Summary. Medical Heroes is a 12 part program designed to introduce elementary youth to biomedical engineering and medical robotics. Learners use Micro:bits to recreate existing medical technology and build computational thinking skills.
A warm up activity in the Medical Heroes package. Youth learn the basics of the Microsoft MakeCode programming environment by creating code that paces a flashing LED heart.
The Problem. When I arrived at Digital Harbor Foundation, the existing content took the general form of teaching a coding tool directly and finding applications after the tutorial processes are over. While there are certainly worse ways to teach tech, direct instruction of programming does little to persuade disinterested youth to begin their computer science journey. In informal learning environments, sustaining and catalyzing interest in STEM is far more important than specific learning outcomes.
The Goal. When I had the opportunity to create the next unit of physical computing curriculum, I wanted to create a unit where the tutorials were integrated within a larger STEM context to capture a broader scope of interests.
The Solutions. I created a youth facing curriculum complete with educator facing lesson plans that walk students through recreating (and improving!) existing medical technologies using the Micro:bit. Learners without a discrete interest in coding can still feel as though a portion of the program is 'for them' whether they are interested in something like biology, physics, fitness, or video games. My goal with every youth-facing curriculum is not to convince an audience to be interested in STEM but to show my learners that they are already interested in STEM.
Images of the Micro:bit and MakeCode environment are property of BBC and Microsoft respectively.
