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2006 PD Summer Workshops - Metro-school Teachers Tackle Nanosciences >
July 14 2006, Reported by Professor Weijie Lu


Fourteen science teachers from metro middle and high schools and six students from the Fisk teacher certification program were intently bent over worktables measuring laser beams and building a scanning probe microscope model in a classroom at Fisk University from June 12-16, 2006. The National Center for Learning and Teaching in Nanoscale Science and Engineering (NCLT), headquartered at Northwestern University, is the first national center for learning and teaching of nanoscale science and engineering education in the US, and sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF). This year, Fisk University hosted the first NCLT workshop for Nashville science teachers in cooperation with Ms. Sarah Baker, the science coordinator of Metropolitan Nashville public Schools.
scanning probe group
The teachers are working on the Scanning Probe Microscopy Module The participating teachers

Collins

This one-week long workshop offered science teachers opportunities to work with nanoscience researchers, science educators, and learning tool experts in content development and laboratory experiments from Northwestern, Fisk, and Vanderbilt universities. The activities included: (1) learning material and curriculum development in nanoscale sciences, (2) introducing nanoscience in the classroom of 7-12 grades; and (3) knowing local research and educational activities at Fisk and Vanderbilt universities.

Nanoscale sciences deals with objects with the sizes about one thousandths of human hair — the science will someday lead to extraordinary advances in electronics, medicine, and many other fields. The participating teachers came from seven metro high schools and three middle schools. “This workshop provides us a great opportunity to know the excitements in the fields of nanosciences, and I am very interested and excited to be involved in this project”, commented Lisa Bastedo, a science teacher from Hillwood High School. “With this workshop, we are forming an important collaboration between the metro-schools and local universities”, said Prof. W. E. Collins, physics professor and the program director.

Prof. W. Eugene Collins, Associate Provost and the Director of the Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics of Fisk University, introduces the workshop

Chang

As the Director of NCLT, Professor Robert Chang stated: "Fisk University has done an outstanding job working with the NCLT and Vanderbilt University to organize this very successful workshop. I was thrilled to see the teachers' excitement as they worked on nanoscience experiments and design activities, and I am certain that their enthusiasm will help reinvigorate science education in the region. By providing this kind of hands-on professional development, we are empowering science teachers to help their students understand the relevance and everyday applications of nanoscale science and engineering. We hope to hold many more such workshops in years to come." The workshop for Nashville Teachers will continue in the summer 2007. For more information on the program, contact the coordinator Prof. Weijie Lu at 329-8625 or visit www.nclt.us.

View workshop schedule:Schedule (pdf, 19kb) View gallery: Fisk_pictures

Prof. R. P. H. Chang, the NCLT director introduces the NCLT

Last updated: October 17, 2006