of abilities on our campus.

Within the spring of 2018, former principal Linda Mumey was given the duty of bettering the local weather and tradition at a  various and divided faculty. She believed the varsity wanted to have a novel STEM program in an untapped subject the place college students might discover completely different sciences in a approach that was team-oriented, tactile, analytical, solution-based, and inventive.

This system would additionally expose college students to among the prime money-making careers and supply a pathway to packages accessible in any respect excessive faculties in Seminole County, FL.

Ms. Mumey started by working with all stakeholders utilizing a mixture of methods. She created a crew of lecturers to assist information the trouble and develop the construction and focus of this system. She then created a panel of scholars from all backgrounds to make sure there can be buy-ins from the scholar physique and that the brand new program would pique their pursuits.

College students expressed their assist for a possibility to not solely start getting ready for school however to discover completely different potential profession paths. When Mumey met with mother and father and neighborhood members, this chance to expertise careers was an necessary promoting level as properly.
When Mumey introduced her findings to district leaders, Biomechatronics was born. The district helped financially to get this system began, however the faculty was accountable for sustaining funding for this system. Mumey met with neighborhood leaders to elucidate this system and safe further monetary assist.

Instructor chief Donald Fields took the thought and ran with it. He and a crew of our educators started by creating a novel year-long course the place college students who’ve a ardour for the sphere can be introduced a problem and guided by drawback fixing and design-theory methods to create an answer they might current to a number of stakeholders on the finish of the 12 months.

Area labored to create programs aligned with profession and technical training requirements that embody computational pondering, world options, and area-specific programs that discover CAD and 3-D printing, robotics, human anatomy and physiology, and app design.

To get college students enthusiastic about this distinctive program, Mumey and her crew visited feeder elementary faculties to advertise. She additionally held a gathering at a church in one in every of our poorest communities to assist guarantee that each one stakeholders have been conscious of the alternatives accessible by this system.

The Covid-19 pandemic

By the beginning of the 2019-20 faculty 12 months, the preliminary programs have been developed, and this system launched. Then on March 16, 2020, all Florida public faculties have been closed because the world was modified drastically by Covid-19. We now confronted one in every of our best challenges – how do you proceed a program that depends on hands-on and interactive initiatives?

Whereas college students have been getting their standards-based instruction nearly, they weren’t in a position to get the hands-on expertise our instructor crew labored onerous to create. We held quick, and as soon as among the restrictions of Covid have been lifted, a small group of scholars who have been in this system determined to make use of the minimal data that they had acquired to this point to assist others.

Utilizing the 3-D printers of this system, college students printed a whole lot of 3-D printed surgical masks “strap adapters” and donated them to Creation Well being hospital employees. Even within the infancy phases of this system, the scholars had discovered easy methods to take a real-world drawback and use the talents that they had discovered in only a temporary time to create options.

Our post-quarantine enlargement

As soon as college students had returned to a face-to-face faculty setting, this system wanted a refresh. With a brand new administration in place for the 2021-22 faculty 12 months resulting from a shift in management, the duty was to recreate the thrill generated at first at a college that was persevering with to endure from a declining enrollment.

Assistant Principal Dr. Eric Basilo labored with the four-teacher crew of Joseph Puccio, Tom Stafford, Lisa West, and Anita Neal-Okoro and up to date the construction of our biomechatronics program to incorporate further alternatives for each college students and this system itself.

Whereas this system has had its challenges, it has grown to take care of its relevance with the occasions. Because of funding earned by Florida’s Profession and Skilled Schooling Act (CAPE), this system has expanded to incorporate the usage of a number of sorts of 3-D printers and the Sport of Life – a course the place college students discover ways to stay on their very own and in regards to the completely different profession alternatives accessible to them past commencement.

Additionally, the crew determined to determine a year-long eighth grade course – Biomechatronics Capstone – the place college students who’ve taken a lot of the programs in this system have the chance to work in an incubator setting and resolve a state of affairs drawback supplied by Florida Prosperity Partnership (a company sponsor).

College students work collaboratively to make use of each drawback fixing and design pondering methods to develop a 3-D printed biomechatronic prototype that will vary from a synthetic backbone to some type of prosthesis.

Alongside the way in which, college students hear from specialists within the subject based mostly on the tactic they select to pursue  the issue. In addition they be taught grant writing and public talking methods to current their findings on the finish of the 12 months to a panel for his or her closing grade.

Our give attention to pupil possession

One of many key causes for the rising reputation of the biomechatronics programs and our capstone expertise is that college students are requested about methods to enhance this system whereas they expertise it. This type of suggestions results in the exploration of points and alternatives throughout the programs that instructors could not have thought-about.

Lecturers take the scholars’ concepts and work tirelessly inside weekly skilled studying communities (PLC’s) to refine our program and proceed to supply enhanced experiences discovered nowhere else within the district. Most lately, our student-teacher suggestions loop has led to the inclusion of an Introduction to Synthetic Intelligence (AI) element.

Each college students and lecturers are excited because the biomechatronics program’s route is refined annually. Our core perception is that this: If college students are true stakeholders of their training, they’re extra apt to stay engaged and carry their data and curiosity ahead into highschool and past.

For additional data or questions, contact Dr. Eric Basilo at eric_basilo@scps.k12.fl.us.

Dr. Eric Basilo has been in training for over 28 years as a highschool arithmetic instructor and center faculty administrator. He’s presently an assistant principal at Markham Woods Center College in Seminole County, Florida, an adjunct Math professor at Seminole State Faculty, and a previous president of the Florida Affiliation of College Directors (FASA).

Eric was acknowledged for his work with superior course alternatives for African American, Hispanic, and free and decreased lunch college students when he was chosen because the 2018 Nationwide Affiliation of Secondary College Principals Assistant Principal of the 12 months for Florida. He earned all three of his levels from the College of Central Florida (UCF).