The Nanoscience Education Resource: Translating Current Research into Educational Tools

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A major goal of science curriculum standards is to provide students with an opportunity to understand macroscopic features in terms of the microscopic interactions that give rise to those features. Our cross-disciplinary project team has developed a set of instructional materials that help to achieve this goal. A key feature of these materials is the use of molecular dynamics, a technique developed in recent years that programs the motion of atoms and molecules based on the laws that govern their motion. Thus, a student can observe, in real time, the microscopic behavior and, using split-screen software programs, can simultaneously see the corresponding macroscopic behavior. By changing the conditions of the system (e.g., volume, pressure, or temperature), the student can better understand how both microscopic and macroscopic properties depend on these conditions. These interactive materials are being used across a continuum of intellectual depth, from the demonstration of qualitative concepts to a full-edged tool of exploration and self-discovery, and they are being used to teach a topics such as mathematics, chemistry, biology, and physics as well as applied topics in engineering and medicine. This project is enhancing existing materials by development of new multidisciplinary curriculum modules that integrate current nanoscience molecular modeling research with science education. Topics such as nanotubes and buckyballs, molecular motors and molecular machines, protein folding, aggregate formation and dissociation such as atherosclerosis and Alzheimer's disease, crystal growth, and designer membranes are being developed. Through existing research collaborations, the team is (1) developing new undergraduate science curriculum modules (curriculum and software tools) that focus on the treatment of nanoscale concepts that unite various scientific and engineering disciplines, (2) classroom-testing materials through laboratory-based extensions to existing SMET courses at Boston University, (3) fostering Web-based community-building and support, and (4) implementing a prototype teacher development program for faculty at 2- and 4-year undergraduate institutions. The project is being evaluated in terms of student learning, classroom practice, and impact on underrepresented populations.