Work in progress — Influences of student experiential background in a problem-based multidisciplinary microfluidics laboratory course

This paper will focus on student experiences in a multidisciplinary microfluidics laboratory course and how these related to students' course expectations, prior experiences and collaboration in laboratory groups as well as other factors. The course under discussion, initially developed at the University of Cincinnati, is a laboratory course that introduces undergraduate and graduate students to microfluidic device development. A unique aspect of the course, which is comprised of modeling, fabrication, and analysis of SU-8 micromixers, is the focus on an extended problem-based learning example that underlies all course activities. This course is an application in microfluidics, a multidisciplinary field that deals with the behavior and precise control of microliter and nanoliter volumes. The course is currently being expanded to four other universities with the assistance of an NSF CCLI Phase II grant (DUE-0814911). The dissemination at several sites allows the opportunity to examine the effects of differing student backgrounds on their experience with and reactions to the course structure and make recommendations to the project team regarding future pedagogical modifications that should be made to improve student learning and interest in pursuing microfluidics.