How to Teach Nanoscience
What Works: Active Learning!
Best Practices in STEM education apply to the teaching of Nanotechnology/Science. The jury is in: the evidence clearly shows that active learning is the most effective mode of instruction. See recent contributions:
- Active Learning Increases Student Performance in Science, Engineering and Mathematics--Scott Freeman, Sarah L. Eddy, Miles McDonough, Michelle K. Smith, Nnadozie Okoroafor, Hannah Jordt, and Mary Pat Wenderoth, PNAS June 10, 2014. 111 (23) 8410-8415.
- Handelsman, J., Miller, S., Miller, S. M. L., Pfund, C., and Teaching, W. P. f. S., 2007, Scientific Teaching, W. H. Freeman.
- Handelsman, J., Ebert-May, D., Beichner, R., Bruns, P., Chang, A., DeHaan, R., Gentile, J., Lauffer, S., Stewart, J., and Tilghman, S. M., 2004, Scientific teaching, American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Strategies and Methods of Active Learning
The National Science Foundation, Directorate for Education and Human Resources, and the Division of Undergraduate Education have invested significant resources in the design, development, and assessment of curricular materials and methods. Here is a compilation of resources to support excellence in STEM education.
From the On the Cutting Edge Program for Geoscience Faculty Professional Development
Although the examples in these websites may be focused on the geosciences, the principles are universal among STEM disciplines:
Course Design Tutorial: The Course Design Tutorial from the award winning On the Cutting Edge Program for Faculty Professional Development; this tutorial uses the "Reverse Design" strategy of Wiggins and McTighe (2005) that focuses on goal setting of student learning outcomes, alignment of instructional activities, and use of authentic assessments.
- The Affective Domain in the Classrroom--addresses those factors that affect students' ability to learn: motivation, curiosity, fear....
- The Role of Metacognition in Learning--developing an awareness about one's own learning processes; self-monitoring and self-regulating behaviors that lead to purposeful, lifelong learning.
- Developing Student Understanding of Complex Systems in the Geosciences--feedback mechanisms, non-linear behavior, strongly interdependent variables, chaotic behavior, metastable states, emergent phenomena, sensitivity to initial conditions, factal geometry, self-organized criticality....
- Teaching Petrology Using the Primary Scientific Literature--Use readings from the primary literature to: provide a historical perspective of our science; promote critical thinking; help students develop analytical and synthetic thinking; demonstrate applications of modern scientific methods and techniques; and prepare students to begin to contribute to our scientific heritage.
Resources from Pedagogy in Action
Demonstrated Best Practices from Pedagogy in Action Includes descriptions of over 50 tested instructional methods including Engaged Instruction (emphasis on student-student interactions with faculty serving as facilitator), Teaching with Visualizations, Teaching with Data, Quantitative Reasoning and much more. Each pedagogic approach is described succinctly so you can quickly understand how the technique might be relevant to your teaching. Written by fellow educators, these descriptions include tips for effectively using each technique, related research on their impacts on learning, as well as a set of example activities.
Research embedded in coursework:
Undergraduate Research as Teaching Practice with advice on preparing students and faculty for research experiences, strategies for embedding research in courses, project development and management, training in use of instruments, mentoring of students, assessment, and dissemination of results.
- For students in upper division STEM courses: Strategies to Involve Undergraduates in Research: Upper Division Courses, Independent Study, and REU's--The materials in this module were developed as part of a collaborative project of the Council on Undergraduate Research (more info) (CUR) and the On the Cutting Edge program for geoscience faculty development with funding from the National Science Foundation. Information on benefits of undergraduate research for students, faculty and institutions; preparing for research; examples of research projects currently in practice; recruiting and mentoring research students; managment and sustainability of undergraduate research programs; opimizing instrumentation in support of research; assessment of undergraduate research; and dissemination and communication plans.
- For students in introductory courses (it's never too early to start!) Undergraduate Research: Engaging Students in the First Two Years--a workshop to address The President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST, 2012) Engage to Excel: Producing One Million Additional College Graduates with Degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (Acrobat (PDF) 5.2MB Jun18 18). A key recommentation is to "Advocate and provide support for replacing standard laboratory courses with discovery-based research courses. Traditional introductory laboratory courses generally do not capture the creativity of STEM disciplines...engag[e] students in experiments with the possibility of true discovery...explore the unknown...Expand the use of scientific research and engineering design courses in the first two years." See a summary of Engage to Excel by David Mogk.
Resources for K-12 Nano-Education
Nano Education Resources-- Quinn Spadola, Lisa Friedersdorf (2017). Nano Education Resources. (Version 3.0.0). nanoHUB."This database lists nanoscale science and engineering education resources by topic area, grade level, core discipline, STEM content area, and resource type."
Southeastern Nanotechnology Infrastructure Corridor (SENIC) Education Resources--includes outreach demonstration guides, instruction sheets, and other resources.
For K-12 Teachers from Nano.gov
Nano-Link Center for Nanotechnology Education--"Nano-Link Alliance Members are the acknowledged experts in nanotechnology education: igniting nanoscience education, generating excitement among students and strengthening the country by supplying a highly skilled workforce for industry."
International Benchmark Workshop on K-12 Nanoscale Science and Engineering Education--NSF sponsored workshop held in 2010; download the report from this link.
Some Ethical Issues Related to Experiential Learning
The National Society for Experiential Education has provided Guiding Principles of Ethical Practice.