NanoExperiences: Pathways to Workforce Success

纳米经验：通往劳动力成功的途径是一个校外项目，支持高中学生在职业和技术教育中为与纳米科学技术相关的多种STEM职业道路的中学后教育做准备。该项目建立在由美国中部大陆教育与学习研究中心（McREL）开发和测试的NS&amp；T教学材料、McREL正在开发的专业发展以及最近关于构建以学术为重点的校外项目的建议的基础上。为期一年的课程将背景知识的学术学习与额外的支持相结合。在第一个春季，来自两所学校的20名学生和他们的家长将被介绍NS&amp；T的概念、工具和仪器；NS&amp；T相关职业；以及社会影响。五个三个小时的课程包括大型小组会议，NS&amp；T行业员工的演示（真实和虚拟的），以及会议之间的团队合作项目。在夏季，学生和他们的家长计划并实地访问使用NS&amp；T的行业，并计划他们与NS&amp；T相关的职业生涯的期末项目。在秋季，学生们计划在11月的研讨会上展示他们的项目。该项目将评估和完善经验，以便在第二年对同一所学校的20名学生和另外两所学校的20名学生进行修改。开发和测试的纳米体验工具包为科罗拉多州高中提供了指导，以与包括科罗拉多州社区学院系统在内的州合作伙伴复制该计划。该项目是围绕职业和技术教育项目的共同特点设计的，应该在全国范围内有用。评估由外部评估人员完成，衡量学生的参与程度以及对学生学习、兴趣和演讲技巧的影响。评估还调查了与企业的合作，以及可扩展性的证据，以确定纳米体验可以作为一个国家模型。通过对教师、学生和合作者的调查和访谈、学生评估和观察收集数据。战略项目的目标是创建一个开发校外时间计划的国家模式，以提高职业和技术教育学生对STEM密集型职业的兴趣和能力。

NanoExperiences: Pathways to Workforce Success is an out-of-school program that supports high school students in Career and Technical Education to prepare for post secondary education in multiple STEM career pathways related to nanoscale science and technology (NS&T). The project builds on NS&T instructional materials developed and tested by Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL), and others, on professional development being developed by McREL and on recent recommendations for structuring academically-focused out-of-school programs. The one-year program combines academic learning of background information with additional supports. In the first spring 20 students and their parents in two schools are introduced to NS&T concepts, tools and instrumentation; NS&T related occupations; and societal implications. The five three hour sessions include large group meetings, presentations (both real and virtual) by workers in NS&T industries with teamwork projects between sessions. In the summer, students and their parents plan for and make on-site visits at industries using NS&T and plan for their final projects on an NS&T related career. In the fall, students plan the presentation on their project to be given in a symposium in November. The project will evaluate and refine the experiences to modify the program for the second year with 20 students in the same schools and 20 more students in two other schools. A NanoExperiences Toolkit developed and tested provides guidance for Colorado high schools to replicate the program with state partners including the Colorado Community College System. The project is designed around common features of Career and Technology Education programs and should be useful across the nation. The evaluation, done by an external evaluator, measures student participation and the impact on student learning, interest and presentation skills. The evaluation also investigates the collaborations with businesses, and the evidence for scalability to determine that NanoExperiences can serve as a national model. Data are collected through teacher, student and collaborator surveys and interviews, student assessments, and observations. The goal of the strategies project is to create a national model for developing an out-of-school time program to increase career and technical education students' interest and ability in STEM intensive careers.