Implementation of a course in computational modeling of biological systems in an undergraduate engineering program

In this work we present the implementation of a course titled Computational Modeling in Biological Systems that integrates three broad topics of programming, numerical methods, and their application to biological systems. The course was offered in a lab setting with significant components of active learning focused on integrating the key principles of behaviorism, cognitive and constructivist theories of learning. The course was offered to two sections, one of which had a mandatory attendance policy. Student learning was measured using weekly lab assignments, a midterm exam and a comprehensive final exam. It was found that the section with mandatory attendance policy fared much better in the exams, meeting majority of the learning outcomes. This is attributed to the fact that there was more participation from this cohort in the classroom session where: (1) the instructor routinely set the context and defined the targeted learning outcomes, (2) conducted the active learning sessions to enhance the students' cognitive learning and (3) focused on defining meaningful contexts for applying the concepts to real-world biotechnology problems, encouraging collaboration and thoughtful reflection, thereby imbibing the constructivist principles of learning.