The Nanoscience Education Resource: Translating Current Research into Educational Tools

科学课程标准的一个主要目标是为学生提供机会，了解产生这些特征的微观相互作用方面的宏观特征。我们的跨学科项目团队已经开发了一套有助于实现这一目标的教学材料。这些材料的一个关键特征是使用分子动力学，这是近年来发展起来的一项技术，它根据支配原子和分子运动的规律来编程原子和分子的运动。因此，学生可以实时观察微观行为，并使用分屏软件程序同时看到相应的宏观行为。通过改变系统的条件(例如，体积、压力或温度)，学生可以更好地理解微观和宏观属性如何取决于这些条件。从定性概念的演示到探索和自我发现的全面工具，这些互动材料正在被用于知识深度的连续体，它们被用于教授数学、化学、生物和物理等主题以及工程和医学的应用主题。该项目正在通过开发新的多学科课程模块来增强现有材料，这些模块将当前的纳米科学分子建模研究与科学教育相结合。正在开发的主题包括纳米管和巴克球、分子马达和分子机器、蛋白质折叠、聚集形成和解离，如动脉粥样硬化和阿尔茨海默病、晶体生长和设计膜。通过现有的研究合作，该团队正在(1)开发新的本科科学课程模块(课程和软件工具)，侧重于处理将各种科学和工程学科结合在一起的纳米级概念，(2)通过基于实验室的扩展波士顿大学现有的SMET课程来提供课堂测试材料，(3)促进基于网络的社区建设和支持，以及(4)在2年制和4年制本科院校实施教师发展原型计划。该项目正在从学生学习、课堂实践和对代表性不足人群的影响方面进行评估。

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.