An instructional workflow for interdisciplinary prototype design in biology and engineering

Interdisciplinary collaboration between biology and engineering students can be difficult to implement within traditional undergraduate coursework, despite increasing demand for students to develop collaborative technical skills. To address this challenge, we developed an instructional workflow that connected introductory biology and engineering students through the design, fabrication, and testing of field-delivery prototypes inspired by agricultural research relevant to the local community. Directly linking the project to a regional issue and to interactions with collaborating scientists strengthened student engagement and investment in the work. Coordinating the initial interactions between the groups of students was supported by implementing an onboarding activity designed to identify disciplinary perspectives, knowledge gaps, and collaborative challenges prior to prototype development. Students were also introduced to the importance of developing simple, minimum viable prototypes that allowed for more rapid design and testing iterations. Reciprocal peer instruction throughout the workflow required students to share their discipline-specific knowledge to overcome challenges related to biological constraints, field application considerations, microscopy, computer-aided design, and 3D printing. Accountability measures gauged student progress and included weekly progress updates, laboratory and design notebooks, and final presentations to collaborating scientists. Overall, the workflow provided students with experience working across disciplines while developing communication, teamwork, and prototype development skills.