Nanoscale Science and Engineering Education (NSEE)—The Next Steps (original) (raw)

2015, Journal of Nano Education

Identify and leverage insertion points that can be linked across grade levels for NSE concepts in existing standards and curricula.  Create a central, searchable NSEE portal repository for teachers (possible models and/or partners included nanoHUB and the National Science Teachers Association). CC/TC  Create a best practices manual which builds on the efforts of the Nanotechnology Applications and Career Knowledge (NACK) Network, Nano-Link, and others to help with nationwide translation, replication, and tailoring of programs to specific local and regional needs. This manual should reflect the multitude and diversity of approaches. Undergraduate  Create and promote interdisciplinary cooperation and professional development opportunities among educators.  Promote the interdisciplinary nature and societal impacts of NSE in order to increase diversity in the student population. Graduate  Address the pipeline for students entering graduate education with special attention to building and maintaining trusted relationships with institutions which traditionally serve underrepresented groups in order to encourage underrepresented populations in STEM and NSE. Continuing  Identify the resources already available, for example from the ATE Centers or courses on nanoHUB, and make it easy for anyone to assemble these into learning packages tailored to specific curricula need. Informal  Refocus NSE outreach efforts around specific applications that address societal Grand Challenges in order to increase relevance and interest for the public.  Expand the reach of the Nanoscale Informal Science Education (NISE) Network beyond museums and research centers to youth-serving, community based national organizations that reach a broad demographic including underserved and underrepresented audiences. Consideration of all the recommendations leads to a number of key findings that cut across the stages (the following list is not prioritized):  Identify, develop, and evolve the NSEE workforce skillset requirements (and the education stages necessary to acquire those skills).  Review the existing NSEE efforts to identify and disseminate best practices. (As a start, the existing web accessible K-12 teaching aides have been collated in Appendix D.)  Identify, evolve, and/or develop NSEE materials with well-defined links to appropriate standards and curricula. Additionally, promote that material scale-up and widespread use of those materials.  Establish a central, searchable, e-portal that identifies and provides links to vetted NSEE materials, is readily accessible, designed for intuitive use, and sustainable.  Develop a national network of regional education hubs that effectively utilize the diverse stakeholder communities, leverage national forums, and address the challenges identified in the other recommendations.  Establish clearly defined, nanotechnology-enabled approaches toward the solution of societal Grand Challenges in order to engage students, underrepresented populations, and general public interest. The Commonwealth of Virginia and the state of Colorado recently incorporated nanotechnology into their new K-12 Science Standards of Learning. As they work to implement those standards, there is an immediate opportunity for the NSEE community to assist. The National Nanotechnology Coordination Office (NNCO) has an interest and charter in promulgating NSEE at a national scale. Workshop funds were used to procure selected teaching aides that were displayed at the workshop exhibition. The NNCO will use those materials in its national level NSEE efforts.