Insertion points of the essential nanoscale science and technology (NST) concepts in the Israeli middle school science and technology curriculum
-
Abstract
If we wish to integrate modern science such as nanotechnology into the school science curriculum, we need to find the natural insertion point of modern science with the science, technology, engineering and math curriculum. However, integrating nanoscale science and technology (NST) essential concepts into the middle school science curriculum is challenging. The current study was designed to identify the insertion points of the eight NST essential concepts in the middle school science and technology curriculum. Middle school science and technology teachers underwent a course that included all eight NST essential concepts, aiming to help them understand the NST essential concepts in depth. Then, they were asked to identify a natural insertion point in the existing science and technology curriculum for each of the NST essential concepts. To support research validation, two different groups of teachers participated in two sequential stages of the study (the identification stage and the validation stage). The teachers in the identification stage identified the insertion points of all eight NST essential concepts in the subjects of the science and technology curriculum, which reflects the relevance of the NST concepts from the teachers’ perspective in terms of pedagogical level. The majority of the identified insertion points were validated in the second stage. Forty-two insertion points of the NST essential concepts were suggested to be integrated in middle school science and technology curriculum. All the insertion points that were suggested in the identification stage were confirmed in the validation stage. Another 11 new insertion points were added at the validation stage. The connections to the different scientific subjects in the curriculum are as follows: 19 insertion points were suggested by the teachers in the chemistry part of the chemistry curriculum, 12 in the life science, four in the physics-energy, and seven in technology-systems and products. The results present the opportunity to expose middle school students to contemporary science using the existing science and technology curriculum. The study serves as an example of integrating NST concepts into a middle school science curriculum in Israel, but it can be applied in other science curricula worldwide, taking into consideration the topics included in each curriculum.
1 Theoretical framework
Dewey’s pragmatic philosophy, the Pragmatism [1], which relates to his methods of teaching, was based on the notion that direct experience is the basis of any relevant knowledge or information of individuals. Accordingly, learning takes place in concrete and meaningful situations, through spontaneous activities of children. Dewey’s methods of teaching were based on the principles of learning by doing activities in connection with the life of a child and those that related to the child’s experience in the future. Such experiences raise the child’s curiosity and give him/her a purpose to carry out school activities. This participation mounds the student’s views and perceptions about the world [1]. In addition, Dewey [2] stressed that education should introduce students to new scientific and technological developments in order to prepare them for the future. Exposing students to nanotechnology applications shows them how modern science works and how helpful it is for finding solutions to everyday life problems that could not be resolved in other ways [3]. A review of the literature shows that different programs have been developed in order to introduce nanoscale science and technology (NST) into middle school science programs. Several of these programs will be described next, along with their educational influence.
NST [4] is now recognized as a megatrend in science and engineering [5]. Since 2000, more discoveries and applications have come from nanotechnology than from any other field of science, and it is still a very important field, as reflected from a recent review [6]. Nanotechnology is used to design, construct, and utilize functional structures with at least one characteristic dimension measured in nanometers. Such functional structures can be designed to exhibit novel and significantly improved physical, chemical, and biological properties; phenomena; and processes because of the limited size of their constituent particles or molecules. Nanotechnology applications have penetrated all aspects of society, affecting everyday human life and needs in addition to their great contribution to the prosperity of the worldwide economy. To meet the needs of this emerging field, the next generation of leaders, skilled workers, scientists, and researchers in nanoscience need to be prepared to ensure continuing future progress in the field [3], [5], [7]. According to Laherto [8], all citizens will soon need to achieve a certain level of nanoliteracy in order to navigate the science-based issues related to their everyday lives as well as the societal aspects and to intelligently question and understand the ethical and societal implications of these revolutionary technologies [9]. Roco [7] stated that education is a key challenge for nanotechnology and that it must be given a priority in order to meet these needs. He described the importance of education for the future development of the nanotechnology field stresses that education serve as a bottleneck for the development of the field.
From an educational perspective, Dewey [2] mentioned that education should introduce students to new scientific and technological developments in order to prepare them for the future. Exposing students to nanotechnology applications shows them how modern science works and how helpful it is for finding solutions to everyday life problems that could not be resolved in other ways [3]. A review of the literature shows that different programs were developed in order to introduce NST into the middle school science program. Several of these programs will be described next, along with their educational influence.
1.1 Programs in nanotechnology for middle school science
Great effort has been made all around the world to integrate nanoeducation into school science. Many studies and projects have been conducted worldwide to develop NST educational programs. A number of approaches for incorporating nanoeducation at the secondary school level have already been designed and implemented internationally. Jones et al. [10] developed a program for introducing nanoscale science to middle and high school students. The program provided activities relating to several aspects of nanotechnology, such as size and scale, tools and techniques, the uniqueness of nanomaterial properties and behaviors, nanotechnology applications, and societal implications while maintaining a broad inquiry approach. Harmer and Columba [11] conducted a study aimed at exploring the factors that contributed to middle school students’ engagement learning during a problem-based inquiry. The problem-based inquiry introduced nanoscale science to the students and discussed the nanotechnology-based solutions offered. The researchers [11] assessed students’ knowledge and their extent of engagement in the activity by using quantitative and qualitative tools. They found that students’ knowledge of nanoparticle size measurement, applications, and the use of electrons in a scanning electron microscope had increased. The project increased students’ understanding of basic concepts in nanotechnology, increased their understanding of core science concepts, and supported inquiry-based learning. Another curricular unit, “NanoLeap,” designed for middle school students, was developed and implemented in secondary schools [12]. This unit was designed to include transitional concepts that link core science concepts, as found in the National Science Education Standards, and those that are defined in the Big Ideas in Nanoscience [13].
In a different study, a nanotechnology module was developed [14] for ninth grade students in the context of teaching chemistry. Two basic concepts in nanotechnology were chosen: (1) size and scale and (2) the surface area to volume ratio (SA/V). In this module, a wide spectrum of instructional methods (e.g. game-based learning, learning with multimedia, learning with models, project-based learning, storytelling, and narratives) was implemented to support students’ understanding. Students’ interviews and the content of their final projects were analyzed to learn how using a variety of teaching methods influenced their understanding of these two basic concepts in nanotechnology. In addition, the study examined which methods supported the development of students’ understanding and which did not, according to students’ perceptions. Students felt that most of the teaching methods facilitated their learning. Based on the study’s results, recommendations were formulated regarding methods that should be used for teaching nanotechnology in the future.
A 12-h instructional unit was designed to deepen students’ understanding of the concept “size and scale,” which is poorly understood by secondary students [15]. The students who participated in this program were middle school summer science students from a low socioeconomic status public school district in the United States. The unit included instructional activities, the use of microscopes, computer simulations, and scale models. Interviews were conducted before and after the intervention, indicating that the students significantly increased their knowledge of various objects’ sizes, particularly objects at the nanoscale size.
1.2 The challenge
Despite these successful programs, the idea of integrating nanoscience into a school science curriculum often faces many difficulties. First, the science curriculum is already overloaded [16] with content whose consequences are too often aggregations of isolated facts detached from their scientific origin [17]. Second, adding new concepts raises the question regarding how these new concepts can be integrated into the current curriculum [18]. We therefore conducted the current study, which was designed to deal with the challenges described above and focused on integrating NST concepts into the existing middle school science curriculum in Israel.
In a previous study [4], [19], eight essential NST concepts and five recommended nanotechnology applications that should be taught in school science were identified. The study was based on a three-round Delphi study methodology that was applied, based on two communities of experts: nanotechnology researchers and science teachers. Each of the NST essential concepts was accompanied by its explanation, definition, an explanation of why it is important to be taught, followed by the connection between the NST concepts that are needed for teaching the selected applications. The eight NST essential concepts are as follows: (1) size-dependent properties, (2) innovations and applications of nanotechnology, (3) size and scale, (4) characterization methods, (5) functionality, (6) classification of nanomaterials, (7) fabrication approaches of nanomaterials, and (8) the making of nanotechnology. The five NST-suggested applications are (1) nanomedicine, (2) nanoelectronics, (3) photovoltaic cells, (4) nanobots, and (5) self-cleaning. A detailed explanation of the importance of each concept will be represented in the results section of the current study and more in-depth explanations are provided in Sakhnini and Blonder [4], [19].
2 Research goal and research question
The significance of the current research is to bring the science of tomorrow into current school science curriculum, making science classes more relevant to students by engaging them to the frontier of science [20].
The goal of the current research is to determine the insertion points of the essential NST concepts in the existing middle school science and technology curriculum in Israel. The results of the research will provide a representative example of inserting NST essential concepts into other middle school science and technology curricula worldwide. Therefore, the research will support implementing the NST essential concepts into middle school science and technology not only in Israel. Therefore, we suggested the following research question: “What are the insertion points for the essential NST concepts in the existing middle school science curriculum in Israel?”
3 The study
The current study used the science and technology curriculum implemented in Israel for middle school students (grades 7–9). In Israel, NST is not part of the general science or technology curriculum; however, it was shown [21] that NST has a good potential to serve as a bridge between the basic sciences, and we wish to apply this characteristic in the interdisciplinary curriculum of science and technology in the Israeli middle schools. The Israeli middle school science curriculum is spiral and consists of four main scientific domains: chemistry, life sciences (biology), physics-energy, and technology (technological systems and applications or products). Each of these main scientific areas contains several subsubjects. Next, the structure of the middle school science and technology curriculum in Israel will be discussed for the international readers.
In the chemistry part of the curriculum, the subsubjects that are taught include the following: (1) the structure of matter (the particle model), atomic structure, elements, and characteristics, organizing the periodic table, compounds and mixtures, and the chemists’ language; (2) objects, materials, and their properties and uses; (3) physical and chemical changes in materials and the principle of mass conservation; and (4) the effect of substance use on individuals, society, and the environment. The second part of the curriculum, life sciences (biology), contains the following subsubjects: (1) the cell, (2) ecological systems, and (3) systems and processes in living organisms. The physics-energy part of the curriculum includes the following subsubjects: (1) types of energy, energy conversion, and the law of energy conservation; (3) energy resources, energy production and its uses; (4) forces and motion; and (5) the effects of energy use on individuals, society, and the environment. The last part of the curriculum relates to technology (technological systems and applications or products). The technology part includes the following subsubjects: (1) the design process as a way to solve technological problems, (2) the essence of technology and the relationship between technology and science, (3) characterization of a technological system, and (4) the impact of technology on society and the environment.
In order to identify places in the science and technology curriculum in which the NST essential concepts could be naturally integrated, we designed a methodology that is teacher centered [20]. Compiling the teachers’ suggestions allowed us to suggest a coherent teaching narrative that describes the sequence of integrating the NST concepts during the 3 years of middle school science and why teachers think it is appropriate to integrate a specific concept into the curricular subjects and topics.
4 Methodology
The methodology used to answer the research question consisted of two stages: (1) identification (Section 4.1) and (2) validation (Section 4.2). Each of the two stages included two steps: (a) a personal input of the teachers and (b) focus group interviews. Focus group interview methodology is particularly suitable for obtaining several perspectives about the same topic [22]. Focus group research involves an organized discussion with a selected group of individuals to gain information about their views and experiences regarding a topic, as well as insights into experts’ shared understanding of the topic. The recommended number of participants is usually four to eight. Focus group interviews, however, rely on the interactions and dynamics within the group in relation to topics that are provided by the researcher. To use the focus group interview as a forum for change, the moderator (the researcher) must allow the participants to talk to each other, ask questions, and express doubts and opinions [23] by applying the focus group methodology, we hope to raise a hidden insertion point of the NST essential concepts in the science and technology curricula that were not suggested in the personal stage of the data collection and to provide the participants the opportunity to explain their ideas.
4.1 The identification stage
At this stage of the research, the participants underwent a course that included the NST essential concepts [24]. After learning each of the NST concepts, the participants (middle school teachers) were asked to individually find (and write) insertion points for the essential NST concepts in the curriculum and explain why they think the concept should be integrated into the suggested insertion points. After writing down their individual suggestions for the insertion points for each NST essential concept, a discussion was held during their next meeting. In the discussion, teachers could clarify their ideas of integrating the essential concepts into the curriculum and could share their ideas with the research team and their colleagues. This discussion was followed by the researchers’ categorization and classification of the teachers’ suggested insertion points for each concept and their related explanations, according to the curricular topics.
4.2 The validation stage
The validation process began 1 year later. Other teachers (middle school science and technology teachers) underwent a new online nanotechnology course, in a Moodle learning environment, in the form of short videos [25]. The course had a structure identical to the course given to the teachers at the identification stage and included video lessons in nanotechnology and reading assignments. Teachers were required to perform the same assignment as the teachers in the identification stage. Namely, after learning each of the concepts, the teachers were asked to suggest insertion points for the NST concepts in the middle school science, technology, engineerings and math (STEM) curriculum and to share them on a collective Padlet board. The purpose of the Padlet board was to create a virtual focus group – a virtual environment in which the teachers share their ideas and see the ideas of their colleagues. In the validation stage, the researchers looked for insertion points that were already identified in the previous stage (for validation). However, when new insertion points were suggested, they were added to the pool to enlarge the possible places in the curriculum in which each NST essential concept could be integrated.
4.3 Participants
4.3.1 The identification stage
The participants were experienced (5–15 years of experience) middle school STEM teachers (n=4) who underwent a newly designed course, tailored for teachers, which included the NST essential concepts. The course was given in the framework of a MSc program for teachers [26]. The teachers who participated in the course did not have previous formal knowledge in nanotechnology. The course included 58 h devoted to the scientific contents and 28 h conducted as a workshop that dealt with the connection of the scientific contents to the educational field. The course was conducted during one academic semester. The teachers’ assignments in the second part of the course (connection to education) were collected, as described in the methodology, and served as the data for this part of the study. The teachers gave their signed written consent to participate in the research, and their names were coded to protect their privacy during the data analysis process.
4.3.2 The validation stage
Five middle school teachers (n=5) participated in the online nanotechnology course that included the NST essential concepts for the validation process.
The participants in this stage of the research were experienced middle school science and technology teachers with 5–15 years of teaching experience. They participated in an online course for science and technology teachers, “Introduction to Materials and Nanotechnology,” that was based on video lessons and that was given by the same lecturer [25]. The online course included the eight NST essential concepts. The course length was 30 h and it was conducted for one semester. The science and technology teachers participated in the course for credits that influence their professional level and salary. While registering to the course, they signed a consent form regarding participation in the research and their names were coded to protect their privacy during the data analysis process.
5 Results
The teachers suggested insertions points for all eight NST concepts in the middle school science and technology curriculum, including all four scientific domains for grades 7–9. They identified the insertion points of all the NST essential concepts in the chemistry subjects of the curriculum. In the life sciences domain, insertion points were found for most of the NST essential concepts except “classification of nanomaterials concepts.” However, they suggested integrating the concepts “innovations and applications of nanotechnology,” “size and scale,” “characterization methods,” and “the making of nanotechnology” into the technology subject of the curriculum and three concepts into the physics parts of the curriculum: “innovations and applications of nanotechnology,” “fabrication approaches of nanomaterial (self-assembly),” and “the making of nanotechnology.” Table 1 and Figure 1 present a summary of the resulting insertion points of the NST essential concepts in the Israeli middle school science curriculum, which was suggested by the teachers according to the four curricular domains (chemistry, life sciences, physics-energy, and technology).
Number of suggested insertion points of the NST concepts in the Israeli middle school science and the technology curriculum according to the four domains of the curriculum.
| NST essential concepts | Curriculum subjects | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chemistry | Life sciences | Physics-energy | Technology: systems and products | |
| (1) Size-dependent properties | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| (2) Innovations and applications of nanotechnology | 1+1a | 2+1a | 3 | 2 |
| (3) Size and scale | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1a |
| (4) Characterization methods | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| (5) Functionality | 1+1a | 2a | 0 | 0 |
| (6) Classification of nanomaterials | 1+2a | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| (7) Fabrication approaches of nanomaterials (self-assembly) | 1+1a | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| (8) The making of nanotechnology | 3+1a | 2 | 1a | 3 |
| Sum | 19 | 12 | 4 | 7 |
aInsertion points that were added at the validation stage.
Insertion points of the essential nanotechnology concepts in the Israeli middle school science curriculum. Each curricular domain and its subsubjects are presented in a different color: orange=chemistry subjects; red=life sciences; blue=technology; and green=physics (energy subject). *The essential concepts that were raised in the validation stage.
The results of the insertion points for the eight NST essential concepts will each be presented in separate tables (Tables 2–8). Each table includes the suggested insertion points of a concept in the different curricular subjects for grades 7–9, as well as quotations and explanations given by the teachers, explaining the suitability of the integration. For each of the NST concepts, the definitions, which were obtained from previous studies [4], [19], will be presented. In order to demonstrate how the NST essential concepts can be integrated in the teaching sequence of middle school STEM, a detailed narrative of one NST concept in the existing STEM curriculum will be presented. This narrative is based on teachers’ suggestions, which describe how one of the NST essential concepts (e.g. size and scale) can be integrated in the STEM curriculum during the 3 years of middle school.
Suggested insertion points of the essential concept “size-dependent properties” into different topics of the middle school science and technology curriculum with samples of teachers’ quotations explaining the insertion points.
| Curriculum subjects | Teacher’s explanation (teacher code, school grades in which the curricular topic is taught) |
|---|---|
| Chemistry: integrating the subconcept (SA/V) | |
| The structure of matter (the particle model) | “One can bring several everyday-life examples that relate to the concept, its meaning, and applications. For example, you can connect hanging laundry and the water evaporation ratea, heating by using ultra-thin heating plate radiators in contrast to one thick heating plate radiator, and can explain the differences between cooking in a deep pan in contrast to a wide pan” (teacher 1, grade 7) |
| Objects, materials, their properties and uses | “We teach that materials are characterized according to their properties and that this is the first place to introduce the students that these properties are also size dependent” (teacher 1, grade 7) “When we teach about thermal conductivity, it is important to mention that a bigger surface area increases the heat transfer of that area” (teacher 2, grade 8) |
| Physical and chemical changes in materials and the principle of mass conservation | “Students learn that the melting and boiling points of a substance characterizes that substance. However, when it comes to nanometer sizes, melting points become suddenly size-dependent and change for the same substance because of the change in the surface-area-to-volume ratio (SA/V). Next, the students are exposed to the notion that in the nano dimension the physical properties of a substance are size dependent” (teacher 1, grade 9) |
| Life sciences: integrating the subconcept (SA/V) | |
| Systems and processes in living organisms | “In this topic, we teach about the circulatory, respiratory, and the digestive systems and the important role of (SA/V) ratio in these systems. The roles of the latter two systems (circulatory, respiratory) are to provide nutrients and oxygen to the body. When the SA/V is higher in these systems, the absorption capacity of these systems in relation to the circulatory system increases and this is reflected in their structure” (teacher 3, grade 7) “We teach about the balance of heat in a living creature, the factors affecting this balance, and the physiological ways that help the living creature maintain its body heat constant” (teacher 1, grade 8) When teaching “the digestive system to stress its importance in food absorption and the transfer process for the blood system” (teacher 3, grade 9) |
| The cell | “To teach about the relationship between the surface area of a blood cell and its ability to absorb oxygen, the higher the surface area of the blood cell, the higher its oxygen absorption will be” (teacher 3, grade 9) |
| Ecological systems | “The ability of the plant to absorb light depends on its leaf’s surface-area-to-volume ratio and the leaves’ arrangement along the stalk” (teacher 1, grade 9) |
| Integrating the subconcept (defects) in | |
| Ecological systems | “One can introduce defects as a development or teach that a defect leads to an undesirable mutation. Then we can teach the students that biodiversity occurs because of defects in the organism’s development. For example, we can explain to ninth grade students that DNA might create defects in the inherited genes and cause several illnesses such as Down syndrome” (teacher 2, grade 9) |
| Physics-energy | |
| No insertion points were suggested | |
| Technology: systems and products | |
| No insertion points were suggested | |
aConcepts that are part of the middle school chemistry curriculum in Israel but could be considered as part of the physics curriculum in other countries.
Suggested insertion points of the essential concept “innovations and applications of nanotechnology” into different topics of the middle school science and technology curriculum with samples of teachers’ quotations explaining the insertion points.
| Curriculum subjects | Teacher’s explanation (teacher code, school grades in which the curricular topic is taught) |
|---|---|
| Chemistry: integrating the subconcept “current and future applications in nanotechnology” | |
| The structure of matter – compounds and mixturesa | “We teach that composite materials are manmade and that their combination makes their properties much different in contrast to each of the material’s properties separately, for example, fiberglass or reinforced concrete. Here we can introduce nanocomposite polymers” (teacher 4, grade 8) |
| Objects, materials, their properties and uses | “When we teach about the physical, chemical, and mechanical properties as the basis for choosing a material suitable for a certain product, we can give examples of creative applications of nanomaterials that are based on their unique properties. That, from my experience, can attract the students’ attention and increase their motivation towards studying science” (teacher 1, grade 7) |
| The effect of substance use on individuals, society, and the environment | “In this topic, we teach about how the preparations, processing, and the uses of certain materials may critically influence the environment and humans’ quality of life. When dealing with the benefits and risks of such materials, we can teach about the possible nanotechnology applications that afford solutions to reduce the environmental damage caused by using specific materials” (teacher 1, grades 7–9) “We can teach nanotechnology through creative applications, and I think we can focus on this level regarding the scientific research, its importance, and need for its products as part of what we teach regarding the influence of substances in the curriculum” (teacher 4, grade 9) |
| Life sciences: integrating the subconcepts “current and future applications in nanotechnology,” “mimicking nature,” and “risks and benefits of nanotechnology” | |
| Systems and processes in living organisms | “In the topic ‘systems and processes in living organisms,’ we teach about breeding, human involvement in breeding processes, and its influence on individuals, society, and the environment. We can relate to ethical issues, ‘benefits and risks of nanotechnology applications,’ before we teach about changes in DNA, cell cloning, use of genetic information for various purposes, discuss the ethical and environmental issues resulting from intervention in hereditary processes such as genetically modified foods” (teacher 1, grade 8) “Transitions of nutrients among different creatures involves energy transfer and energy conversion. We teach about cellular respiration as an energy supply process along with photosynthesis. I think here we can teach nanotechnology applications that the scientists developed (such as the new hybrid energy transfer system), which mimics the processes responsible for photosynthesis, for example. From photosynthesis to respiration, the process of light absorption and its transfer into energy represent elementary and essential reactions that occur in any biological living system” (teacher 4, grade 9) |
| The cell | “Throughout the grades 7–9, we teach about structure and function in living creatures, body systems, and their processes. We can connect this topic to the second subconcept ‘mimicking nature,’ to present the life sciences world as a world from which we can learn and utilize its processes to produce our applications. For example, we can mimic the lotus plant’s self-cleaning effect to produce nanotechnology applications for paintings, textile, and others” (teacher 2, grades 7–9) |
| Ecological systemsa | “We can teach about antibacterial nanoparticles in hospital bed sheets and the effect of washing machine water that flows into the sea and we can discuss the effects of these materials on the ecological system and different organisms in that environment” (teacher 5, grades 7–9) |
| Physics-energy: integrating the subconcepts “current and future applications in nanotechnology” and “risks and benefits of nanotechnology” | |
| Types of energy, energy conversion, and the law of energy conservation | “When teaching about energy, we relate to types of energy, energy conversion, energy resources, energy production and its uses, and how these uses influence human lives, society, and the environment. Here we can rely on innovative nanotechnology applications for generating electricity and producing energy (e.g. photovoltaic solar cells that are based on nanomaterials) and we can discuss with the students the ethical issues related to these uses. We can also discuss the benefits and risks of such nanotechnology application uses regarding human life, society, and the environment” (teacher 1, grades 7–9) |
| Technology: systems and products: integrating the subconcepts “current and future applications in nanotechnology” and “benefits and risks of nanotechnology” | |
| The essence of technology and the relation between technology and science | “When teaching about the uniqueness of humans and their ability to develop various means aimed at increasing their abilities and improving their quality of life, we can teach about current and future applications in nanotechnology. In addition, we can show the students the nanotechnology research and the development of the field” (teacher 4, grade 7) |
| The impact of technology on society and the environment | “When teaching about the involvement of humans in the environment and their influence on the ecological systems, we can relate to this subconcept ‘current and future applications in nanotechnology’” (teacher 1, grades 7–9) “When teaching about how technology influences society and the environment, we also consider the negative influences of this technology on human’s lifestyle and their quality of life. However, we can use technology to reduce these negative influences. Here we can relate to the subconcept ‘benefits and risks of nanotechnology’” (teacher 1, grades 7–9) |
aInsertion points that were added at the validation stage.
Suggested insertion points of the essential concept “size and scale” into different topics of the middle school science and technology curriculum with samples of teachers’ quotations explaining the insertion points.
| Curriculum subjects | Teacher’s explanation (teacher code, school grades in which the curricular topic is taught) |
|---|---|
| Chemistry | |
| The structure of matter (the particle model) | “It is appropriate to teach this concept to help students distinguish between the different particle sizes they are learning about” (teacher 1, grades 7+8) “At this level of the learning phase, the students start to relate to the atom’s size. Therefore, it’s worthwhile and natural to relate to other orders of magnitude and talk about the nanometer size, which is less known” (teacher 4, grades 7+8) “To show what the differences are between the sizes of different things that we are learning about: cells, organelles, macro-molecules, amino acids, single sugars…and atoms” (teacher 3, grades 7+8) |
| Objects, materials, their properties and uses | “We can teach about units of measurement, size, and scale. It is important to demonstrate the concept ‘size and scale’ and its connection with units of measurements” (teacher 1, grade 7) |
| Life sciences | |
| The cell | “We can integrate this concept while comparing the cell size with an atom, molecule, DNA molecule and the organism’s size. Then students will understand the cell’s size in relation to other things they learn about and things they are familiar with from everyday life experience” (teacher 1, grades 9) |
| Physics-energy | |
| No insertion points were suggested | |
| Technology: systems and products | |
| Impact of technology on society and the environmenta | “When we teach about developing technological systems and the minimization processes we can teach the ‘size and scale’ concept. Men try to develop smaller computers, here size and scale is connected to technology” (teacher 1, grades 8) |
aInsertion point that was added at the validation stage.
Suggested insertion points of the essential concept “Characterization methods” into different topics of the middle school science and technology curriculum with samples of teachers’ quotations explaining the insertion points.
| Curriculum subjects | Teacher’s explanation (teacher code, school grades in which the curricular topic is taught) |
|---|---|
| Chemistry: integrating the subconcept “AFM and the resolution” | |
| The structure of matter (the particle model) | “When teaching about the historical development of the model of the atom, we can emphasize the tools that give people the opportunity to see nano-metric sizes and even to see atoms the AFM” (teacher 4, grade 7) “It is important to teach students the significance of nanotechnology devices for humans when proving scientific theories” (teacher 2, grade 7) |
| Life sciences: integrating the subconcept “AFM and the resolution” | |
| The cell | “When we teach about how the microscope influenced understanding the cell, we can impress the students with the AFM microscope and explain about its ability to provide accurate information. This accuracy that is called resolution might influence the development of scientific research” (teacher 1, grade 7) “As theoretical background before watching cells using a microscope, it is appropriate to relate to the microscope’s resolution. This will lead to a better understanding of the images observed by the microscope. In addition, discussing the term resolution will help students distinguish between images retrieved from microscopes and simulations: those that are brought to the classroom as pictures in comparison to those viewed in the lab” (teacher 3, grade 8) “We teach a chapter about the light microscope. Therefore, we can teach about the development of microscopes in general and emphasize differences in the resolution of the light microscope in contrast to the AFM microscope. In addition, it is important to expose the students to the significance of nanotechnology microscopes” (teacher 2, grade 9) |
| Physics-energy | |
| No insertion points were suggested | |
| Technology-systems and products: integrating the subconcept “AFM and the resolution” | |
| The essence of technology and the relation between technology and science | “We can utilize the topic of resolution and the AFM microscope as a technological system engaged in solving problems. The problem was the limited resolution of the light microscope but the AFM microscope solved this problem by using a different approach for imaging the surface” (teacher 1, grades 7–8) “The familiarity with AFM exposes the students to technological developments that allow them to view clear images and demonstrate the learned material. This is an example of how technology promotes science research” (teacher 3, grade 7–8) |
Suggested insertion points of the essential concept “functionality” into different topics of the middle school science and technology curriculum with samples of teachers’ quotations explaining the insertion points.
| Curriculum subjects | Teacher’s explanation (teacher code, school grades in which the curricular topic is taught) |
|---|---|
| Chemistry | |
| Objects, materials, their properties and uses | “When we start teaching chemistry, I think it’s appropriate to relate to this concept and its importance as a property of a substance or part of it, which gives the material a specific activity or bonding ability. We can take a certain material and give it a new property by adding a functional group – this is the power of chemistry!” (teacher 1, grade 7) |
| The effect of substance use on individuals, society, and the environmenta | “We teach about the industrial production of carbon compounds and their influence on different areas of life (e.g. medicine, food, plastic materials, fuels, detergents, and fertilizer) and include the different carbon nano-particles. I think we can relate to this concept at this learning level, because the students already understand what is bonding and the meaning of binding ability” (teacher 4, grade 9) |
| Life sciences | |
| Systems and processes in living organismsa | “When we teach about the circulatory system in the human body (the lungs, for example, provide us with vital oxygen while also removing carbon dioxide before it reaches hazardous levels). This adaptation of the lungs’ structure and its function in exchanging gases can emphasize the importance of the concept that a structure leads to a certain function in different organs and systems, and this is connected to functionality” (teacher 1, grade 9) |
| The cella | “We teach about the correlation between the cell structure and its function. We can teach the concept when we teach about DNA as a genetic material, its structure, and mutations in its structure that lead to a new function. The ability DNA to be arranged as a single or double strand is related to its functionality to keep the genetic information regarding proteins coding” (teacher 1, grade 9) |
| Physics-energy | |
| No insertion points were suggested | |
| Technology-systems and products: integrating the subconcept “AFM and the resolution” | |
| No insertion points were suggested | |
aInsertion point that was added at the validation stage.
Suggested insertion points of the essential concept “classification of nanomaterials” into different topics of the middle school science and technology curriculum with samples of teachers’ quotations explaining the insertion points.
| Curriculum subjects | Teacher’s explanation (teacher code, school grades in which the curricular topic is taught) |
|---|---|
| Chemistry: integrating the subconcept “categorizing nanomaterials according to their chemical composition” | |
| The structure of matter (elements, and characteristics, organizing the periodic table) | “We teach about the periodic table, elements, and their characteristics. We relate to conductors and semiconductors. Therefore, I think we can consider teaching nanomaterials’ electrical conductivity, as example for modern materials that have different conductivity properties” (teacher 4, grade 8) |
| Mixtures and compoundsa | “Students learn about the uniqueness of the carbon element, its compounds and allotropes but they learn very little and it is hardly mentioned in the curriculum. I think it’s the right place to teach about carbon nanoparticles and its unique characteristics and properties” (teacher 4, grade 9) “In the topic mixtures, homogeneous, and heterogeneous mixtures and emulsions should be taught. We can teach about nanomaterial mixtures and give examples such as nanoparticles of carbon that can be added to polymers. Here, we can teach that there are nanoparticles that are composed of different materials: inorganic nanoparticles and carbon nanoparticles. They both have high strength properties like a diamond does, which is also made of carbon” (teacher 1, grade 9) |
| Integrating the subconcept “categorizing nanomaterials according to their electrical conductivity” | |
| Objects, materials, their properties and uses | “When we teach about electrical conductivityb of materials as a method to sort them, we can also introduce that nanomaterials can be classified according to their electrical conductivity” (teacher 1, grade 7) |
| The effect of substance use on individuals, society, and the environmenta | “When we teach about electrical energy, we teach about electrical conductivityb, which requires explanations about conductors and isolators. We classify materials according to their electrical conductivity. Therefore, when we teach these concepts, we can teach about electrical conductivity in nanomaterials” (teacher 1, grade 8) |
| Life sciences | No insertion points were suggested |
| Physics-energy | No insertion points were suggested |
| Technology-systems and products | No insertion points were suggested |
aInsertion point that was added at the validation stage. bConcepts that are part of the chemistry middle school curriculum in Israel but could be considered as part of the physics curriculum in other countries.
Suggested insertion points of the essential concept “Fabrication approaches of nanomaterials, self-assembly” into different topics of the middle school science and technology curriculum with samples of teachers’ quotations explaining the insertion points.
| Curriculum subjects | Teacher’s explanation (teacher code, school grades in which the curricular topic is taught) |
|---|---|
| Chemistry | |
| The structure of mattera | “When we teach about crystals, we can ask students to use Lego blocks arranged as a cube and other small ones and ask the students to build a new shape or structure. Then we ask them to examine the stages in the activity and to figure out if they can obtain the same results by using a different order. In this way, we can actively expose them to the bottom-up and top-down approaches” (teacher 3, grade 8) |
| Objects, materials, their properties and uses | “We can integrate all the sub-concepts (bottom-up, top-down, and self-assembly). It is the appropriate place to show the students that we can have different possibilities how to produce nanomaterials. The method chosen for producing the material will help us control the required properties of the material according to the product’s needs and uses” (teacher 1, grade 7) |
| Life sciences | |
| Systems and processes in living organisms | “The cell topic is taught from grades 7 to 9. At grades 7 and 8, students become familiar with the cell structure, the cell membrane. In grade 9, they expand their knowledge by learning about the cell’s building material (lipids, proteins, and carbohydrates). We can relate to self-assembly when teaching about the cell membrane, which is composed of lipids organized as a self-assembly structure” (teacher 1, grades 7–9) |
| The cell | |
| Physics-energy | No insertion points were suggested |
| Technology-systems and products | No insertion points were suggested |
aInsertion point that was added at the validation stage.
5.1 Size-dependent properties
The essential concept “size-dependent properties” was defined as the properties of materials that change dramatically as a function of the material’s size. This concept has four subconcepts: the SA/V, quantum properties, optical properties, and defects. [1] Teachers suggested where to integrate this concept in the chemistry and biology sections of the curriculum but could not find insertion point on the physics and the technology parts of the curriculum, as shown in Table 2.
5.2 Innovations and applications of nanotechnology
The essential concept “innovations and applications of nanotechnology” was defined as the potential applications and innovations of nanotechnology that include the following four subconcepts: “current and future applications” (innovative implementations of nanoscience and nanomaterials into current and future technologies and products for everyday use); “mimicking nature,” which is based on single molecules or collections of them for many tasks, such as energy harvesting and transfer, motion, cleaning surfaces, and replication; “risks and benefits of nanotechnology” with regard to our health and environment and its socio-scientific issues; and “tailoring nanomaterials to the application,” which refers to constructing complicated systems to meet the needs of a certain application. As presented in Figure 1 and Table 3, the teachers suggested different places in the curriculum in which the concept can be integrated.
It is interesting to note that teachers were able to find insertion points for this concept in all the four parts of the curriculum. The variety of NST applications supports teachers to find different nano-applications that are connected to the different basic sciences: chemistry, physics, and biology. The connection of application to the technology part of the curriculum is natural.
5.3 Size and scale
The essential concept “size and scale” has two components that are defined as follows: Size is the extent or amount of an object. Scale is a comparison of the size of an object to a reference object. The teachers suggested different places in the curriculum (Table 4) in which the concept can be integrated.
5.4 Characterization methods
The essential concept “characterization methods” was defined as “Tools for observing, imaging, studying, and manipulating the nanomaterial’s size, along with techniques for characterizing nanomaterials.” This concept has three subconcepts: scanning probe microscopy (SPM) and mostly scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM); electron microscopy (EM), which includes transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM); and resolution. For the curriculum insertion points, we focused only on AFM and the resolution subconcepts. Table 5 presents the teachers’ suggestions regarding different places in the curriculum where the concept can be integrated.
5.5 Functionality
The essential concept “functionality” was defined as a property that is provided for a material or for a specific area in it. This property endows the material with a specific activity or endows it with bonding ability. “Functionality” transforms nanoscience into nanotechnology. Teachers suggested different places in the curriculum (Table 6) where the concept can be integrated.
5.6 Classification of nanomaterials
The essential concept “classification of nanomaterials” was defined as the categorization of nanomaterials according to the following four subconcept characteristics: (1) “categorizing nanomaterials according to their chemical composition (for example, carbon nanocompounds, inorganic nano particles, and organic nanocompounds),” (2) “categorizing nanomaterials according to their electrical conductivity” (semiconductors, conductors, and insulators), (3) “categorizing nanomaterials according to their source” (natural nanomaterials, organic molecules, and synthetic nanomaterials), and (4) “dimensionality” the number of dimensions by which a nano-structure expands beyond 100 nm (0D, 1D, 2D, and 3D). As presented in Table 1, the teachers suggested three different places in the curriculum where the concept can be integrated for grades 7–9. Table 7 presents the suggested insertion points in the middle school curriculum. However, teachers found an insertion point only in the chemistry parts of the curriculum, and no insertion points for the concept were suggested in the life science, physics-energy, or technology parts of the curriculum.
5.7 Fabrication approaches of nanomaterials, self-assembly
The essential concept “fabrication approaches of nanomaterials” was defined as the wide variety of options that can be used for fabricating nanomaterials. This concept has two subconcepts: (1) “top down vs. bottom up approaches for fabricating nanomaterials” and (2) “self-assembly approach for fabricating nanomaterials.” Teachers were asked to suggest insertion points for the subconcept self-assembly only. Their suggestions are presented in Table 8.
5.8 The making of nanotechnology
The essential concept “the making of nanotechnology” was defined as uncovering the mystery of nanotechnology or, in other words, how nanoscience research is performed and how innovations are transformed into applications. This concept has three subconcepts: “multidisciplinary science and technology,” “teamwork,” and “the development of nanotechnology.” This concept differs from the rest of the NST concepts since it does represent a certain content but includes the nature of nanotechnology research and development [27]. For the teachers, it was easier to find an insertion point compared to the other NST essential concepts and they found insertion points for each of the concept to all the four parts of the curriculum, as presented in Table 9.
Suggested insertion points of the essential concept “the making of nanotechnology” into different topics of the middle school science and technology curriculum with samples of teachers’ quotations explaining the insertion points.
| Curriculum subjects | Teacher’s explanation (teacher code, school grades in which the curricular topic is taught) |
|---|---|
| Chemistry: integrating the subconcepts “the development of nanotechnology and teamwork” | |
| The structure of matter (physical and chemical changes in materials and the principle of mass conservation) | “This topic deals with the changes that occur to matter in its bulk size and consider the related macro technology applications. We can expose the students to nanotechnology and its new application, which is associated with a different size of matter. This will expose students to the logical and resulting developmental thinking of research-based applications” (teacher 2, grades 7–9) |
| The chemists’ languagea | “We teach the chemists’ language. It is important to stress the importance of studying those language symbols that connect researchers from different countries and different fields, which is of great importance for communication between the researchers” (teacher 3, grades 8 and 9) |
| Objects, materials, their properties and uses | “In this chapter, we relate to the material as a whole. I think it is important to already have students become aware of the nanotechnology concept, especially the subconcept ‘the development of nanotechnology.’ By dealing with the historical development of nanotechnology, students can understand that after the development of nanotechnology, new properties of materials were discovered that differ from their bulk sizes. That would expose them to science and technology developmental history and its influence on humanity and help them understand how scientific research is done” (teacher 2, grade 7) |
| Physical and chemical changes in materials and the principle of mass conservation | “This topic deals with the changes that occur to matter in its bulk size and consider the related macro technology applications. We can expose the students to nanotechnology and its new application, which is associated with a different size of matter. This will expose students to the logical and resulting developmental thinking of research-based applications” (teacher 2, grade 7–9) “It is important to teach the second subconcept, teamwork. It is also important to show the students that research development is an interoperable action, requiring teamwork among researchers from different fields who contribute and inspire each other. Research requires collaboration from researchers from different countries and communities” (teacher 3, grades 7–9) |
| The effect of substance use on individuals, society, and the environment | “We can emphasize at this learning level the need for research and its related products and applications for humans and the effects they have on their quality of life” (teacher 4, grades 7–9) |
| Life sciences: integrating the subconcepts “multidisciplinary science and technology” and “teamwork” | |
| Systems and processes in living organisms | “When teaching about human intervention in heredity and breeding processes and its influence on humans’ quality of life and their environment, we can integrate the subconcepts ‘multidisciplinary science and technology,’ ‘teamwork’ into our lessons” (teacher 4, grades 8 and 9) |
| The cell | “One of the cell chapter goals is to make the students understand the relationship and connection between scientific research and technology. Therefore, we can teach about the relationship between nanotechnology, science development, and scientific research” (teacher 1, grades 7–9) |
| Physics-energy: integrating the subconcepts “the development of nanotechnology,” “teamwork,” and “multidisciplinary science and technology” | |
| The effects of energy use on individuals, society and the environmenta | “When we teach the energy topic in physics, we can present solar energy and even create nano-solar cells in the lab, using the ITO nanoparticles” (teacher 3, grade 8) |
| Technology-systems and products: integrating full concept “the making of nanotechnology” | |
| Impact of technology on society and the environment | “We can teach this concept, and each time choose the nanotechnology research that is connected to the content of the topics taught. We can teach about nanotechnology systems and connect them to the ‘multidisciplinary nature of nanotechnology,’ ‘teamwork,’ and ‘the development of nanotechnology.’ This will help emphasize the idea that technological systems are composed of several components (e.g. input, processing, output, monitoring, and feedback) characterized and made by humans, who work and collaborate with scientists from different disciplines to achieve their goals. The making of the nanotechnology concept is a good example of emphasizing this idea” (teacher 1, grades 7–9) “It is appropriate to teach this concept to emphasize that research development is based on collaboration between researchers from different fields. This will make the student implement the learning process as a mutual process that allows discourse, encourages collaboration, dialogue, and listening skills” (teacher 3, grades 7–9) |
| The design process as a way to solve technological problems | |
| The essence of technology and the relation between technology and science | |
| Characterization of technological system | |
aInsertion point that was added at the validation stage.
To sum up this section, 42 insertion points of the NST essential concepts were suggested to be integrated in middle school science and technology curriculum. The 42 insertion points are spread in the four different scientific domains of the STEM curriculum in Israel: 19 insertion points are in the chemistry part of the chemistry curriculum, 12 in the life science, four in the physics-energy, and seven in the technology-systems and products.
5.9 A detailed narrative of one NST concept in the middle school science and technology curriculum
In order to demonstrate how the results presented in Sections 5.1–5.8 can be used by science teachers for the integration of the NST essential concepts in their teaching sequence, we present a narrative that is based on teachers’ suggestions for the NST concept size and scale, based on Table 4.
The students will first encounter the concept in grade 7 in the chemistry part of the curriculum when they study about the use and properties of materials. In this chapter, the students learn that an object is characterized by the material it is made of and its shape, mass, and size. We can teach about units of measurement, size, and scale. The size and scale concept is well connected to measurements and to units of measurements. Here, it will be natural to first mention the nano-scale, and the nano-size.
The second place in which students can meet the concept is when they learn about the particle model of matter, atomic structure, and the type of particles in grades 7–8. “It is appropriate to teach this concept to help students distinguish between the different particle sizes they are learning about.” Teacher 4 suggested that “At this level of the learning phase, the students start to relate to the atom’s size. Therefore, it’s worthwhile to relate to scale orders of magnitude and talk about the nanometer size, which is less known.” Teacher 3 suggested inserting the concept in attempt to explain abstract information and demonstrate how small atoms are: “To show what the differences are between the sizes of different things that we are learning about: cells, organelles, giant molecules, amino acids, single sugars … and atoms.”
In the biology part of the curriculum, teachers suggested inserting the concept for grades 7–9 in the cell chapter. They explained that “We can integrate this concept by comparing the cell size with an atom, molecule, DNA molecule and the organism’s size. Then students will understand the cell’s size in relation to other things they learn about and things they are familiar with from everyday life experience.” Then, the students can meet again the concept in grade 8 when technology, systems, and products are taught, in relation to how technology influences society and the environment. As one of the teachers explained: “When we teach about developing technological systems and the minimization processes, we can teach the ‘size and scale’ concept.”
Based on the results that are presented in this section, a unique narrative can be written for each of the NST essential concept. These narratives can support teachers when they wish to include nanotechnology in the science and technology teaching, and by that modernize the contents their students learn.
6 Discussion
It is important to note that NST is not part of the science curriculum in Israel. Nevertheless, the middle school teachers suggested insertion points of all eight NST essential concepts in the existing middle school science subjects. The Israeli science curriculum for grades 7–9 is spiral and consists of four main subjects: chemistry, life sciences (biology), physics-energy, and technology. Each of these main scientific areas contains several subsubjects. Combining the teachers’ suggestions allowed us to create a coherent teaching narrative that describes the sequence of integrating these concepts during the 3 years of middle school science and why they think it is appropriate to integrate a specific concept into the curricular subjects and topics. The teachers who teach middle school science and technology teach the interdisciplinary sciences and technology curriculum, which encourages them to link chemistry, life sciences, physics, and technology subjects [21], [28]. Therefore, those teachers were able to examine different subjects in the curriculum. This emphasizes the importance of nanotechnology’s interdisciplinary nature as a suitable platform for teaching science in middle schools. It combines all the scientific subjects and could provide an authentic context for teaching science.
It is interesting to note that the teachers in the study were able to suggest insertion points for all the NST concepts in the chemistry parts of the curriculum, whereas the rest of the curriculum subjects were more challenging for them (Table 1, Figure 1). Our explanation is related to the fact that the curriculum’s physics subject mainly deals with energy topics, types of energy, energy conversion, and the law of energy conservation for grades 7–9 and forces and interactions for grade 8. Therefore, the teachers referred to the concepts “current and future applications of nanotechnology” and “self-assembly” when they mentioned the nanotechnology solar cell applications, which are based on self-assembly structure, whereas forces and interactions were not perceived by the teachers as connected to any of the NST concepts. In addition, the domain of the expertise of the teachers who participated in the study (as well as most of the science and technology middle school teachers in Israel) is biology. Therefore, although they teach an interdisciplinary science and technology curriculum they might lack a deeper content knowledge (CK) of physics, which hinders their ability to find an insertion point for the NST essential concepts in the physics part of the curriculum. We suggest that more research should be done to identify the insertion point of the NST essential concepts in the physics parts of the middle school science and technology curriculum by consulting experts in physics.
To integrate nanoscience into middle and high school classrooms effectively, it must first be embraced by the science teachers. Teachers must feel confident in their understanding of the content areas that they are teaching their students [29]. Nanoscience provides a challenge for science teachers. Most of the science teachers belong to the generation who were not exposed to the nanoscience field in their college or university courses [12], [18]. In addition, high school teachers have difficulties in updating their knowledge on advanced topics such as nanoscience and will naturally face difficulties in teaching content with which they are not familiar [30]. Therefore, effective teacher professional development (PD) programs for integrating nanoscience into the curriculum are vital. These programs need to address teachers’ CK, pedagogical CK (PCK) [31], as well as their attitudes and beliefs [32]. Huffman et al. [33] claimed that bridging the gap between existing knowledge of school science teachers and the knowledge and pedagogy required to teach nanotechnology should be the heart of PD programs created for teachers.
The teachers’ ability to integrate the NST concepts into the different curricular topics reflects the relevance of the NST concepts from the teachers’ perspective. It was also challenging for them and it required creative thinking so that they could perfectly integrate the NST concepts into the existing curriculum [34]. The teachers stressed the importance of integrating NST concepts into the science curriculum in terms of pedagogical level. They described its great potential in attracting and engaging students in chemistry learning, increasing their motivation, and exposing them to contemporary science. The study findings provide additional support for the influence of nanotechnology in motivating students to learn science [18], [35], [36, 37, 38, 39, 40].
The two preparatory courses that the teachers underwent [25], [26], [27] provided support for developing teachers’ CK of the NST essential concepts and helped them integrate these concepts into the curricular topics. In order to suggest the insertion points, teachers used their knowledge about the curriculum, which is part of their PCK [31], [41], [42]. The teachers suggested insertion points in a manner that reflects their deep understanding of the curriculum combined with their NST CK. According to Bryan et al. [43], teachers need to be given the time and resources to develop the needed knowledge to effectively integrate and implement NST instruction into existing science curricula. One of the challenges teachers might face in the integration process is the need to keep the scientific materials up-to-date especially considering that nanotechnology is a field having a continual and rapid development. It is important that educators and teachers will become lifelong learners and keep learning about new and exciting materials of cutting-edge science and innovations of nanotechnology, so that they can update their CK and continue to be nanoliterate [30].
7 Implications and recommendations
By determining the insertion points of the NST essential concepts in the middle school science curriculum in Israel, we believe that our research results could be applicable to other subjects in the science education field. To support this theory, we provided a detailed description of the curricular topics and detailed explanations of the insertion points. Therefore, the study could serve as an example of integrating NST concepts into a middle school science curriculum in general and might be applied and modified for other science and technology curricula worldwide, taking into consideration the topics included in each curriculum.
The research also serves as an example of different cutting-edge scientific fields that could be integrated into the schools’ science curriculum. It provides a comprehensive research-based process that can be implemented for integrating other new scientific fields (e.g. brain research, biomedical science studies) into the school science curricula. First, there is a need to map the essential concepts of the desired field by choosing suitable participants and achieving a consensus among them regarding the concepts [4], [13], [44]. Then, there is a need to integrate the identified concepts into the school science curriculum. The next stage would be the development of instructional methods that best promote and serve students’ understanding of these concepts in the existing science curriculum. This process could be done for the science curriculum of different countries and even different ages [45].
8 Limitations
The first limitation of the current research is that most of the teachers who participated in the study are teachers whose domain of expertise is chemistry or biology. These teachers participated in the PD program for Israeli chemistry teachers, aiming at introducing them to NST [24]. For maintaining the interdisciplinary nature of nanotechnology, it is recommended to expand the results of the study and conduct an additional study including teachers with more diverse scientific backgrounds, more specifically, teachers whose expertise is physics. The second limitation is related to the nanotechnology field itself. It is a rapidly and continuously newly developing field, as well as its applications and related essential scientific concepts. The current study provides a snapshot of the current situation in the field. We believe that the Delphi results could be different if the study would have been conducted today.
Acknowledgment
Figure 1 and the Graphical Abstract were designed by Ziv Ariely.
References
[1] Dewey J. Democracy and Education. Echo Library: Teddington, 1916.Search in Google Scholar
[2] Dewey J. The Child and the Curriculum. University of Chicago Press: Chicago, 1902.Search in Google Scholar
[3] Jones MG, Blonder R, Gardner GE, Albe V, Falvo M, Chevrier J. Nanotechnology and nanoscale science: educational challenges. Int. J. Sci. Educ. 1902, 5, 1490–1512.10.1080/09500693.2013.771828Search in Google Scholar
[4] Sakhnini S, Blonder R. Essential concepts of nanoscale science and technology for high school students, based on a Delphi study by the expert community. Int. J. Sci. Educ. 2015, 37, 1699–1738.10.1080/09500693.2015.1035687Search in Google Scholar
[5] Winkelmann K, Bhushan B. Global Perspectives of Nanoscience and Engineering Education. Springer International Publishing: AG Switzerland, 2016. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-31833–210.1007/978-3-319-31833–2Search in Google Scholar
[6] National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Triennial Review of the National Nanotechnology Initiative. The National Academies Press: Washington, DC, 2016.Search in Google Scholar
[7] Roco MC. Converging science and technology at the nanoscale: opportunities for education and training. Nat. Biotechnol. 2003, 21, 1247–1249.10.1038/nbt1003-1247Search in Google Scholar PubMed
[8] Laherto A. An analysis of the educational significance of nanoscience and nanotechnology in scientific and technological literacy. Sci. Educ. Int. 2010, 21, 160–175.Search in Google Scholar
[9] Toth EE, Jackson JK. Pedagogical challenges for nanotechnology education: getting science and engineering students to examine societal and ethical issues. Int. J. Eng. Educ. 2012, 28, 1056–1067.Search in Google Scholar
[10] Jones MG, Taylor A, Minogue J, Broadwell B, Wiebe E, Carter G. Understanding scale: powers of ten. J. Sci. Educ. Technol. 2007, 16, 191–202.10.1007/s10956-006-9034-2Search in Google Scholar
[11] Harmer AJ, Columba L. Engaging middle school students in nanoscale science, nanotechnology, and electron microscopy. J. Nano Educ. 2010, 2, 91–101.10.1166/jne.2010.1001Search in Google Scholar
[12] Greenberg A. Integrating nanoscience into the classroom: perspectives on nanoscience education projects. ACS Nano 2009, 3, 762–769.10.1021/nn900335rSearch in Google Scholar PubMed
[13] Stevens S, Sutherland LM, Krajcik JS. The Big Ideas of Nanoscale Science and Engineering: A Guidebook for Secondary Teachers. NSTA Press: Arlington, VA, 2009.Search in Google Scholar
[14] Blonder R, Sakhnini S. Teaching two basic nanotechnology concepts in secondary school by using a variety of teaching methods. Chem. Educ. Res. Pract. 2012, 13, 500–516.10.1039/C2RP20026KSearch in Google Scholar
[15] Delgado C, Stevens S, Shin N, Krajcik J. A middle school instructional unit for size and scale contextualized in nanotechnology. Nanotechnol. Rev. 2015, 4, 51–69.10.1515/ntrev-2014-0023Search in Google Scholar
[16] Gilbert JK. On the nature of “context” in chemical education. Int. J Sci. Educ. 2006, 28, 957–976.10.1080/09500690600702470Search in Google Scholar
[17] De Vos W, Bulte A, Pilot A. Chemistry curricula for general education: analysis and elements of a design. In Chemical Education: Towards Research-based Practice. Science & Technology Education Library, Vol. 17, Gilbert JK, De Jong O, Justi R, Treagust DF, Van Driel JH, Eds., Springer: Dordrecht, 2002.Search in Google Scholar
[18] Schank P, Wise A, Stanford T, Rosenquist A. Can high school students learn nanoscience? In An Evaluation of the Viability and Impact of the NanoSense Curriculum. SRI International: Menlo Park, CA, 2009. https://nanosense.sri.com/documents/reports/FinalEvaluationReport.pdf.Search in Google Scholar
[19] Sakhnini S, Blonder R. Nanotechnology applications as a context for teaching the essential concepts of NST. Int. J Sci. Educ. 2016, 38, 1–18.10.1080/09500693.2016.1152518Search in Google Scholar
[20] Blonder R, Sakhnini S. Finding the connections between a high-school chemistry curriculum and nano science and technology. Chem. Educ. Res. Pract. 2017, 18, 903–922.10.1039/C7RP00059FSearch in Google Scholar
[21] Quirola N, Marquez V, Tecpan S, Baltazar SE. Didactic proposal to include nanoscience and nanotechnology at high school curriculum linking physics, chemistry and biology. J. Phys. Conf. Ser. 2018, 1043, 012050.10.1088/1742-6596/1043/1/012050Search in Google Scholar
[22] Powell RA, Single HM. Focus groups. Int. J. Qual. Health Care 1996, 8, 499–504.10.1093/intqhc/8.5.499Search in Google Scholar PubMed
[23] Morgan DL. Focus Group as Qualitative Research. Sage: Beverley Hills, CA, 1988.Search in Google Scholar
[24] Blonder R. The story of nanomaterials in modern technology: an advanced course for chemistry teachers. J. Chem. Educ. 2011, 88, 49–52.10.1021/ed100614fSearch in Google Scholar
[25] Cohen S, Blonder R, Rap S, Barokas J. Online nanoeducation resources. In: Global perspectives of nanoscience and engineering education, Winkelmann K, Bhushan B, Eds., Springer International Publishing: AG Switzerland, 2016, pp. 171–194.10.1007/978-3-319-31833-2_6Search in Google Scholar
[26] Mamlok-Naaman R, Blonder R, Hofstein A. Providing chemistry teachers with opportunities to enhance their knowledge in contemporary scientific areas: a three-stage model. Chem. Educ. Res. Pract. 2010, 11, 241–252.10.1039/C0RP90005BSearch in Google Scholar
[27] Lederman NG, Niess ML. The nature of science: naturally? Sch. Sci. Math. 1997, 97, 1–2.10.1111/j.1949-8594.1997.tb17333.xSearch in Google Scholar
[28] Yves B, Constantinos PC, Ligia D, Michel G, Mervi K, Angelos L, Roser PC, Manuela WB. Science education for responsible citizenship (technical report). 2015. doi: 10.2777/12626. Retrieved from http://www.researchgate.net/publication/280831573.10.2777/12626Search in Google Scholar
[29] Blonder R, Benny N, Jones MG. Teaching self-efficacy of science teachers. In The Role of Science Teachers’ Beliefs in International Classrooms: From Teacher Actions to Student Learning, Evans RH, Luft J, Czerniak C, Pea C, Eds., Sense Publishers: Rotterdam, 2014, pp. 3–15.10.1007/978-94-6209-557-1_1Search in Google Scholar
[30] Blonder R, Parchmann I, Akaygun S, Albe V. Nanoeducation: zooming into teacher professional development programmes in nanoscience and technology. In: Topics and Trends in Current Science Education. Contributions from Science Education Research, Vol. 1, Bruguière C, Tiberghien A, Clément P, Eds., Springer: Dordrecht, 2014. doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7281-6_10doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7281-6_10Search in Google Scholar
[31] Shulman LS. Knowledge and teaching – foundations of the new reform. Harv. Educ. Rev. 1987, 57, 1–22.10.17763/haer.57.1.j463w79r56455411Search in Google Scholar
[32] Blonder R. The influence of a teaching model in nanotechnology on chemistry teachers’ knowledge and their teaching attitudes. J. Nano Educ. 2010, 2, 67–75.10.1166/jne.2010.1004Search in Google Scholar
[33] Huffman D, Ristvey J, Tweed A, Palmer E. Integrating nanoscience and technology in the high school science classroom. Nanotechnol. Rev. 2015, 4, 81–102.10.1515/ntrev-2014-0020Search in Google Scholar
[34] Jones MG, Gardner G, Taylor A, Wiebe E, Forrester J. Conceptualizing magnification and scale: the roles of spatial visualization and logical thinking. Res. Sci. Educ. 2011, 41, 357–368.10.1007/s11165-010-9169-2Search in Google Scholar
[35] Blonder R, Sakhnini S. The making of nanotechnology: exposing high-school students to behind-the-scenes of nanotechnology by inviting them to a nanotechnology conference. Nanotechnol. Rev. 2015, 4, 103–116.10.1515/ntrev-2014-0016Search in Google Scholar
[36] Blonder R, Dinur M. Teaching nanotechnology using student-centered pedagogy for increasing students’ continuing motivation. J. Nano Educ. 2011, 3, 51–61.10.1166/jne.2011.1016Search in Google Scholar
[37] Blonder R, Mamlok-Naaman R, Hofstein A. Analyzing inquiry questions of high-school students in a gas chromatography open-ended laboratory experiment. Chem. Educ. Res. Pract. 2008, 9, 250–258.10.1039/B812414KSearch in Google Scholar
[38] Bennett J, Gräsel C, Parchmann I, Waddington D. Context-based and conventional approaches to teaching chemistry: comparing teachers’ views. Int. J. Sci. Educ. 2005, 27, 1521–1547.10.1080/09500690500153808Search in Google Scholar
[39] Pelleg B, Figueroa M, VanKouwenberg M, Fontecchio A, Fromm E. Implementing nanotechnology education in the high school classroom. In Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE), Rapid City, SD, USA, October 12–15, 2011, pp. F4D-1–F4D-6.10.1109/FIE.2011.6142886Search in Google Scholar
[40] Barak M, Watted A. Nanotechnology for All: Examining Students’ Motivation and Learning Outcomes in a Massive Online Open Course. National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST): Chicago, 2015.Search in Google Scholar
[41] Shulman LS. Those who understand: knowledge growth in teaching. Educ. Res. 1986, 15, 4–14.10.3102/0013189X015002004Search in Google Scholar
[42] Kind V. Pedagogical content knowledge in science education: perspectives and potential for progress. Stud. Sci. Educ. 2009, 45, 169–204.10.1080/03057260903142285Search in Google Scholar
[43] Bryan LA, Magana AJ, Sederberg D. Published research on pre-college students’ and teachers’ nanoscale science, engineering, and technology learning. Nanotechnol. Rev. 2015, 4, 7–32.10.1515/ntrev-2014-0029Search in Google Scholar
[44] Blonder R, Sakhnini S. What are the basic concepts of nanoscale science and technology (NST) that should be included in NST educational programs. In: Global perspectives of nanoscience and engineering education. Winkelmann K, Bhushan, B, Eds., Springer International Publishing: AG Switzerland, 2016, pp. 117–127.10.1007/978-3-319-31833-2_4Search in Google Scholar
[45] Manou L, Spyrtou A, Hatzikraniotis E, Kariotoglou P. Primary teachers’ conceptions about the content of nanoscience – nanotechnology. In Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on “Education Across Borders,” Bitola, 2017, pp. 468–475.Search in Google Scholar
©2018 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- In this issue
- Regular articles
- Simulation model for frictional contact of two elastic surfaces in micro/nanoscale and its validation
- Silver nanoparticles in the thermal silver plating of aluminium busbar joints
- Nanotechnology Education Contribution
- Insertion points of the essential nanoscale science and technology (NST) concepts in the Israeli middle school science and technology curriculum
- Reviews
- Recent progress in photodetectors based on low-dimensional nanomaterials
- Elemental zinc to zinc nanoparticles: is ZnO NPs crucial for life? Synthesis, toxicological, and environmental concerns
- Optimization of non-linear conductance modulation based on metal oxide memristors
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- In this issue
- Regular articles
- Simulation model for frictional contact of two elastic surfaces in micro/nanoscale and its validation
- Silver nanoparticles in the thermal silver plating of aluminium busbar joints
- Nanotechnology Education Contribution
- Insertion points of the essential nanoscale science and technology (NST) concepts in the Israeli middle school science and technology curriculum
- Reviews
- Recent progress in photodetectors based on low-dimensional nanomaterials
- Elemental zinc to zinc nanoparticles: is ZnO NPs crucial for life? Synthesis, toxicological, and environmental concerns
- Optimization of non-linear conductance modulation based on metal oxide memristors
